This news release was updated online on February 19, with new information added.
Beginning Tuesday, February 18, visitors to Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen St. W., will be required to go through a visitor screening including a walk-through metal detector upon entering the building. The visitor screening is the same screening that the City has been using since December 2018 to screen visitors entering the Council Chamber and is like screenings done at large sports and entertainment venues.
Moving the walk-through metal detectors to the main floor reduces the number of security check locations in the building and expands the secure space to the full building.
As of February 18, visitor access to City Hall will be from the front doors facing Nathan Phillips Square and the parking garage/PATH entrance only.
Screening is not required for visitors to access the information desk, the library, washrooms or the café/restaurant at City Hall.
Visitors wishing to further enter the building will pass through visitor screening to the left/west of the City Hall Information Counter.
Visitors will place baggage, bags, backpacks and other items being carried on the screening table and open them for inspection. Security staff may ask for an item to be moved if it is obstructing the inspection of the bag.
Security will ask each visitor to remove items from their pockets such as keys, cell phones and other metal objects, and ask whether the visitor has any prohibited items to declare.
Visitors in possession of any prohibited items will be asked to remove or discard the items before being screened. Amnesty boxes will be available for those items; items placed in an amnesty box will not be returned to the owner.
Security staff will then ask visitors to pass through the metal detector one at a time. If an alarm is triggered, the visitor will be asked to walk through again or be screened with a hand-held wand.
Visitors with medical devices or special circumstances, such as visitors with mobility aids, should alert security staff and other screening methods can be used, such as the hand-held wand.
City employees and access card holders can bypass the visitor screening process by using their access card to enter the building.
Employees and security access card holders can continue to enter the building from the main doors off Nathan Phillips Square, the north/Hagerman door, the west/Permit Alley door and the parking garage/PATH.
The north/Hagerman door and west/Permit Alley doors will be locked and require an access card to open the doors. However, the north/Hagerman door will remain the primary entrance/exit for visitors travelling by Wheel-Trans. To facilitate access, the security guard stationed at that entrance will open the door for Wheel-Trans clients who will receive visitor screening at that entrance conducted by hand-held metal detector.
In the event a security guard is not present, the doors are also monitored by camera, and Wheel-Trans clients can buzz the intercom or call Corporate Security from a personal phone to gain access. Security staff can speak to the visitor via intercom, open the door and attend that entrance to conduct visitor screening.
More information on visitor screening, as well as a list of prohibited items is available at: https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/venues-facilities-bookings/booking-city-facilities/city-hall/visitor-screening/ or by calling 311.
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 http://www.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.