Waterfront Toronto launched Tuesday the final phase of an $18.6 million construction project to extend an existing pedestrian path west of the mouth of the Humber River along the shore of Lake Ontario.

Mimico Waterfront Park, under construction by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, is intended to provide a 1.1-kilometer-long strip of park space between Norris Crescent Parkette and Humber Bay Park West, located northeast of Lake Shore Boulevard and Royal York Road.

The general area is commonly known as either Mimico or Etobicoke (both of which ceased to exist as separate municipalities in 1967 and 1998 respectively), but it is now part of Toronto. The city has a goal to redevelop 800 acres of brownfield space along the shore of Lake Ontario. Along with the provincial and federal governments, the city in 2001 formed Waterfront Toronto as an agency to oversee the process, which is intended to create 40,000 residential units, a million square metres of employment space and 300 hectares of parks and public spaces.

To this end, Mimico Waterfront Park is being constructed through a lakefilling process along a narrow section of the existing shoreline. The second phase, budged at $8.4 million, starts at Superior Avenue and goes east. This will add 500 metres of waterfront trail, 250 metres of cantilevered pedestrian boardwalk and a separate multi-use trail along the backshore that will allow cycling and in-line skating beside the boardwalk. The project also includes small pockets of wetland habitat, landscaping and park lighting.

The total project budget for Mimico Waterfront Park is $18.6 million dollars, of which $6.9 million has been committed by the city, $6.2 million by the province and $5.5 million by the federal government. The budget for the second phase of Mimico Waterfront Park is $8.4 million.