CITY EVENTS

May 3, 2012 - Weekend events with road closures in Toronto

Two special events this weekend will involve road closures. Residents and visitors are encouraged to come out and enjoy these events. Businesses in the areas affected are open to pedestrian traffic but some roads will be closed to vehicles.
 
Festivals and other special events are important to the city, injecting hundreds of millions of dollars annually into Toronto’s economy, and they are enjoyed each year by local residents.
 
In addition to road closures related to special events, there is a significant amount of road work taking place in the city. People are encouraged to take public transit as a greener, faster and more affordable way of getting to their destinations.

Those who need to drive in the general vicinity of special events should allow extra time to get to and from their destination. A more complete list of events and road work is available at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets.

Toronto Marathon - Sunday closures
Sunday closures and intermittent delays

The Toronto Marathon will take place on Sunday, May 6. All closures and lane restrictions below will occur on that day. The race begins at the North York Civic Centre at 7:30 a.m. (road closures begin at 5 a.m.) and the main segment of the race will take place on Yonge Street from Finch Avenue to Davenport Road.

• Some lane restrictions will take place in the area bounded by Bayview Avenue in the east, Royal York Road in the west, Lake Shore Boulevard in the south and Finch Avenue in the north. A complete list of roads that will be impacted is available at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets.

• To accommodate the Toronto Marathon, a number of ramps on the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway will be closed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., including:

- The Gardiner Expressway eastbound off-ramp to Jarvis Street - access to Jarvis Street is closed, access to Lake Shore Boulevard remains open.

- The Gardiner Expressway westbound off-ramp to Sherbourne/Jarvis - access to northbound Sherbourne Street is open, access to Jarvis Street is closed. 

- The Gardiner Expressway westbound off-ramp at Spadina - access to westbound Lake Shore Boulevard is closed. 

- The Gardiner Expressway westbound on-ramp to Spadina - access to westbound Lake Shore Boulevard is closed.

- The Don Valley Parkway Bayview/Bloor off-ramp to southbound Bayview Avenue is closed.

For more information about the marathon, visit http://www.torontomarathon.com.

2012 Khalsa Day parade - Sunday closures

The 2012 Khalsa Day parade will take place on Sunday, May 6. All closures and lane restrictions below will occur on that day.

• The parade enters the City of Toronto at Highway 27 at approximately 2 p.m. and continues from Morning Star Drive (Mississauga/Peel) to Humberwood Boulevard, from Humberline Drive to Finch Avenue West, eastbound on Finch to Westmore Drive and to Carrier Drive where the dispersal area is located. There will be some road closures as the parade takes place along these roads.

South Asia Homelands Festival - Saturday, May 12, 12 - 3 pm

Doors Open Toronto unlocks how the city built its character

Doors Open Toronto is a popular, annual, city-wide, weekend celebration that features free access to nearly 135 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings. This year's 12th annual event will focus on "200 years of building the urban city" on Saturday, May 26 and Sunday May 27.

Prominent independent schools like Harvergal College, Upper Canada College and De La Salle College "Oaklands" will be open to the public alongside historic venues like the Arts and Letters Club, the Old Firehall Theatre and the recently renovated Bloor Cinema. Doors Open Toronto will also give the public a rare look inside famed Canadian painter Doris McCarthy's private home in Scarborough, which she called "Fools Paradise".

Many of this year's locations were selected for the stories they have to tell the public about the history of Toronto, the personalities who built them and the communities that reside within them. As part of commemorating the War of 1812 Bicentennial, Doors Open Toronto will reveal in an engaging and interactive way how and who built the Toronto of today.

Visitors will also be able to see some of Canada's best heraldic stained glass and the only Canadian church with a double hammerbeam roof - at the Cathedral of St. Alban the Martyr. This Anglican church is now part of Royal St. George's College. It is not used as a public church so it is seldom open to the public. Due to a recent fire, the church's wooden ceilings, and much of its interior woodwork, have been replaced.

In addition to rare access to a bank vault and a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) laboratory, popular buildings featured again this year include, the R.C. Harris Water Filtration Plant, MaRS Discovery District, the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre, Osgoode Hall, Fort York National Historic Site, Old City Hall and Toronto City Hall.

Doors Open Toronto has attracted more than two million visitors since it began. Toronto was the first North American city to launch a Doors Open event and has advised similar programs like Doors Open Ontario and Open House New York. Doors Open Toronto is produced by the City of Toronto and sponsored by the Toronto Star. Media sponsor: Citytv and OMNI Television. A complete list of venues for 2012 will be released on May 1. More information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/doorsopen.

Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards. 

Each year, the City of Toronto's Office of Equity, Diversity and Human Rights administers the five Access, Equity and Human Rights Awards. The awards are:

• Aboriginal Affairs Award
• Access Award for Disability Issues
• Constance E. Hamilton Award on the Status of Women
• Pride Award for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transsexual and Two Spirited Issues
• William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations

These awards recognize the ongoing work of volunteers and community groups in eliminating the barriers to full civic participation. If you know of an individual or group in our community who you believe deserves recognition please consider nominating them.

For more information, and to obtain nomination forms:

www.toronto.ca/civicawards 

416-392-8592

diversity@toronto.ca 

The deadline for nominations is Monday, May 7, 2012.

New city Website

The City of Toronto has a website that makes it easier for motorists to find their way around City streets. The site, toronto.ca/torontostreets, shows on-going and emergency road construction, existing travel conditions on City roads and a variety of special events taking place. 

The goal is to help residents and visitors get around the city as easily as possible.  By making this site one of your favourites and checking it before you leave home, you can find the best route for where you want to go. Of course, Toronto is known for its wide range of special events and community activities and using this website will help you get to these locations more easily.  If you are trying to get somewhere else, however, we can also help you steer clear of busy areas in the city so that you can get to your destination, hassle free.

The City is also offering those interested the opportunity to receive e-mail information about emergency road closures as they happen.  To subscribe to receive these updates, visit www.toronto.ca/e-updates. 

Complete Streets Forum - April 23

Is walkability, bikeability, mobility, or livability part of your work?

The 2012 Complete Streets Forum will be the fifth annual active transportation conference hosted by TCAT. The Complete Streets Forum represents a holistic approach to active transportation policy and planning with a focus on cycling and walking while maintaining the interests of other road users.

The Forum continues to develop the program of sharing research, best practices, and creative solutions for designing and implementing safe and inviting streets for everyone. 

The themes and program for the upcoming conference have incorporated feedback from 2010 attendees and is focusing on providing direct experience with implementing Complete Streets, including policy,  tools, and examples. The conference will provide numerous opportunities to learn from, consult with, and network with professionals with Complete Streets experience across North America.

The goal of the 2012 Complete Streets Forum is to accelerate the implementation of Complete Streets across Canada.

We invite all professionals working to improve our communities, cities, and urban landscape for all road users, including, cycling, walking, and transit, of all ages and abilities to join us. The presentations and workshops will be of particular interest to planners, transportation officials, public health professionals, engineers, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, developers, accessibility and mobility experts, emergency responders, taxi drivers, non-profits, and more.

For more information: http://tcat.ca/completestreetsforum2012