Caribana Festival Parade and road closures in Toronto

On Saturday, July 31, 2010, the 43rd Annual Scotiabank Caribana Festival Parade will take place on Lake Shore Boulevard West, between Strachan Avenue and Colbourne Lodge Drive.

The festival will require numerous road closures, restrictions which will lead to delays and congestion in the immediate area.

Road closures:

The following Gardiner Expressway ramps will be closed at 12:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 31, 2010.

– eastbound Gardiner Expressway and Jameson exit, Jameson entrance and British Columbia entrance.
– westbound Gardiner Expressway and Dunn Avenue exit ramp.

Lakeshore Boulevard West will be closed to traffic at 1:30 a.m., from westbound Strachan Avenue to Parkside Drive, and eastbound from Colbourne Lodge to Strachan Avenue.

Caribana will set up their Market Place locations south of the Lakeshore Boulevard West on Thursday, July 29, 2010 and Friday, July 30, 2010, prior to the day of the event. Their final move-in of goods and supplies will be on Saturday, July 31, 2010, from 1:30 a.m.. to 8 a.m., then all vendors will be refused entry. All access for vendors will be via Lakeshore Boulevard West and Colborne Lodge Drive, eastbound on Lakeshore Boulevard West, from Ellis Avenue or Windermere Avenue.

All vendors must have a Caribana permit on their front windshield in good condition or entry will be refused. (One permit per vehicle – NO exceptions)

Parade bands/floats/trucks will access the formation area via Lakeshore Boulevard West and Strachan Avenue, then travel west to Newfoundland Road to enter the Exhibition Grounds Formation Area. The cut-off time for entry into the formation area is 10 a.m., however, any late arrivals will be permitted into a staging area on the north side of Lakeshore Boulevard West, from Strachan Avenue to Newfoundland. The late arrivals will be permitted northbound on Newfoundland Avenue, at three separate times for 15-minute intervals each (10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2 p.m.). Entry will not be permitted at any other point. Support vehicles will exit prior to 10 a.m., from Newfoundland Road and Lakeshore Boulevard West, then eastbound on Lakeshore Boulevard West to Strachan Avenue.

Tour buses are to be directed to the loading docks on the east side of the Direct Energy Centre at Canada Boulevard, south of Manitoba Drive.

Disabled parking will be at the Direct Energy Centre. Enter via Manitoba Drive and Strachan Avenue, then south on Canada Boulevard to the entrance ramp of the Direct Energy Centre.

V.I.P. and media parking will be in the Direct Energy Centre: underground parking garage west side.

Volunteers are to use the Dufferin Street access to gain entry to Parking Lot “4” on Saskatchewan Road, north of Princes Boulevard.

All vehicle access to Ontario Place will be through Remembrance Dr. at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Vehicles exiting Ontario Place will do so only at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Ontario Place Blvd. and will travel eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. only.

RESTRICTED ACCESS POINTS

In order to assist the safe movement of traffic and to provide for as little disruption as possible to residents, the following streets will have a restricted access, for vehicles:

Dufferin St., south of King St. W.
Dowling Ave., south of King St. W.
Stadium Rd., south of Lakeshore Blvd. W.
Queen’s Quay W., west of Bathurst St.
Springhurst Ave., west of Jameson Ave.
Springhurst Ave., east of Jameson Ave.

Other streets, although not restricted to vehicles, will be strictly enforced for parking infractions. These streets are in the area south of King St. W., east of Colborne Lodge and west of Bathurst St.

VEHICLE PASSES

There are several vehicle passes for Caribana participants, volunteers and V.I.P.s. There are also vehicle or personal identification cards used by employees of Exhibition Place and Ontario Place. All of these passes are valid for the given location or event specified in the specific traffic details. Caribana has assigned marshals to the entrance to the formation area at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave.

The final move-in for vendors will be between 1:30 a.m., and 8 a.m., on Saturday morning. All vendors must enter the Market Place from the west end of the closure on Lakeshore Blvd. W., from Colborne Lodge Dr. only. All vendors approaching the closure southbound on Parkside Dr. will be directed west to Colborne Lodge Dr. to enter the closure. The Vendor Holding Area will be east of Parkside Dr. to the area near the Palais Royale.

Drivers entering Lakeshore Boulevard are to be advised to drive slowly and watch for pedestrians and obey directions of Caribana Marshals.

Bathurst Street closure:

Vehicle access west of Bathurst Street on Fleet Street and Lakeshore Boulevard West may be closed after the parking lots at Ontario Place and Exhibition Place Gore Lots are full. This closure will be in effect as required.

Towing policy

All vehicles including tour buses, parked illegally on Lakeshore Boulevard West (including the grassed area), Bathurst Street, Fleet Street, King Street West, Queen Street West, Roncesvalles Avenue, Dufferin Street and The Queensway will be tagged and towed.

Vehicles parked illegally in the Parkdale and Stadium Road areas will be tagged and towed.

The Parking Enforcement Unit will be mainly responsible for towing issues.

TTC

TTC will be putting 25 buses on the Parkside Drive route starting at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 31, 2010. This will be an express route to the Keele Street Station, from the Palais Royale area on Lakeshore Boulevard West. Bus lanes will be marked by the placement of cones on Lakeshore Boulevard West by the TTC.

The Jameson Avenue bus route will have approximately 12 buses in service and will not stop at Springhurst Ave. when southbound. The drop-off and pick-up area will be a temporary TTC bus stop on the south side of the westbound lanes of Lakeshore Boulevard West, between Dunn Avenue and Jameson Avenue, for the express buses to the Bloor Street West subway line. To maintain this bus route, Springhurst Blvd. must be kept clear of parked vehicles between Jameson Avenue and Dunn Avenue.

The Dufferin Street bus line will have approximately 65-70 buses assigned to handle the heavy crowds. It will not enter Exhibition Place Grounds.

The Bathurst Street streetcars will drop off passengers on the north side of Fleet Street. Streetcars and buses leaving Exhibition Place will not stop at Strachan Avenue.

TTC service to and from the east end of the event will be through the Manitoba Drive and Strachan Avenue area of Exhibition Place.

TTC will stop at Fort York Boulevard, and Fleet Street, to enable any passengers attending Ontario Place to exit at this location.

The Princes’ Gates will remain closed on Saturday, July 31, 2010, starting at 1 a.m.

General parking is provided by Exhibition Place inside the grounds in the underground lot at the Direct Energy Centre, and Lot #6. Lot #4 is the volunteer parking lot. There is also parking available in the Gore Lot (northside Lakeshore Boulevard West east of Strachan Avenue).

ONTARIO PLACE

Access to Ontario Place will be possible along Remembrance Dr. from Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Ontario Place parking lots will be open during this event. Exit from Ontario Place will be at Ontario Place Blvd. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. to travel eastbound only.

All Ontario Place employees have their own identification provided by Ontario Place. Should a road closure take place at Bathurst St., people from Ontario Place (with valid vehicle passes) and Yacht Club members will be allowed through the closure point.

VENDORS

The vendor check area for the parklands (FMC Vendors) will be located eastbound Lakeshore Blvd. W. between Colborne Lodge Dr., and Parkside Dr. Caribana officials, security, and police personnel will be present.

CNE vendors will be allowed to enter Exhibition Place grounds at all times provided they have the proper Exhibition Place vendor passes/identification.

LOST CHILDREN

Lost children will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth Building Exhibit Hall on the north side of Princes Blvd. west of Ontario Dr. The location will be signed as such.

At 10 p.m., any remaining children will be taken to 14 Division (416-808-1400), at 150 Harrison Street.

The Gardiner Expressway is a restricted access highway which will be patrolled to ensure that vehicles are not parked adjacent to the parade route and pedestrians do not enter the highway area. Drivers who chose to stop or drive in a manner that puts other road users at risk will be subject to strict enforcement.

Due to the large number of visitors and continuous events that occur with the festival, intermittent road closures may occur throughout the downtown core, without notice, in the evenings and nights of Friday, July 31, 2010 to Sunday August 2, 2010 in the interest of public safety.

Historically, Yonge Street and the Entertainment District access has been restricted in the evenings and over night.

It is recommended that you make yourself aware of alternative routes before heading into the downtown or Entertainment District areas to avoid delays.