From dumped boats to an abandoned dock, City addressing issues near Toronto’s Cherry Beach

In warmer climates, you’ll find Elliott Lerman most days at the south point of Regatta Road.

“I sail down here, wing foil, as part of the Toronto windsurfing club.”

Members like him have been dealing with an unexpected obstacle.

“It’s an 80 foot dock that was dumped here on Cherry Beach in the fall. It has since floated a bit downstream but is in disrepair and abandoned,” he said. “I have made calls to get it out of here but nobody has done anything about it.”

The dock was put in at Cherry Beach by the owner of a now defunct water taxi company, without proper authorization. It also isn’t the only issue people who use and care about this beach are concerned about. 

On Unwin Avenue — a road many use to access the beach — two large abandoned boats were tossed on the side of the road like garbage and left there for months.

One of them, a sailboat, had several yellow city citations tied to it but it has remained there since last fall.

“It’s concerning this stuff is just allowed to be dumped around here, it’s not a good start. It’s like graffiti. You get one little thing, and then more people start doing it.”

A spokesperson for PortsToronto says the dock has been on their radar for quite some time.

“It was placed on City of Toronto property last fall at Cherry Beach without the required permissions,” a spokesperson tells Speakers Corner. “In response, PortsToronto made efforts to pull the dock off the beach, but the structure was firmly aground at the time. We have repeatedly engaged with the dock owner however there has been no resolution to date.”

The spokesperson said they will work with the City of Toronto and continue to pressure the dock’s owner to get it taken care of, promising it will be by the 2025 boating season, but did not say if the owner will face any fines or other penalties.

City staff say they also were aware of the discarded boats on Unwin Avenue, which violate the city’s municipal code.

“The City of Toronto has investigated the boats that were left on the public right-of-way on Unwin Avenue to determine if there was evidence to identify the owners.”

The spokesperson went on to say they could not track down the owners.

Days after we inquired about them, the boats were removed by city crews but staff could not answer when we asked how much the removal might cost taxpayers.

“It’s concerning that people like us have to keep on top of this stuff before something is done. It sends a bad message that you can dump whatever you like here,” Lerman said.

“To the city: come down here and clean up the beach. You’re always so concerned about environmental issues, do something about it before it becomes worse.”

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