City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:
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News Release
December 24, 2013
City of Toronto ice storm update on Tuesday morning
The City of Toronto is continuing to provide updated
information this morning on ongoing impacts and the City's response to the ice
storm.
Toronto Hydro
Toronto Hydro is reporting that it has made significant
progress overnight, with approximately 115,000 customers now without power.
Hydro crews are continuing to work around the clock to respond.
Toronto Fire Service
Toronto Fire is warning the public not to operate
propane, natural gas or charcoal barbecues inside as they can create a
dangerous carbon monoxide poisoning hazard if not property vented. Also, do not
use a stove or camping gear for heating your home, as they can similarly create
a carbon monoxide poisoning and burn hazard. Ensure battery backup is operating
for carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
Community Care Access Centre Clients
Community Care Access Centre clients who use home oxygen
and have concerns can call 310-2222 (no area code required) for assistance. All
others are asked to contact their oxygen supplier for assistance.
TTC
Please check
www.ttc.ca
for updates and service alerts.
GO Transit
GO Transit is operating an Adjusted Winter Schedule today.
Schedule details are available at
http://gotransit.com/public/en/schedules/winterstorm.aspx.
Toronto Roads and Traffic
Salting operations are continuing on collector roads,
local roads and sidewalks, with TTC stops a priority. Parking consideration
will be provided for residents who park on the street beyond posted times due
to limited access to icy driveways. The following roads in Scarborough are
closed to traffic, as they are not safe due to fallen power lines and trees:
- Old Kingston Road from Military Trail to Manse Road
- Military Trail from Old Kingston Road to Bobmar Road
- St. Andrews Road from Meldazy Drive to Suraty Avenue
- Colonel Danforth Trail - Bonacres Avenue to dead end
- Highview Avenue at Lillington Avenue
- Pinegrove Road at South Edgely Avenue
Food, Water, Warmth and Rest
The City is operating 12 locations where vulnerable
residents and those who need assistance can access food, water, warmth and
rest. Pets are welcome.
A total of 774 people were accommodated in these locations
last night.
Toronto Community Centre locations are as follows:
Dennis R Timbrell Community Centre,
29 St. Denis Dr.
(Eglinton/Don Mills) Malvern Community Centre,
30 Sewells Rd. (Neilson/Finch)
Agincourt Community Centre,
31 Glen Walford Rd. (Sheppard/Midland) Driftwood
Community Centre,
4401 Jane St. (between Finch and Steeles) Mitchell Field
Community Centre,
89 Church Ave. (Yonge/Finch) Joseph P Piccininni Community
Centre,
1369 St Clair Ave. W. (St Clair/Keele) Matty Eckler Community Centre,
953 Gerrard St. E. (Pape/Gerrard) Lawrence Heights Middle School,
50 Highland
Hill (between Ranee and Dane) Edithvale Community Centre,
131 Finch Ave. W.
(between Bathurst and Yonge) Pleasantview Community Centre,
545 Van Horne Ave.
(between Edmonton and Brian) East York Collegiate Institute,
650 Cosburn Ave.
(Coswell/Coxwell) McGregor Park Community Centre,
2231 Lawrence Ave. E.
(Lawrence/Kennedy)
In addition, 13 Toronto Police Service facilities have
been identified as having community rooms available for use 24/7 as warming
centres:
Division 11 – 2054 Davenport Road (Davenport/Osler)
Division 12 – 200 Trethewey Drive (Trethewey/Black Creek)
Division 14 – 350
Dovercourt Road (College/Dovercourt)
Division 22 – 3699 Bloor Street West
(Bloor West/Dundas West)
Division 23 – 5230 Finch Avenue West (Kipling/Finch)
Division 31 – 40 Norfinch Road (Norfinch/Finch West)
Division 33 – 50 Upjohn
Road (York Mills/Don Mills)
Division 42 – 242 Milner Avenue (Milner/Markham)
Division 51 – 51 Parliament Street (Front/Parliament)
Division 52 - 255 Dundas
Street West (LOBBY ONLY)
Toronto Police Service College – 70 Birmingham Street
(Birmingham/Fifth)
Toronto Police Service Headquarters – 40 College Street
(College/Bay)
Warming Centres – daytime only:
The public is invited to any City building with public
space. Due to food safety guidelines, the public is asked not to bring
home-made food to the warming/reception centres. Pre-packaged foods are
acceptable.
Shelter beds
The City of Toronto will also be making additional
shelter spaces/beds available because of the extremely cold weather today.
Toronto Public Libraries
On Tuesday, December 24, all open branches will have
holiday hours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. At least 77 branches expect to be open with
full library services - and they can also be used as warming locations.
Complete information on locations that are open is available at
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca.
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo remains closed today, December 24, for
site maintenance related to the ice storm. The zoo will be closed tomorrow,
December 25, as scheduled. Updates:
http://www.torontozoo.com
Casa Loma
Casa Loma remains without power and is closed today,
December 24. It will also be closed tomorrow, December 25, as scheduled.
Updates:
http://www.casaloma.org
Parks, Forestry and Recreation
Reminder to public that trees remain covered in ice which
means parks (anywhere near trees) are very dangerous, particularly in wooded
valleys, near slopes and under trees. Park pathways have not been cleared and
should not be used. Playgrounds should also be avoided near trees due to
falling branches. Public should use extreme caution around parks to prevent
slips and falls and should avoid walking under or near trees.
Parks staff who have appropriate chainsaw training and
equipment are being deployed to assist in clearing tree debris from roads and
paths.
Parks crews will continue to salt and clear debris,
focusing on Reception Centres, Community Recreation Centres, parking lots and
well-used locations such as rinks.
Two of the City's 51 Outdoor Artificial Ice Rinks are
currently closed (Broadlands and Ledbury). Other rink pads remain open for
skating purposes, but adjacent rink buildings are closed at many locations due
to power outages. Many of these locations will close early due to no lighting
availability.
Holiday Waste Pickup
Residents are reminded that there is no collection on
Christmas Day or New Year's Day. This
week and next week, curbside collection on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will
move forward one day. This means that Wednesday collection moves to Thursday,
Thursday collection moves to Friday, and Friday collection moves to Saturday.
Changes are reflected in the residential collection calendar.
Preventing Frozen Pipes
If you don't have heat for your home and the temperature
drops to well below freezing, consider leaving a tap open enough for a trickle
of water so there is some movement of water in pipes that might be vulnerable
to freezing.
If you are leaving your home because of no heat, you can
shut off the main service valve in your basement and open your lowest tap to
drain the water out of your plumbing lines to prevent them from freezing.
Food Safety
For more information about when to keep and when to throw
out refrigerated foods, visit
http://www.toronto.ca/health/food_safety and click on the power outages link on the
bottom of the page.
Bike Share Program (BIXI)
The bike share program will be closed until December 28
in order to clear ice from the various stations and bikes.
Emergency Preparedness
Information and advice about emergency preparedness are
available at
http://www.toronto.ca/oem.
Social Media Updates
For updates during an emergency event and other City of
Toronto information, follow @TorontoComms on Twitter. The City will be using
#citystorm when providing updates on the storm.
Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in
North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It
is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently
ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host
City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on
non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and
visitors can visit
www.toronto.ca, call
311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.
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Media contact: Wynna Brown, Strategic Communications,
416-919-6503,
wbrown1@toronto.ca
