Focus Areas Overview

Trail focus areas are a way for the City of Burlington to connect our vision and commitments directly back to the projects and initiatives that are being recommended. The City already has a robust and well-known trails network; however, there are areas within the City that would significantly benefit from trail enhancements, additions or improvements.

A total of 10 trail focus areas have been identified within the City of Burlington.

As you review the focus areas the following should be considered:

1. The focus areas will not stop the City from exploring trail projects in other areas of the City.
2. Focus areas are not meant to be a specific size. The area is driven by conditions and information that connects back to the “good for” statement / commitments of the plan.
3. There is not a specific number of projects or initiatives that are expected within each focus area. A focus area may have 1 project or 20 projects. The conditions and the gaps / opportunities will drive what is recommended.
4. When identifying projects within a focus area the team will be exploring improvements to existing trails, new trail linkages or support for previous recommendations from other municipal plans like the cycling master plan, integrated mobility plan and rural Active Transportation plan.
5. Consideration will be given to new trail linkages within future development areas within the City. The team is currently coordinated with the City’s planning department to understand where those opportunities exist.
6. We know that there are a number of informal and unassumed trails within the City and the focus areas. Consideration will be given to formalizing those trails – where appropriate – as part of this plan.
7. Consideration will be given to trail improvements through partnerships with partner organizations such as Conservation Halton, Royal Botanical Gardens, Bruce Trail, etc.