Weekend need-to-know: Up all night for Nuit Blanche and running for a cure

Torontonians will be up all night on Saturday to take in Nuit Blanche but there’s lot more to do for those who would rather stay in bed. There are no TTC closures in effect this weekend but there is a service adjustment on GO Transit’s Lakeshore East line.

Nuit Blanche

Toronto will be the city that doesn’t sleep for one night this weekend during the annual Nuit Blanche.

The festival is the city’s all-night celebration of contemporary art produced by the City of Toronto alongside Toronto’s arts community.

This year’s theme is Bridging Distance and will feature almost 100 art projects and performances from close to 150 artists. New works by artists and collectives, educational institutions and neighbourhood groups can be found in shared spaces including parks, galleries, storefronts, office towers, streets and sidewalks.

More details and a map of where all the art will be can be found on their website. It starts at 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 and runs through the night until 7 a.m.

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CIBC Run for the Cure

The event that has raised over $500 million for breast cancer research since it was first held in 1992 is hitting Toronto’s streets this weekend. The CIBC Run for the Cure is happening this Sunday, celebrating 33 years of bringing hope to thousands of people across the country who have been affected by breast cancer

It kicks off in Sir Winston Churchill Park and information on how to participate is available on their website.

Picklefest

The second annual Picklefest is back at Henderson Brewing Company this weekend. It will feature over 50 vendors offering all things pickled and fermented with fully licensed beverage selections.

The event is all-ages and tickets are still available on their website. It starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

Ontario Universities’ Fair

Do you have a child in their last year of high school trying to decide whether they’d like to go to university in Ontario? The Ontario Universities’ Fair provides the opportunity to talk personally with senior faculty and representatives from Ontario universities, much as you would at a university tour or open house.

It’s happening at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this weekend from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days.

TTC/GO

Extended hours for Nuit Blanzhe

On Sun., Oct. 6, Line 1 Yonge-University and Line 2 Bloor-Danforth will remain open past the usual 2 a.m. closing time. Subway service will run every 15 minutes from 1:30 a.m. until regular Sunday schedules resume at 8 a.m.

Several bus and streetcar routes will also run extended hours and with more capacity:

• 903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express buses will operate all night with additional buses along the route.
• Extra buses will be added to the 100 Flemingdon Park route for overnight service to the Agha Khan Museum art installations.
• 944 Kipling South Express buses will operate all night from Kipling Station to Humber College Lake Shore Campus.
• Extra streetcars will be in service on 501 Queen and 301 Queen Night, 503 Kingston Road and 303 Kingston Road Night, 504 King and 304 King Night, and 511 Bathurst. 511 Bathurst streetcar service will operate all night.

Lakeshore East Line service adjustment

Starting late evening Friday, Oct. 4, and throughout the weekend on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Sunday, Oct. 6, there will be no GO train service between Union Station and Durham College Oshawa GO while in order to perform important construction along the line. GO buses will replace trains at Durham College Oshawa GO, Whitby GO, Ajax GO, Pickering GO and Union Station Bus Terminal.  

Road closures

Gardiner Expressway closure

As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, one westbound lane and one eastbound lane are closed between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue. The eastbound on-ramp from Lake Shore Boulevard at Jameson Avenue is also closed.

Temporary road closures

CIBC Run for the Cure

The following roads are closed on Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

• St. Clair Avenue West from Oakwood Avenue to Russell Hill Road – All Eastbound Lanes
• Russell Hill Road from St. Clair Avenue West to Poplar Plains Road- Full Closure
• Poplar Plains Road from Russell Hill Road to Cottingham Road- Full Closure
• Cottingham Road from Poplar Plains Road to Davenport Road- Full Closure
• Davenport Road from Cottingham Road to Christie Street- Full Closure to Bathurst St. West of Bathurst – Westbound lanes only
• Christie Street from Davenport Road to St. Clair Avenue West- Full Closure

Nuit Blanche 

This weekend, the following road closures will be in effect for Nuit Blanche: 

• From noon on Saturday, October 5 to noon on Sunday, October 6:
  • eastbound lanes on Queens Quay will be closed between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue, and between Yonge and Sherbourne Streets. 
  • Dockside Drive will be closed south of Lake Shore Boulevard East. 
• From 5 p.m. on Saturday, October 5 to 7 a.m. and Sunday, October 6, the Colonel Samuel Smith Park Drive loop on the Humber College Lakeshore campus area will be closed. 

Gardiner Expressway 

From 11 p.m. on Sunday, October 6 to 3 a.m. on Monday, October 7, the westbound on-ramp from Park Lawn Road to the Gardiner Expressway will be closed for work related to the rehabilitation of overpass bridges.  
Ontario Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Ceremony 

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, October 6, northbound lanes on Queen’s Park Crescent East will be closed between College and Wellesley Streets, and on Grosvenor Street between Queen’s Park Crescent East and Surrey Place, for the Ontario Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Ceremony. 

Wilson Avenue 

From Monday, October 7, until late November, intermittent lane closures will be in effect on Wilson Avenue between Dufferin Street and Billy Bishop Way for the replacement of a natural gas pipeline. 

Lake Shore Boulevard 

Next week, the following lane restrictions will be in effect on Lake Shore Boulevard for sidewalk, curb and road repairs following the underground installation of a natural gas line.  

• From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, October 7 and Tuesday, October 8, Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to:
  • one westbound lane at the Yonge Street intersection 
  • two westbound lanes at the Parliament Street intersection. 
• From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 9 and Thursday, October 10, Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to:
  • one westbound lane at the Yonge Street intersection 
  • one westbound lane between Bremner Boulevard and the York Street off-ramp.  

Other new and ongoing city closures

• From 11 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, to 11 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 15, eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard East will be reduced from two lanes to one lane between Logan and Carlaw Avenues due to road reconstruction on Lake Shore Boulevard East as part of the Port Lands Flood Protection project. Drivers will not be able to right turn onto Carlaw Avenue from Lake Shore. A detour will be in place via Logan Avenue and Commissioner Street.
• Park Lawn Road is down to a single lane from north of Lake Shore Boulevard to the Gardiner Expressway due to the construction of a proposed GO station in the area.
• Spadina Avenue streetcars have been replaced by buses between Spadina Station and Queens Quay, and until the end of the year, there will be no 510 service between Spadina Station and Union Station. Commuters wishing to travel onwards to Union from Queens Quay will need to transfer to a 509 streetcar.
• O’Connor Drive is down to a single lane each way between Bermondsey and Sandra for road reconstruction and sewer and watermain installation until the summer of 2024.
• The Yonge and Bloor intersection will be reduced to a single lane until 2025 for condo construction and sewer installation.
• University Avenue will be reduced to a single lane in both directions between College Street and Queen Street West to complete several infrastructure projects for the next several months.
• Queen Street is fully closed to traffic between Bay and Victoria Streets to accommodate work on a new station for the Ontario Line subway. The closure is scheduled to last until 2027, at least four-and-a-half years.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction, which is scheduled to continue into 2024.
• Two northbound lanes of Yonge Street from King Street to Wellington Street are closed for TTC construction until Sept. 30, 2024.
• Finch Avenue West is reduced to a single lane in both directions from Dufferin to Wilmington until October 2024 for sewer installation.
• Eglinton Avenue West is reduced to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road due to tunnelling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.
• Lane restrictions on Bayview Avenue between Roehampton Avenue and Armistice Drive while the city completes road resurfacing, curb and sidewalk replacement, and traffic signal and pedestrian upgrades. One northbound lane is currently closed on Bayview Avenue between Kilgour Road and Roehampton Avenue.
• Cherry Street remains closed south of Polson Pier due to maintenance on the Ship Channel Lift Bridge (Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge). Road users are able to access the Port of Toronto and Cherry Beach via Unwin Avenue. 
• From Friday, July 12, the Progress Avenue bridge over McCowan Road and the ramp at Busby Drive to northbound McCowan Road will be permanently closed for demolition as part of construction on the Scarborough Centre subway station. Demolition is scheduled for completion in early September. Sidewalk access will be maintained.
• The eastbound lanes of Huntingwood Drive will be closed between Birchmount and Kennedy Roads for rehabilitation and improving bike lanes until Sept. 15. Westbound lanes will remain open.
• Until mid-October, both eastbound lanes and one westbound lane on Queen Street West will be closed at the York Street intersection for the installation of overhead wiring for the 501 Queen streetcar detour. One westbound lane will remain open.