This weekend’s ActiveTO major weekend road closures includes parts of Lake Shore Boulevard East, Lake Shore Boulevard West and roads within High Park. All will be closed to vehicular traffic to give residents more space for exercise and provide safe access to pedestrians and cyclists. The new ActiveTO Bayview multi-use trail is now open for use until April 2022.
Toronto’s more than 1,500 parks and 11,000 hectares of ravine spaces are also open for fresh air and exercise everyday, including weekends.
The following ActiveTO locations will be available from Saturday, May 22 at 6 a.m. until Sunday, May 23 at 9 p.m.:
As part of ActiveTO, roads in High Park will be closed to vehicles for all three days of the long weekend. Vehicle access will be restricted starting Friday at approximately 11 p.m. until Tuesday at approximately 7 a.m.
The planned temporary ActiveTO Bayview multi-use trail along Bayview Avenue, between Mill Street and Rosedale Valley Road is now available to people walking and riding their bikes and will stay in place every day until April 2022, including weekends. The Bayview Avenue multi-use trail provides an important full-time temporary protected space for residents to get exercise, further connects and expands Toronto’s cycling network, and provides a detour for the planned Lower Don Trail construction closure this summer. The corridor will also safely accommodate vehicles. For the duration of the project, Bayview Avenue, between River Street and Lawren Harris Square, and between Front Street East and Mill Street, has been converted to one-way southbound only for vehicles.
City staff will continue to actively monitor traffic congestion on all routes throughout the weekend and adjust signal timing where required. To help manage traffic congestion around the Lake Shore Boulevard West route, the City will:
Motorists are reminded to plan their trips in advance to avoid the closures if possible and should consider using a wayfinding app to understand detours and travel times.
ActiveTO routes are open to people on bikes and pedestrians. Residents planning to use ActiveTO routes or visit High Park should do so only with members of their own household and are asked to access them by bike or as a pedestrian due to limited nearby parking and no on-site parking available.
Parking lots along Lake Shore Boulevard West, at Sunnyside Park, Budapest Park and Sir Casimir Gzowski Park, will be closed all weekend during ActiveTO closures. Overnight parking is not permitted in these lots and any vehicles should be moved before midnight on Friday.
City staff will close lanes on Allen Road on June 5 and are planning to expand ActiveTO weekend closures to vehicles along Black Creek Drive and roads within the Exhibition Place grounds later this summer.
Bike Share Toronto stations are available along ActiveTO routes. Download the PBSC app to get started.
ActiveTO was designed in response to COVID-19 to provide more space for people to practise physical distancing while outside, support the overall wellbeing of residents and to quickly connect and expand Toronto’s cycling network by installing safe, separated temporary bike routes that mirror major transit lines.
Quotes:
“I encourage residents to use these ActiveTO spaces this long weekend, and to enjoy any of Toronto’s many parks or trails for exercise. These routes are flexible and staff have been actively adjusting traffic plans based on last weekend’s observations. We continue to provide more spaces on weekends for people, and more safe, full-time routes that people can use every day to ride a bike or go for a run or walk.”
– Mayor John Tory
“This long weekend, the City’s ActiveTO routes, parks, ravines and trails, provide residents with a great opportunity to stay active and take advantage of the warm weather, while enjoying a walk, run or bike ride.”
– Councillor Jennifer McKelvie (Scarborough-Rough Park) Chair of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee
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