Road closures for events in Toronto this weekend

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

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News Release:  July 21, 2015

Road closures for events in Toronto this weekend

Two festival events along with the Pan Am Games run, race-walk and cycling competitions will involve some road closures in Toronto this weekend. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy these events. Businesses in the areas involved will remain open as usual.

The Pan Am Games and other special events are important for Toronto, boosting the city's economy and providing opportunities to showcase local communities. Whenever possible, residents and visitors are encouraged to consider carpooling, public transit, walking or cycling to get around this weekend and throughout the Games.

Beaches Jazz Festival – Thursday to Saturday Queen Street East between Woodbine Avenue and Beech Avenue will be closed from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 23 to 25).

PrideHouse TO Celebrates Street Festival – all weekend Church Street from Alexander Street to Dundonald Street will be closed on Friday, July 24 from 6 p.m. to Monday, July 27 at 2 a.m. The intersection of Church Street and Wellesley Street will remain open to traffic during that period.

Training for cycling and marathon races – all weekend Full road closures of Colborne Lodge Drive (The Queensway to Bloor Street West), Centre Road, West Road, Spring Road and High Park Boulevard will take place from midnight on Friday, July 24 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, July 26.

Additional road closures will take place on Friday, July 24 from 10 a.m. to noon to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the road cycling and marathon courses, including:

• Lake Shore Boulevard in both directions from Colborne Lodge Drive to Strachan Avenue will be closed.  Access to Ontario Place and the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained.

• The Queensway from Claude Avenue to Ellis Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction. 

• Bloor Street from Harcroft Road to Parkside Drive will be reduced to one lane in each direction.

• Parkside Drive from Lake Shore Boulevard to Bloor Street will be closed.

• Ellis Avenue, Ellis Park Road, Olympus Avenue and Harcroft Road will also be closed.

Men's marathon and cycling road races – Saturday The closures highlighted above for Friday, July 24 will occur again from 12:01 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 to accommodate the men's marathon and the cycling road races. The marathon will take place from 7 to 11 a.m. The cycling road races will take place from 1 to 8:45 p.m.

Note: Lake Shore Boulevard from British Columbia Road to Strachan Avenue will remain closed overnight.

During the closures noted, one lane of Lake Shore Boulevard, from Colborne Lodge Drive to Net Drive, will remain open using a counterflow system (no through traffic, local access only) to provide access for businesses and residents.

There will also be cycling detours. Some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail will be closed to bicycle traffic from Saturday, July 25 at 1 a.m. until Sunday, July 26 at 2 p.m. Signage is in place along the 2.85-kilometre detour. Detour routes:

• Cyclists travelling east must exit the trail at British Columbia Road/Lake Shore Boulevard and then take the detour route north on British Columbia Road, east on Saskatchewan Road, south on Princes' Boulevard and follow Prince Edward Island Crescent to Ontario Drive, south to Lakeshore Boulevard and travel east to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at New Brunswick Way.

• Cyclists travelling west must exit the trail at Remembrance Drive opposite New Brunswick Way and then travel west on Lake Shore Boulevard, north on Ontario Drive and immediately west onto Prince Edward Island Crescent, north on Princes' Boulevard  to Saskatchewan Road, proceeding west on British Columbia Road to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at Marilyn Bell Park.

Men's 50-km race walk – Sunday

Lake Shore Boulevard from British Columbia Road to Strachan Avenue will remain closed until 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 26. Local access will be provided only past Strachan Avenue. All drivers, including spectators driving to events, will need to show their Games event ticket to gain access beyond that point.

The race itself will take place from 7 a.m. to noon.

Cycling detours associated with this Pan Am Games competition will involve the closure of some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail to bicycle traffic from 1 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday. Signage is in place along the 2.85-km detour. Details about detours for eastbound and westbound cyclists on Sunday are identical to the detour listings above for Saturday.

More information on transportation relating to the Pan Am/ParaPan Am Games is available at http://www.toronto2015.org/transportation.

Festivals and other special events inject hundreds of millions of dollars annually into the city's economy. In addition to road closures related to special events, a significant amount of road work is taking place in Toronto. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations. Those who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destinations.

The City has a web-based map to help residents and visitors make their travel plans, available at http://www.toronto.ca/roadrestrictions. Information about the City's planned capital construction work, which also affects roads, is available at http://www.toronto.ca/inview.

This news release is also available on the City's websites at http://ow.ly/PT044.

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 http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

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Media contact: Strategic Communications, 416-392-6967, media@toronto.ca