Racecar driver gets stuck in traffic, forced to rent bike to get into Toronto

One of the drivers competing in the events during the Honda Indy this weekend is hoping he doesn’t run into the same traffic he experienced getting into Toronto.

Lochie Hughes, an Australian driver who competes in the USF Pro 2000 series, told reporters on Thursday he got stuck in Toronto traffic and had to rent a bike in order to get to a press conference in time.

“I got stuck in traffic as well. So actually rented a bike to get here in time and then ran the rest of the way,” said Hughes.

Despite the traffic, Hughes said he is excited to be back in Toronto for the race.

“I’m just super happy to be here in Toronto … it was cool just to be outside along the water there. It reminds me a little back home in Australia,” said Hughes. “It’s just really nice (seeing) people outdoors playing tennis.”

Hughes will be participating in the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto happening during the Honda Indy tournament this weekend.

Road closures began in Toronto on Wednesday. As of noon, southbound Strachan Avenue is closed from Fleet Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West. As of 8 p.m., Lake Shore Boulevard West is shut down from Strachan Avenue to British Columbia Road. The roads will remain closed all weekend and are set to reopen at 1 a.m. Monday.

The road closures related to the Honda Indy are having a ripple effect in a part of the city already dealing with major traffic issues.

“It’s crazy?” one motorist sitting in the slowly moving traffic lineup at Lake Shore Boulevard and British Columbia Road tells CityNews while asking how long it would take to get home.

Various routes north-south-east-and west were jammed with frustrated drivers Thursday afternoon as they tried to make their way through other neighbouring streets.

The temporary road closures are exacerbating an already slow drive into the city with the ongoing Gardiner Expressway closures and construction on major thoroughfares downtown.

“What we need is people to come together and say basically there are better ways of doing things,” Murtaza Haider, director of the Urban Analytics Institute at TMU tells CityNews. “There are better ways of construction, faster ways of construction, and a better way of network planning to say that we will not disrupt the entire network at the same time.”

City officials say they have been working with Honda Indy organizers to “create a plan for improved traffic flow to mitigate the effect of road closures that will affect travel for motorists, transit users, and pedestrians over the event weekend.” Some of those measures include adjusting the timing of traffic signals and deploying traffic agents and police at different points.

The TTC says it is adding extra streetcar service on the 509 Harbourfront and 511 Bathurst routes to get people to the Exhibition grounds but even those routes will be on diversion through the weekend due to road closures.

With files from Lucas Casaletto