Shouldn’t the Great Trail be accessible to all? A new cross-Canada partnership tackles barriers

Exploring Canada’s urban and rural trails has become a welcome habit during the pandemic, a balm to mind and body. But for many, there are still barriers to appreciating these green spaces. Now, a new partnership between three notable organizations — the Trans Canada Trail (TCT), AccessNow and the Canadian Paralympic Committee — aims to increase accessibility.

As president and CEO of the TCT, Eleanor McMahon regularly reaps the trail’s benefits since it’s just two minutes from her Ottawa neighbourhood. “It’s become a lifeline for many Canadians,” she says.

The TCT’s coast-to-coast route — which was renamed the Great Trail in 2016 — currently encompasses more than 27,000 kilometres of multi-use paths through cities, farmland and wilderness, making it the world’s longest trail network. With an ongoing priority to increase the trail’s use, the TCT’s next project was ensuring accessibility.

McMahon reached out to AccessNow, an app where you can read crowdsourced reviews on the accessibility of public and private spaces, like restaurants, offices and malls. It was created by Toronto activist/entrepreneur Maayan Ziv, a wheelchair user who had difficulty finding a resource that detailed accessible buildings in the city.

So while working on her master of digital media at Ryerson University, Ziv created AccessNow with the school’s tech incubator. Launched during the 2015 Toronto Parapan Am Games, the app now features thousands of reviews on what is — and isn’t — barrier-free in more than 30 countries.

Retired Paralympic swimmer Andrew Haley spent a sunny day last October with the team from the TCT and AccessNow, mapping a portion of the Pan Am Path along Toronto’s waterfront. “I looked at the situation not only from a disability perspective, but also as a dad, remembering what it was like using a stroller,” says Haley.

He offered recommendations on a section of the approximately 80-kilometre path, stretching from the foot of Bay Street to the Humber Bay Arch Bridge. Though the route may seem quite smooth and easy at first glance, Haley noted uneven pavement, broken asphalt and ramp gradients that may pose a mobility challenge.

This month’s AccessNow update, available via Apple’s App Store and Google Play, will include 12 trails from the Great Trail, in 10 provinces and the Yukon, mapped by 12 Para athletes.

These segments include Vancouver’s Stanley Park by Richard Peter, Wascana Trails near Regina by Jessica Frotten, Ottawa’s Capital Pathway by Camille Bérubé, Sherbrooke’s Les Grandes-Fourches by Diane Roy and Moncton’s Riverfront Trail by Matthew Kinnie.

The initiative’s next phase will extend into Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and other provincial portions of the Great Trail. Also, crucially, the TCT will go beyond documenting and work toward making changes to specific trails to improve accessibility, too.

“Accessibility is a personal experience and we can always learn more,” says Ziv. “The more people contribute, the more informed we all are.”

The Star understands the restrictions on travel during the coronavirus pandemic. But like you, we dream of travelling again, and we’re publishing this story with future trips in mind.