Toronto Weekend Road Closures for August 1-3

Toronto is turning up the heat this weekend as the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival gets underway. That of course means some road closures. Despite the long weekend and festivals, we only have one to tell you about.

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival Toronto 
Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed in both directions between Colborne Lodge Drive and Strachan Avenue from Friday, July 31 at 11:59 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Sunday, August 2.

Have a fantastic Simcoe Day everyone!

Photo by KatieThebeau via Flickr, used under CC BY 2.0 license. 

Caribbean Jr Parade & Pan Am: Toronto Road Closures for July 18-19

The Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival returns this weekend with the Junior Parade on Saturday. Definitely a great opportunity to get out and experience the sights and smells of the islands. Plus we have several Pan Am related road closures to mess up your weekend drive.

PrideHouse TO Celebrates Street Festival – all weekend 
Church Street from Alexander Street to Dundonald Street will be closed to traffic on Friday, July 17 from 6 p.m. to Monday, July 20 at 2 a.m. for the street festival. The intersection of Church Street and Wellesley Street will remain open to traffic.

Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival – junior parade on Saturday 
A series of road closures will take place on Saturday, July 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. to accommodate the route of the Caribbean Carnival's junior/community parade in Scarborough. The parade will begin at the rear of 30 Sewells Rd., proceed west on McLevin Avenue to Neilson Road, north on Neilson Road to Neilson Park Drive, and east on Neilson Park Drive to the entrance of Neilson Park.

Pan Am women's marathon – Saturday 
Lake Shore Boulevard in both directions from Parkside Drive to Strachan Avenue will be closed 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parkside Drive from Lake Shore Boulevard to High Park Boulevard will also be closed from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. Access to Ontario Place and the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained.

One eastbound lane of Lake Shore Boulevard between Parkside Drive and Net Drive will remain open using a counterflow system (no through traffic – local access only) to provide access for businesses and residents during the closure.

There will be a full closure of roads in High Park (Colborne Lodge Drive, Centre Road, West Road, Spring Road and High Park Boulevard) from midnight to 2 p.m.

There will also be cycling detours. From 1 a.m. until 2 p.m., some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail will be closed to bicycle traffic. Signage is in place along the 2.85-kilometre detour. Detour details:
- Cyclists travelling east must exit the trail at British Columbia Road/Lake Shore Boulevard and then take the detour route north on Dufferin Street, east on Liberty Street and south on Strachan Avenue to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at Coronation Park.
- Cyclists travelling west must exit the trail at Remembrance Drive at New Brunswick Way and then travel west on Lake Shore Boulevard, north on Ontario Drive to Princes' Boulevard, west on Princes' Boulevard to Saskatchewan Road, proceeding west on British Columbia Road to rejoin the Martin Goodman Trail at Marilyn Bell Park.

The women's marathon race itself takes place from 7 to 11 a.m.

Pan Am 20-kilometre race walks – Sunday 
Lake Shore Boulevard in both directions from British Columbia Drive to Strachan Avenue will be closed from 1 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 19 for the men's and women's 20-km race walks, which take place from 7 a.m. to noon.

During the Lake Shore Boulevard closure, local access only will be available past Strachan Avenue. All drivers, including spectators driving to events, will need to show their Games event ticket for access beyond Strachan Avenue.

Cycling detours associated with this Pan Am Games competition will involve the closure of some sections of the Martin Goodman Trail to bicycle traffic from 1 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Sunday. Signage is in place along the 2.85-km detour. Details about detours for eastbound and westbound cyclists on Sunday are the same as the details above for Saturday.

Plane makes emergency landing New Jersey highway

A skydiving plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a New Jersey highway Sunday.

The incident caught on highway traffic cameras shows a small white plane attempting to land on the highway in Stafford County.

It narrowly missed several cars before coming to a rest in the grassy median.

Reports indicate that it lost power during flight.

Several skydiving students were on board the plane at the time. Only one person suffered minor injuries.

Source: The Telegraph

Now legal in Tennessee to break into cars to save hot pets

Many people still aren't getting the message about leaving their pets alone in their vehicles.

In the summer sun, a car's interior can soar in a matter of minutes. Even with the windows cracked, this can quickly become a death sentence for your furry friends.

The State of Tennessee is now fighting back by allowing residents to break into cars to rescue trapped animals.

“If you act reasonably, as any reasonable person would respond, you will not be at fault to save a life. You will not be at any fault to save a life and/or animals,” Nashville Fire Department Chief of Staff Mike Franklin told ABC. 

In many states, Good Samaritans can still be charged with break and entre for attempting to rescue pets. 

A Desert Storm veteran in Georgia faced prosecution back in May after breaking a woman's window to save her dog. The changes have since been drop.

16 US states currently prohibit leaving animals unattended in vehicles. 

Source: TIME

Pan Am Road closures for this week

So far the Pan Am Games have managed to disrupt and anger just about every GTA commuter, and they don't even officially start until Friday. Unfortunately, things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

Here's the complete list of road closures in the City of Toronto for this week's Pan Am events.

Wednesday, July 8 and Thursday, July 9: 
Lake Shore Boulevard from Strachan Avenue to Parkside Drive will be closed from 10 to 11 a.m. to allow triathlon athletes to familiarize themselves with the course. Access to Ontario Place will remain open.

Friday, July 10: 
One lane of eastbound traffic will be closed on Lake Shore Boulevard from British Columbia Drive to Ontario Place Boulevard from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This closure is required for the construction of temporary structures (transition zone, finish gantry). The eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard between British Columbia Drive and Strachan Avenue will be closed from Friday, July 10 at 10 p.m. until Sunday, July 12 at 2 p.m. Access to Ontario Place will remain open from Remembrance Drive.

Note on cycling detour: The Martin Goodman Trail will be closed to bicycle traffic from Friday, July 10 at 10 a.m. until Sunday, July 12 at 2 p.m. Signs for detour routes are posted along the trail.

Saturday, July 11:
The eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard from Parkside Drive to Strachan Avenue (access to Ontario Place will remain open from Remembrance Drive) and the westbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard, from Parkside Drive and Dowling Avenue and from British Columbia Drive and the parking lots at Ontario Place, will be closed from 1 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the women's triathlon. Access to the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained.

The race itself will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. During that period, one eastbound lane of Lake Shore Boulevard from Parkside Drive to Net Drive will remain open using a counterflow system (no through traffic – local access only) to provide access for businesses and residents during this closure. The eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard between British Columbia Drive and Strachan Avenue will remain closed overnight. Access to Ontario Place will remain open from Remembrance Drive.

Sunday, July 12: 
The eastbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard from Parkside Drive to Strachan Avenue (access to Ontario Place will remain open from Remembrance Drive) and the westbound lanes of Lake Shore Boulevard, between Parkside Drive and Dowling Avenue and between British Columbia Drive and Strachan Avenue will be closed from 1 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the men's triathlon. Access to the Gardiner Expressway will be maintained.

The race itself will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. During that period, one eastbound lane of Lake Shore Boulevard from Parkside Drive to Net Drive will remain open using a counterflow system (no through traffic – local access only) to provide access for businesses and residents during this closure.

In addition, one eastbound lane of the Lake Shore Boulevard, between British Columbia Drive and Strachan Avenue, will remain closed until the race set-up materials can be removed.

Image by Wilson Dias via Wikipedia, used under CC 3.0 license

European Civic Type R's heart is made in 'Murica

At 306 horsepower, the Honda Civic Type R is the fastest hot hatch that you can't buy. Unfortunately, its exclusive to European buyers. However, the heart of the Japanese automaker's newest sports car is built right in the good o'l US of A.

The 2.0L turbocharged engine is manufactured at Honda's plant in Anna, Ohio. The factory has been in operation since 1985 and makes engines for the company's most popular vehicles.

Honda recently posted a video on their YouTube account giving us a brief look at what goes into making these small yet powerful engines.

Source: Autoblog.com

NHTSA "tentatively concludes" Chrysler slow to fix recalls

Chrysler is coming under fire yet again in the ongoing saga over automotive recalls.

In a public hearing on Tuesday, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) "tentatively concluded" the company took their sweet time fixing 11 million recalled vehicles. 

The hearing was initially called back in May to determine if action should be taken against Chrysler for the poor way it has handled the problem. 

“In my experience, Fiat Chrysler’s recall performance often differs from that of its peers,” said Scott Yon, chief of the NHTSA's Vehicle Integrity division. 

“Fiat Chrysler takes a long time to produce the parts needed to get vehicles fixed. Their dealers have difficulty getting parts for recalls. Their customers have trouble getting recall repairs done. Fiat Chrysler’s recall remedies sometimes fail to remedy the defects they are supposed to fix.”

The NHTSA singled out Chrysler's slow pace in repairing millions of Jeeps that tend to explode during low speed, rear end crashes. The issue has been linked to about 50 deaths, but the NHTSA says only about 320,000 vehicles had been fixed since the end of April.

The automarker disputes the findings, claiming they had actually been increasing repair rates. A Chrysler spokesperson says the NHTSA is actually to blame citing regulators didn't initially see risks to safety. 

If the hearing finds Chrysler failed to meet its recall obligations, they could be required under US federal law to repurchase or replace the affected vehicles.

Source: The Consumerist

Food and Salsa kick off your weekend road closures for July 4-5

Sweet treats and Latin heat mean several road closures around the City this weekend.

Pan Am Games Torch Relay Community Celebration 
Bloor Street including the Prince Edward Viaduct (Bloor Street bridge) from Parliament Street to Broadview Avenue will be closed from 8 p.m. on Friday, July 3 to 5 a.m. on Sunday, July 5 for the Torch Relay Community Celebration. In addition, access to Castle Frank Road from the Don Valley Parkway and the Bayview extension ramps in both directions will not be available from 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 4 to 5 a.m. on Sunday, July 5.

Salsa on St. Clair 
St. Clair Avenue from Winona Drive to Christie Street will be closed in both directions from Saturday, July 4 at 8 a.m. to Sunday, July 5 at 11 p.m. for Salsa on St. Clair.

Youth Day
Yonge Street from Dundas Street to Queen Street will be closed on Sunday, July 5 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. for the Youth Day event.

Taste of Lawrence 
Lawrence Avenue from Warden Avenue to Birchmount Road will be closed on Friday, July 3 at 10 a.m. to Monday, July 6 at 2 a.m. for the Taste of Lawrence.

If you're thinking of taking the TTC to get to these events, be aware that there are a pair of service disruptions.

Line 3 Scarborough RT
The Scarborough RT will be closed both Saturday and Sunday for maintenance between Kennedy and McCowan. Shuttle buses will be provided, making stops at all stations.

Line 2 Bloor-Danforth Subway
There will be no service on the Bloor-Danforth Line Sunday morning between St. George and Pape for maintenance. Shuttle buses will be provided, making stops at all stations. Full service will resume at Noon.