The Best Seats
In The House

As one of the largest cities in North America, Toronto prides itself on both having a vibrant urban life and including some much needed greenspace within its city limits. With a number of large parks and places to get away from the hustle and bustle, not many can rival the peace and serenity that lies within the city’s East Don Trail.

Running through the Charles Sauriol Conservation Area of the Don River watershed, the trail makes a wonderful spot for a morning or afternoon stroll. The original trail was extended by 1.4 kilometers in 2020, leaving visitors and residents even more natural wonders to explore and enjoy. A new bridge was constructed as part of the expansion which now includes a variety of habitats including upland forests on the valley slopes, open meadows, young trees and a wetland.

As part of the on-going expansion of the trail, our team was brought in by a reputable construction company out of the Greater Toronto Area by the name of Soncin Construction. Specializing in civil infrastructure projects including bridges, road construction and transit and rail, they’ve become one of the most trusted names in construction across the province.

They were in search of a partner that could help them design and install a completely customized netting barrier that would end up along the East Don Trail in Toronto. While we have an extensive background in designing large scale netting barriers, this project piqued our interest for a number of reasons.

Following the contours of the biking and walking path, this was never going to be a straight-cut netting job. It needed to snake along the trail and provide ample protection from golf balls from outside of the trail. In addition to that, the trail is located nearby a light transit railway, creating additional layers of safety planning with both Soncin and the Toronto Transportation Corp.

As we dug into the design and worked out all of the nuances, we worked closely with key stakeholders from within the project. Once the concept was approved and stamped, we quickly moved into the production process. Leveraging the help from our partners from West Electric, we had them go ahead and install the required 50’ utility poles set to hold the new netting barrier.

By the time the poles had been safely installed, our team was heading to Toronto with the completed barrier for the final installation. The final install went off without a hitch as our installation crews ensured the project was completed safely and on-time. Today, the 160’ long netting barrier stands tall and protects those within the confines of the trail.