As Toronto and parts of southern Ontario deal with freezing rain, weather conditions are affecting commutes across the region and causing an increase in emergency calls Tuesday afternoon.
Many communities were covered under a freezing rain warning by Environment Canada for much of Tuesday. The weather agency ended the Greater Toronto Area warnings just before 11 p.m.
“Hazardous winter travelling conditions are expected. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery. Poor weather conditions may contribute to transportation delays,” the warning read.
Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell said the worst of the ice was expected to be north of Highway 401.
Here is how the Greater Toronto Area was being impacted:
Transit and transportation
The Toronto Transit Commission issued a series of tweets saying the weather was affecting service.
“Due to icy road conditions, many bus + streetcar routes are experiencing delays this afternoon. Please plan for extra travel time,” the TTC said.
GO Transit spokeswoman Anne Marie Aikins told Global News there are minor delays as of 5:30 p.m., but she said as bus service increases throughout the evening in place of trains, there could be longer delays. Aikins cautioned passengers to use care when walking on platforms due to potential ice build-up.
Toronto Pearson International Airport reported 280 flight cancellations as of 4 p.m. for both departures and arrivals. Billy Bishop airport reported there could be operational delays.
Roads and sidewalks
City of Toronto road operations crews were applying a second round of salt on arterial and collection roads as of 4 p.m.
Toronto Paramedics told Global News crews received 14 slip-and-fall reports in one hour on Tuesday.
Toronto police and Ontario Provincial Police didn’t report a significant spike in calls, but officers are responding to multiple collisions.
Toronto police also had to deal with falling ice, including one incident that required part of Bay Street to be closed after a large piece of ice fell onto a vehicle.
Closures and outages
Humber College announced it was shutting down at 5 p.m. due to icy conditions.
Toronto Hydro crews were busy responding to outages in the city.
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