Road closures for festival and Parapan Am events in Toronto this weekend

City of Toronto Media Relations has issued the following:

==========================================

News Release:  August 5, 2015              

Road closures for festival and Parapan Am events in Toronto this weekend

A community festival and the Parapan Am Games Opening Ceremony and cycling events will require 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.

Roads and expressways in Toronto that are included in the Games Route Network are expected to be much busier than usual. In Toronto, this includes the Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard. Drivers should plan ahead to avoid delays by considering taking public transit, using alternative routes and adjusting their travel times.

The Parapan 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.

Taste of the Danforth – all weekend

Danforth Avenue will be closed in both directions between Broadview Avenue and Jones Avenue from Friday, August 7 at 11 a.m. to Monday, August 10 at 3 a.m. for Taste of the Danforth.

Parapan Am Games Opening Ceremony – Friday 

The Parapan Am Games Opening Ceremony is taking place this Friday at York University starting at 7 p.m. Athletes and officials will be transported by over 120 buses from the Athletes' Village to York University starting at 3 p.m. using the temporary HOV lanes on northbound DVP and Highway 404 to Highway 407. Drivers are asked to consider public transit, find alternative routes to their destinations or adjust their travel times on Friday to accommodate travel related to the Opening Ceremony.

Please be advised that roads near York University will be busy Friday evening from 4 p.m. until midnight. Traffic on Steeles Avenue between Jane Street and Keele Street and on Jane Street between Finch and Highway 407 will be busy. Spectators should choose to use public transit to travel to the Opening Ceremony as free transit is included with the purchase of a ticket.

Parapan Am cycling road-race set up and training – Friday 

Road closures on Lake Shore Boulevard, Bloor Street and the Queensway will take place on Friday, August 7 from 10 a.m. to noon to allow athletes to familiarize themselves with the cycling road race course. Full closure details:

• Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed in both directions from Colborne Lodge Drive to Strachan Avenue.

• Access to businesses on the south side of Lake Shore Boulevard will remain open but delays may occur. Access to the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained via southbound Dufferin Street/British Columbia Road and via southbound Jameson Avenue.

• Access to Ontario Place will be maintained.

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

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

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

• Ellis Avenue and Ellis Park Road will be closed.

During this closure period, 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 during this closure.

Parapan Am cycling races – Saturday

All  closures listed above for August 7 will also be in place on Saturday, August 8 from 1 a.m. until 6 p.m. to accommodate the men's and women's cycling road races, including setup before and after the two races. The actual racing will take place between 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In addition to these closures, there will be full road closures of Colborne Lodge Drive, Centre Road, West Road, Spring Road and High Park Boulevard from 1 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 8 for men's and women's road-race set up.

There will also be some Gardiner Expressway ramp closures associated with Saturday's cycling races. The ramp from the eastbound Gardiner Expressway to Lake Shore Boulevard at Jameson Avenue will be closed on Saturday, August 8 from 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The ramp from the westbound Gardiner Expressway to Lake Shore Boulevard from Dunn Avenue/Jameson Avenue will be closed Saturday, August 8 from 1 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In addition, there will be detours for members of the public cycling in the area. Some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail will be closed to bicycle traffic 1 a.m. on Saturday until 2 p.m. on Sunday, August 9. Signage will be in place along the 2.85-kilometre detour.

Cyclist detour details:

• Cyclists riding eastbound 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 following Prince Edward Island Crescent to Ontario Drive, south to Lake Shore Boulevard and travelling east to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at New Brunswick Way.

• Cyclists riding westbound 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.

More information about transportation related 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 website: http://bit.ly/1gKZhjc

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.

-30-

Media contact: Steve Johnston, Strategic Communications, 416-553-1076, sjohnsto@toronto.ca