The City of Toronto encourages the public to plan ahead for essential trips this weekend as the City will actively manage traffic which will be impacted by important expressway maintenance, roadway construction and safe physical activity options for residents.
This weekend, the Gardiner Expressway will be fully closed from Highway 427 to the Don Valley Parkway for annual maintenance and improvement activities, the intersection of Richmond Street East and Church Street is fully closed for construction, and there will be closures in place for people to practise physical distancing while being physically active on Bayview Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard East.
Despite low traffic volumes, staff are ready to manage roadways as residents plan essential trips this weekend. Some of the plans include signal timing changes at key intersections to enhance traffic flow on nearby routes, increased oversight of roadways at the City’s traffic management centre, deploying more paid duty officers at intersections under construction to keep detouring vehicles moving, and putting in place additional roadway signage in advance of all closures to help make approaching motorists and cyclists aware of closures and available detours. As well, Lake Shore Boulevard West will remain open this weekend.
Those who are travelling for essential trips this weekend should plan their route in advance, expect delays and leave plenty of extra time even with lower than usual traffic volumes.
Motorists making essential trips can use Lake Shore Boulevard West, the Queensway, Bloor Street and Evans Avenue as alternative routes during the weekend closures.
Annual Gardiner Expressway Maintenance:
A full closure of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Don Valley Parkway/Carlaw Avenue to Highway 427/Queen Elizabeth Way, is expected to take place from Friday, May 29 at 11 p.m. to Monday, June 1 at 5 a.m.
The full closure of the expressway for one weekend each year is an important and safe way for City road crews and contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to make improvements and keep the throughway in the best state of good repair.
Examples of maintenance work planned this weekend includes (all numbers are approximate):
• 15 lane kilometres of milling and paving
• 8,000 metres of crack repairs
• 9,000 metres of line marking
• 60 metres of guiderail repair and/or replacement
• overhead and ground sign inspections, replacement and maintenance
• pothole repairs
• mechanical sweeping and debris removal
• graffiti removal
• catch basin flushing and cleaning
• bridge inspections and chipping
• flushing of bridge joints
• inspection, repair and replacement of “crash attenuation systems” that help cushion and redirect vehicles from barricades and barriers
• inspection, repair and re-lamping of street lights
• hydro pole replacement and repair
• traffic camera inspection and repair
Details about this closure are available at toronto.ca/gardiner. A map is available to help plan routes and avoid restrictions and closures is available at toronto.ca/roadrestrictions.
In addition, the City’s T.O. INview map shows planned capital construction work taking place across the city. T.O. Inview can be accessed at toronto.ca/inview.
This work is part of the City’s comprehensive, co-ordinated strategy to rehabilitate and upgrade Toronto’s roads, transit and underground infrastructure for current and future needs.
Major Road Closures for ActiveTO:
To help stop the spread of COVID-19 while allowing for residents to be outside and get exercise, vehicle access on parts of some major roads will be closed for walking, running and biking again this Saturday and Sunday.
The following major road closures are planned this weekend from Saturday, May 30 at 6 a.m. until Sunday, May 31 at 11 p.m.:
• Lake Shore Boulevard East (eastbound lanes only) from Coxwell Avenue to just south of Woodbine Avenue (Kew Beach Avenue)
• Bayview Avenue from Mill Street to Rosedale Valley Road, and River Street from Gerrard Street East to Bayview Avenue
More information and details about ActiveTO are available at toronto.ca/activeTO
As previously announced, construction at the intersection of Richmond Street and Church Street has been accelerated and will remain fully closed to all vehicle traffic as crews replace TTC streetcar tracks.
“This weekend presents a unique scenario where we balance important expressway maintenance and accelerated construction projects while following through on a commitment to provide space for people to get outside and be active while respecting physical distancing. City staff will be working to actively manage our roads as much as possible and I encourage those who are making essential trips this weekend to also plan ahead.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Traffic volumes are extraordinarily low so we’ve made plans to get construction work started sooner while delivering opportunities and space for active transportation. The work that takes place during the annual Gardiner maintenance weekend closure is both important and necessary in order to keep the expressway in a state of good repair year-round. Please plan your day, your errands and route so you can avoid congestion on alternative roadways.”
– Councillor James Pasternak (Ward 6 York Centre) Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee
Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at facebook.com/cityofto.