Ashley Curtis Says 10,000 Cyclists Will Close DVP for Bike For Brain Health
More than 10,000 cyclists are expected to ride the Don Valley Parkway on Sunday for bike for brain health, forcing a full weekend shutdown of two major expressways. The Mattamy Homes Bike for Brain Health event closes the Gardiner Expressway and the DVP from midnight Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday.
Ashley Curtis On Traffic
Ashley Curtis, the city’s general manager of Transportation Services, said Toronto is moving signal timing at 490 locations in and around the downtown core and adding staff at the Congestion Management Centre. “We’re adjusting traffic signal timing at 490 locations in and around the downtown core; expanding staffing at the City’s Congestion Management Centre to monitor conditions and make real-time signal adjustments as needed,” Curtis said in an email about the weekend closures.
The closures are wide enough to hit the main cross-city routes in both directions. The Gardiner will be closed from the Lake Shore exit to the Don Valley Parkway, while the DVP will close from Highway 401 to the Gardiner Expressway.
Gardiner And DVP Closures
Organizers are funding 64 paid duty police officers to help with traffic, and 15 portable electronic message signs will be installed to guide drivers around the shutdowns. Those steps give the city more tools to move traffic away from the expressways while the ride is underway.
The event is part of a packed weekend on Toronto streets and tracks. On Saturday and Sunday, Line 2 subway service is closed between Jane and Ossington stations for track switch replacement work, with Runnymede, High Park, Lansdowne and Dufferin stations closed, the Indian Grove entrance at Keele Station shut, shuttle buses running along the Line 2 route, and Wheel-Trans service available.
Line 2 And Weekend Service
TTC riders heading to Bruno Mars shows at Rogers Stadium will also see extra service on the Line 1 Yonge-University and Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway lines. For drivers and transit users alike, the weekend starts with a simple checkpoint: the expressways stay closed through Sunday afternoon, and the city is already spreading traffic control across downtown to keep the system moving.
