Getting around Toronto this weekend might feel like a bit of a marathon.
A pile of road closures are planned throughout the city due to a major road race as well as maintenance and construction work.
There’ll also be some hiccups for TTC service, and of course, huge crowds are expected downtown on Friday night and Sunday afternoon as the Toronto Raptors take on Cleveland in the second round of the NBA playoffs at the Air Canada Centre.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Goodlife marathon (closures from 6 a.m to 4 p.m. Sunday)
Road/ramp closures and lane restrictions will be in effect during the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon starting Sunday at 6 a.m. as an estimated 14,000 runners from more than 50 countries sweat it out along the marathon, half-marathon and 10k/5k routes.
Anyone heading towards downtown — including fans taking in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals — will want to give themselves lots of extra time.
The race starts at North York Civic Centre at Yonge Street and Sheppard Avenue and runs south to around Davenport Road and then southeast as far as Bayview Avenue before ending up westbound on Lake Shore Boulevard until Ontario Place.
- The eastbound Gardiner Expressway ramp to Jarvis Street will be closed from 7 to 10 a.m.
- From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the westbound Gardiner ramp to Lake Shore will be closed.
- For those same times, access to Lake Shore westbound will be closed at Spadina Avenue.
- The Bayview/Bloor ramp to Bayview Avenue from the Don Valley Parkway will be also closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Check out the marathon website for complete info on road closures, including estimated re-opening times.
As well, about two dozen TTC routes, including the King streetcar, will be diverting.
Many roads will also be closed for the Mississauga Marathon on Saturday and Sunday.
Khalsa Day Parade on Sunday
More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the Sikh Spiritual Centre Toronto’s Khalsa Day Parade on Sunday in the area of Morning Star Drive, Highway 427 and Finch Avenue West. Road closures will begin at 12:30 p.m. and last until the evening.
The parade starts at 7280 Airport Drive in Mississauga.
Several Mississauga Transit and TTC routes will be affected.
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Global Marijuana March at Queen’s Park on Saturday
Roads will be closed in the area around Queen’s Park on Saturday afternoon due to the Global Marijuana March. Toronto police say about 5,000 people are expected.
Sections of Bloor Street West, Yonge Street, Wellesley Street West and Queen’s Park Crescent (north and south) will be closed for several hours. The closures start around 1 p.m., and roads will be opening and closing as the march proceeds, with the final stretches re-opening at 4:30 p.m.
The 94 Wellesley and 5 Avenue buses will be diverting.
Allen Road closed from Friday night to Sunday morning
Allen Road will be fully closed between Sheppard and Eglinton Avenues from 11 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Sunday due to spring maintenance.
The city will be tinkering with traffic signals to improve the flow of vehicles through the area. Drivers are being encouraged to use public transit or give themselves extra time on alternate routes such as Dufferin and Bathurst Streets.
Scarborough RT out of service
On the TTC, Line 3 (Scarborough RT) is closed all weekend for maintenance work. Shuttle buses running along the route in the area will be stopping at stations only.
Lower Simcoe closed Friday night through Monday morning
Lower Simcoe Street will be closed between Harbour Street and Queen’s Quay starting at 10 p.m. on Friday until 5 a.m. on Monday.
The eastbound ramp from Rees Street to the Gardiner Expressway will also be closed.
The closure is related to the demolition of the expressway’s York-Bay-Yonge ramp, which closed permanently last month to be replaced by a new, shorter ramp at Lower Simcoe by January.
The city says operations will be taking place 24 hours a day and are expected to be “brightly lit, loud and disruptive.”
GO Transit website outage
And finally, if you’re planning to take a trip on GO Transit on Saturday, you may want to plan ahead.
GO is advising that schedules, maps, alerts and other pertinent info for travellers will be unavailable online from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. that day due to system maintenance. Train and bus service are not affected.
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