Major Downtown Road Closures All Weekend

Some of the city’s major streets will be off limits thanks to a huge parade and an event where automobiles aren’t welcome.

The biggest roadblock, of course, will be the Gay Pride parades and parties, which will shut down a good chunk of Yonge St. and the surrounding area for both Saturday and Sunday.

The major closures include:

Church St. from Carlton to Wellesley
Closed from 7pm Friday to 6am Monday.

Church St. from Hayden to Dundonald
Closed from 2am Saturday to 6am Monday

Wellesley St. from Jarvis Street to Queen’s Park Circle
Closed from 9am to noon Saturday for the Pride and Remembrance Run

Saturday’s Dyke March will shut down blocks at a time, including:
Church and Hayden Sts., parts of Bloor East, and from Yonge Street to Wood St.

Approximate times for the no drive zones are 9am to 4:30pm, while the march itself takes place between 2-4pm. But the clean up and delays could lengthen the shutdown so be aware if you’re heading there in the late afternoon or evening.

Pride Parade

This is the big one and it will result in some equally big road re-routes. Your best bet is to take the T.T.C. because no matter where you go, getting there by car won’t be half the fun.

The parade runs Sunday from 2-6pm, but the parties go on long after the last float has disappeared.

Among the streets that are off limits: Church, Bloor East, Yonge and Gerrard. All of them will be shut down early from 10am-5pm.

For those whose tastes run to – in the words of the old Monty Python troupe – something completely different, Kensington Market a little further downtown will be transformed into a car unfriendly area on Sunday from noon-10pm for its regular “pedestrian only” day.

Among the streets home only to feet:

Augusta Avenue
Baldwin Street
Kensington Avenue

The clean up for everything is expected to be completed in time for the Monday morning rush hour. Just don’t be surprised if a couple of those parties are just breaking up then.