News Release
September 25, 2020

Today, Mayor John Tory reminded residents that this weekend will be the final weekend of ActiveTO Major Weekend Road Closures. Updated verified data from the summer months of ActiveTO usage has also been made available which demonstrates the success of the program.

This weekend, closures will be in place from Saturday, September 26 at 6 a.m. to Sunday, September 27 at 11 p.m.:

  • Lake Shore Boulevard West (eastbound lanes only) from Windermere Avenue to Stadium Road. As a result, the eastbound Gardiner Expressway off ramp to Lake Shore Boulevard West (exit #146) will also be closed.
  • Bayview Avenue from Front Street East to Rosedale Valley Road, and River Street from Gerrard Street East to Bayview Avenue

The eastbound Gardiner Expressway from Yonge Street to Cherry Street will be reduced to a single lane for construction from 6 a.m. on Saturday, September 26 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, September 27. As a result, the closure typically planned on Lake Shore Boulevard East (Leslie St. to Woodbine Ave) will not be in place this weekend. Keeping the route open to vehicles provides more alternate routes for drivers while important and necessary long-term work on the Gardiner Expressway takes place.

As well, part of Yonge Street will be closed on Sunday, September 27. Vehicle access on Yonge Street will be restricted starting between 8 and 10 a.m. and all access points will be fully re-opened for vehicles between 2 and 3 p.m.:

  • Yonge Street from Gerrard Street to The Esplanade (northbound and southbound lanes)
  • Yonge Street from The Esplanade to Queens Quay (northbound lanes only)

Parking lots at Sunnyside Park, Budapest Park and Sir Casimir Gzowski Park, along Lake Shore Boulevard West, 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.

Residents planning to use those roads should access them by bike or as a pedestrian because nearby parking is limited and there is no onsite parking available.

Updated data for ActiveTO weekend road closures
Verified data counts from a variety of summer weekends in May, June, July and August show that ActiveTO Major Road Closures provided space for thousands of people to be physically active, contributing to overall wellbeing, along Toronto’s busiest and most popular trails to help stop virus spread.

The following averages, taken over 15 hours on days without significant rainfall, were confirmed for weekends in June, July and August:

  • 18,000 cyclists and 4,000 pedestrians on Lake Shore Boulevard West
  • 6,300 cyclists and 5,700 pedestrians on Lake Shore Boulevard East
  • 2,000 cyclists and 300 pedestrians on Bayview Avenue. Plus 1,900 cyclists and 250 pedestrians on the adjacent Don Valley Trail (eight-hour counts)

For comparison, in 2018, the Richmond-Adelaide cycle tracks – very popular downtown routes – daily average and eight-hour counts showed that more than 4,700 cyclists travelled the routes between Bathurst Street and University Avenue.

Following this weekend, the City will have delivered at least one ActiveTO Major Road Closure on approximately 20 consecutive weekends from May to September.

More about ActiveTO, including Major Weekend Road Closures, is at toronto.ca/activeTO

Data from Victoria Day long weekend in May was announced earlier this summer online.

Quote:

“ActiveTO has been a tremendous success. We delivered more space for physical activity, supported the overall wellbeing of Toronto residents, and helped keep people safe from virus spread – and right when we needed it most. Thousands of people, many of which are families, used the space created around busy trails and parks all summer long to get outside and take advantage of the warm weather.”
– Mayor John Tory

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