Toronto drivers not digging Pan Am HOV lanes

Toronto drivers were none too happy Monday morning after temporary HOV lanes went up on GTA highways ahead of the Pan Am Games.

The new lanes are laid out along parts of the 401, Gardiner Expressway, and Don Valley Parkway, in addition to existing ones on the QEW and 404. Vehicles must now have at least a three occupants in order to use them.

Map of temporary HOV lanes. Click for larger image. Via MTO.

Police are strictly enforcing the new rules, which caught many drivers by surprise during the morning commute. Traffic was snarled along major routes leading to significant longer drive times.

Residents took to social media to voice their frustrations.

Not surprised about the issues with the #HOVlanes today. Any idiot could see this was going to be a huge mess #dumb #summeroftraffic

— Melanie Cosentino (@Melington) June 29, 2015

Sigh, shall I leave 3 hrs earlier to get to set tomorrow morning? 3 person HOV lane begins #PanAmageddon #PanAmGames #PanAm #TorontoTraffic

— Angel Navarro III (@angelnavarroiii) June 29, 2015

Day 1 of #PanAm #HOVlanes on 401WB: not 1 car with 3 ppl; most had 1. Lots of hopping across solid white lines.

— Mary Heenan (@mlheenan) June 29, 2015

The fine for using an HOV lane without the correct number of occupants if $110 plus 3 demerit points.

Lane restrictions will remain in effect daily from 5am to 11pm form June 29th to July 27th.

According to the MTO, temporary HOV lanes will be open to:

• accredited Games vehicles used to transport athletes, media, technical officials etc.
• motor vehicles with 3+ occupants (from June 29 – July 27)
• motor vehicles with 2+ occupants (from July 28 – August 18)
• emergency vehicles
• public transit
• licensed taxis
• airport limousines (on provincial highways only)
• electric vehicles with green licence plates (on provincial highways only)
• motorcycles (on City of Toronto roads only – Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner, Lake Shore Blvd.)

Should drivers wish to voice their complaints about the road restrictions, they are advised to contact their Ontario MPP, or Toronto city councilor.

Photo by Haljackey, via Wikipedia. Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0 Share Alike.

Weekend Road Closures for June 27-28

Pride festivities happening downtown this weekend mean several road closures in and around the gay village. 

• Church Street Pride Festival, June 26 to 28 

Church Street from Carlton Street to Hayden Street will be closed from Friday, June 26 at 6 p.m. to Monday, June 29 at 6 a.m. 

• Pride and Remembrance Run, Saturday, June 27 

Wellesley Street from Jarvis Street to and including Queen's Park Circle will be closed on Saturday, June 27 from 8:30 a.m. to noon. 

• Dyke March, Saturday, June 27 

March route: Starts at Hayden Street between Yonge Street and Church Street, goes north on Church Street to Bloor Street, west on Bloor Street to Yonge Street, south on Yonge Street to Carlton Street, east on Carlton Street to Allan Gardens. Roads will be closed between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. The march is from 2 to 4 p.m. 

• Pride Parade, Sunday, June 28 

Formation area: Rosedale Valley Road from Bayview Avenue to Park Road to accommodate the formation of the parade 

Parade route: Starts at Church Street and Bloor Street East, goes west on Bloor Street East to Yonge Street, south on Yonge Street to Dundas Street and back to the festival on Church Street. Roads will be closed for varying periods between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. The parade takes place from 2 to 6:30 p.m. 

TTC to eliminate tickens, tokens for Presto Card

The TTC is making a big push to modernize the city's transit system, which means you'll be saying goodbye to tickets and tokens.

Presto Cards were introduced by Metrolinx a few years ago for riders to pay for GO Transit services. The cards allow riders to load up money online, they then tap them to access transit services.

The city has been slowly upgrading its systems since then. The plan calls for collectors to be eliminated by the end of next year, while tokens and tickets be mid-2017.

"Tokens and tickets and paper transfers and the Metropasses and day passes … will become a thing of the past," said TTC spokesman Brad Ross.

The plan is to have Presto readers at 26 subway stations by the end of June, with a rollout to streetcars by the end of 2015. The TTC's fleet of 1,800 buses will get the service in 2016.

Source: CBC

Weekend Road Closures for June 20-21

Another busy weekend in Toronto with plenty of festivals going on. That means road closures. Here's all you need to know.

Taste of Little Italy 
College Street from Bathurst Street to Shaw Street will be closed in both directions from Friday, June 19 at 6:30 p.m. to Monday, June 22 at 2 a.m.

Church Street Summer Festival 
Church Street from Wood Street to Gloucester Street will be closed from Friday, June 19 at 6 p.m. to Monday, June 22 at 2 a.m. Wellesley Street will be open to traffic.

North by Northeast Music Festival 
Yonge Street from Dundas Street to Queen Street will be closed each night from 7 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 19, Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21.

Fairbank Village BIA Multicultural Celebration 
Eglinton Avenue from Dufferin Street to Ronald Avenue will be closed from Saturday, June 20 at 2 a.m. to Monday, June 22 at 5 a.m. A number of smaller streets in this area will also be partially closed to accommodate this event.

Port Union Village Waterfront Festival 
Port Union Road (south of Lawrence Avenue) will be closed in both directions from south of Shoalhaven Drive to Bridgend Street on Saturday, June 20 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Bridgend Street will be closed in both directions from Port Union Road to the east part of Vessel Crescent.

Toronto Triathlon Festival 
• The eastbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway from the Humber River to Carlaw Avenue will be closed on Sunday, June 21 from 2 a.m. to noon. All westbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway will remain open.
• The northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway from the Gardiner Expressway to Eglinton Avenue will be closed on Sunday, June 21 from 2 a.m. to noon. All southbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway will remain open.
• One eastbound lane of Lake Shore Boulevard from Windermere Avenue to Strachan Avenue/Remembrance Drive will be closed on Sunday, June 21 from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Journey to Conquer Cancer Run/Walk 5K 
A series of road closures will take place for this event on Sunday, June 21 from 8 a.m. to noon in the area bounded by McCaul Street to the west, Bloor Street to the north, Bay Street to the east and Gerrard Street to the south.

Muchmusic Video Awards 
There will be a series of road closures in the area bounded by Richmond Street in the south, Queen Street in the north, Simcoe Street in the east and Peter Street in the west from Sunday, June 21 at 4 p.m. to Monday, June 22 at 3 a.m.

Sound of Music Festival

Brant Street closed from Caroline to Lakeshore 

Saturday, June 20, 2015 - 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Sunday, June 21, 2015 - 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

John Street from Pine Street to Lakeshore Road

Saturday, June 20, 2015 - 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Highway 400 Bridge Demolition

The 400 will be closed in both directions between Hwy 88 and Hwy 89 from 11pm Saturday to 8am Sunday for bridge demolition. Use Hwy 27 as an alternate route. 

Weekend Road Closures for June 13-14

We have another very busy festival weekend in the city, plus the Honda Indy is in town. That means plenty of road closures you'll need to avoid. Taking public transit to events will be your best bets.

Honda Indy Weekend 
Strachan Avenue between Lake Shore Boulevard and Fleet Street will be closed on Wednesday, June 10 starting at noon. Later that day, starting at 9 p.m., Lake Shore Boulevard from Strachan Avenue to British Columbia Drive will be closed. Both road closures will be in effect until Sunday, June 14 at midnight. There will be no eastbound or westbound traffic on Lake Shore Boulevard during these closures. The only available access to Ontario Place will be from Lake Shore Boulevard at the foot of Strachan Avenue. 

Ride to Conquer Cancer 
A series of lane closures will take place in the area bounded by Evans Avenue in the north, The West Mall in the west, Kipling Avenue in the east and Lake Shore Boulevard in the south on Saturday, June 13 from 6 to 10 a.m. to accommodate the Ride to Conquer Cancer. 

Highland Creek Heritage Festival and Parade 
Old Kingston Road from Watson Road to Kingston Road and Morrish Road from Kingston Road to 226 Morrish Rd. (south side) will be closed on Saturday, June 13 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. To accommodate the parade, Lawson Road will be closed from the west side of Meadowvale Road to Old Kingston Road/Kingston Road from 10 a.m. to noon. The dispersal area for the parade will result in the closure of Watson Road between Old Kingston Road and Thomas Avenue until noon. 

Festival on Bloor 
Bloor Street between Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street will be closed on Sunday, June 14 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate the Festival on Bloor event. 

Portugal Day 
Lansdowne Avenue from Bloor Street to College Street will be closed in both directions on Sunday, June 14 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

Toronto Challenge Run 
Wellington Street from Simcoe Street to John Street will be closed in both directions on Sunday, June 14 from 8:30 to 11 a.m. There will also be a variety of road closures during the event in the area bounded by Wellington Street in the south, Spadina Avenue in the west, Wellesley Street in the north and Bay Street in the east. 

Honda Indy races into downtown this weekend

Gentlemen, start your engines. The Honda Indy is back in Toronto this weekend.

The race will take drivers along a complex road circuit through the CNE Grounds. Lake Shore Blvd is part of the track, so that means road closures for drivers of decidedly slower vehicles.

Strachan Avenue will close between Lake Shore and Fleet starting Wednesday, June 10th at noon. Lake Shore itself will close for setup at 9pm between Strachan and BC Drive.

Road closures will remain in effect until Sunday, June 10th at midnight.

If you're heading to the event, public transit will likely be your best bet. Bus and Streetcar service will drop you off right at the front gates.

Drivers heading into the downtown core can expect heavier than usual traffic on the Gardiner Expressway and in town routes like King and Queen.

Photo by Oaktree b, via Wikipedia, CC license 2.5 ca

Weekend Road closures for June 6-7

It's a sunny and very busy weekend in the city. That means plenty of road closures as summer festival season gets under way.

• Family Fun Fit, Kids of Steel Triathlon (bike race): The westbound lanes of Kingston Road from Danforth Avenue to Birchmount Road will be closed on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

• Malvern Bicycle Race: Brenyon Way from Sheppard Avenue East to Sewells Road will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 6 to accommodate this event.

• Pape Village Summerfest: Pape Avenue between Floyd Avenue and Cosburn Avenue will be closed in both directions on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

• Riverside Eats & Beats Streetfest: Broadview Avenue south of Queen Street East to the north side of the public lane will be closed in both directions on Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

• Dundas West Fest: Dundas Street from Lansdowne Avenue to Roxton Road will be closed in both directions on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. College Street and Queen Street are alternative routes. 

• Maya’s March: Conlins Road from Ellesmere Road to Military Trail will be closed on Sunday, June 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.