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What’s open, what’s closed and how you can enjoy this long weekend during COVID-19

Yorkregion.com
July 31, 2020

Enjoy an indoor meal, avoid road closures and make a splash at a pool or beach. Here’s everything Toronto residents need to know to enjoy the long weekend.

The civic holiday, also known as Simcoe Day in Ontario, will mark the end of Toronto’s first Stage 3 weekend. If you’re inclined to celebrate, do it without fireworks or organized parties at the beach, including bonfires, or risk getting a fine, according to the City of Toronto.

A news release from the city warns that “Bylaw officers, Toronto Police and Toronto Fire will have a highly visible presence at beaches and parking lots to ensure that crowds, bonfires and other prohibited activities do not occur.”

Indoor seating will be allowed at bars and restaurants under new Stage 3 rules, and a co-ordinated enforcement team is set to inspect liquor-licensed establishments to make sure safety rules are being followed.

THE WEATHER

Though the long weekend will start off warm and sunny with a high of 28 C on Saturday, Environment Canada is calling for cloudy and wet conditions later into the weekend. Sunday will be cloudy with a high of 24 C and 70 per cent chance of rain will feed into Monday, which is predicted to bring 60 per cent chance of showers with a high of 23 C.

WHAT’S OPEN

 

WHAT’S CLOSED

LCBO outlets, banks, government offices, post offices, Toronto Public Library branches, movie theatres, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto Zoo, Casa Loma, and Canada’s Wonderland.

IF YOU’RE ON THE ROADS

There will be road and curb lane closures, additional biking lanes, and shared roadway spaces because of city initiatives like ActiveTO, cycling network, Quiet Streets and CaféTO.

The following roads will be closed to vehicle access from Saturday at 6 a.m. to Monday at 11 p.m., but can still be accessed if you are biking or walking.

• Lake Shore Boulevard West (eastbound lanes only) from Windermere Avenue to Stadium Road. As a result, the eastbound Gardiner Expressway off ramp to Lake Shore Boulevard West will be closed.

• Lake Shore Boulevard East (eastbound lanes only) from Leslie Street to just south of Woodbine Avenue (Kew Beach Avenue).

• Bayview Avenue from Front Street East to Rosedale Valley Road, and River Street from Gerrard Street East to Bayview Avenue.

If you’re hoping to bike around, consider rolling through the temporary bike lanes installed along Bayview Avenue and River Street, Brimley Road, Bloor Street, Dundas Street East, Wilmington Avenue/Faywood Boulevard, and University Avenue. New routes are actively being installed along Danforth Avenue and Huntingwood Avenue.

There will also be some curb-lane closures, to accommodate new cafés and patios, for the over 500 CaféTO locations throughout the city.

If you’re staying local, there are more than 60 kilometres of Quiet Streets available to local residents throughout the city. More information, including an online map of all locations, can be found on the ActiveTO website.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

TTC will operate on a holiday schedule -- with all TTC routes following a Sunday service schedule. Any routes that do not normally operate on Sundays will not operate on the holiday.

There will be no TTC subway service on Line 2 between St. George and Woodbine stations for track work on Saturday and Sunday. Shuttle buses will run.

GO Transit -- will operate on a Saturday schedule.

PARKING

Parking lots at Sunnyside Park, Budapest Park and Sir Casimir Gzowski Park will be closed all weekend during ActiveTO closures. Overnight parking isn’t allowed in these lots. Vehicles should be moved before midnight on Friday, the city said.

There will also be restricted evening parking at Toronto beaches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. Parking restrictions will be in place starting at 7 p.m. on Friday at Marie Curtis Park, Humber Bay West Park, Cherry Beach and Bluffer’s Park. Toronto Police will be present at all parking lot entrances.