The Rouge Valley Trail follows the Rouge River along Toogood Pond located in the heart of Unionville, continues south to Austin Drive Park and connects to Milne Conservation Park. Upon completion, this 15-km trail will be a significant cycling and walking route providing connections through several communities, parks and destinations.

An environmental assessment study was completed in 2012 in consultation with various stakeholders, including City staff, external agencies, the local ratepayers association, Councillors, community members and more.

Construction of the Rouge Valley Trail began in 2013 and is being carried out in four (4) phases. To date, Phase 1, 2, 3 and 4A are completed, which includes the trail section from Main St. Unionville, through Milne Dam Park, to Markham Road, and finally to 14th Avenue. Design of Phase 4B is currently underway, which will extend the trail from 14th Avenue to Donald Cousens Parkway.

We are pleased to share that the construction of the Kennedy Road/Austin Drive extension of the Rouge Valley Trail project is now complete. This new multi-use pathway links the existing Rouge Valley Trail system to the intersection of Kennedy Road and Austin Drive, and further connects the trail system to Austin Drive Park. It provides trail users with a safe alternative for crossing Kennedy Road to avoid the underpass south of Austin Drive when sedimentation accumulates after extreme rainfall.

See the Rouge Valley Trail Video on City of Markham YouTube Channel:

Construction Progress

The Markham Centre Greenlands Master Plan was completed in 2004 which defined an inter-connected trail network through Markham Centre in three (3) general areas.

• Area 1 — Apple Creek to Hwy 7
• Area 2 — Woodbine to Warden Ave.
• Area 3 — Warden Ave to Main Street Unionville

The City currently is completing detail design for Phase 1 of Area 3 and construction will begin in 2020.  Planning for the remaining trail section in Area 1, 2 and 3 will be pursued through the completion of environmental assessment studies by 2021, and followed by detailed design and construction in the coming years.

The Lake to Lake Route is a 121 km recreation and commute route which connects Lake Simcoe to Lake Ontario.  This multi-use route that will form a key spine of York Region and the City of Toronto’s active transportation network.

The Lake to Lake Route within the City of Markham is completed. It consists of a 4.2km of multi-use pathway along Leslie Street (from Highway 7 to John Street) and John Street to the existing German Mills Settler’s Park trail through the park. The route then follows the existing signed bike route along Leslie Street to Steeles Avenue.

For more information, click York Region Lake to Lake Route Link

Within Markham's urban areas, over half of local roads, 20% of collector roads and 17% artieral roads are without sidewalk. While many of the newer areas of Markham include sidewalk facilities, there are many older neighbourhoods that lack safe and highly connected network of sidewalk.

City Staff has developed a prioritization program that aims to close this sidewalk gaps in the network over a period of ten years - from 2019 to 2028. A total of 111.6 km of sidewalk gaps is identified in this program, of which 64.6 km of sidewalk gaps are to be programmed for construction.

For more information, please visit Sidewalk Completion Program.

Markham Cycles is York Region's first community bike hub. This is a project of The Centre for Active Transportation (TCAT), that is funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and in partnership with City of Markham, York Region District School Board and CultureLink.

Located at Milliken Mills Community Centre (Parking Lot), Markham Cycles aims to build cycling culture in Markham by offering free programs and workshops to anyone who is interested in cycling. These programs include access to bikes and tools at DIY drop-in bike repair sessions, workshops on cycling topics, cycling mentorship and loans, community bike rides, a carbon count, build-a-bike and youth-focused programs.

Find out more about the Markham Cycle Programs and Schedule. Follow them on social media to get the latest updates!