Weekend need-to-know: CN Tower Climb and last weekend of Royal Winter Fair

It’ll be your last chance to check out the Royal Winter Fair this year and your only chance to climb the CN Tower. Keep in mind there is a subway closure and a GO Train service adjustment this week.

CN Tower Climb for United Way

If you are looking to challenge yourself to reach new heights, the CN Tower Climb is the place to be this weekend.

Climbers raising money for the United Way will conquer 1,776 steps to the top of the CN Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

The money help the United Way fight local poverty in Toronto, Peel and York Region.

You can still sign up on their website.

Last weekend of Royal Winter Fair

The annual Royal Winter Fair will end this weekend at Exhibition Place.

It will be your last chance to check out the world’s largest combined indoor agricultural and equestrian show. The event celebrates the best in agriculture, local food, and equestrian competitions from across the country. Its Royal Ambassadors this year are Dawson and Pacey, two charismatic alpacas.

Tkaronto Music Festival

The Tkaronto Music Festival 2024, which celebrates Indigenous musical excellence, is back with three nights of live music from November 7 to 9 2024 at the TD Music Hall at Massey Hall.

It will featuring artists from across Turtle Island, putting the spotlight on Indigenous talent and featuring the best in contemporary Indigenous music with headliners The Halluci Nation, Tanya Tagaq and Blue Moon Marquee TKMF.

More details and tickets can be found on their website.

Remembrance Race

The annual Remembrance Race is happening this Sunday ahead of Remembrance Day on Monday. It will start at Humber Bay Park in Toronto at the Mimico Creek Bridge and participants have the options include a five kilometre run and a kid’s 400m dash.

All the proceeds will go to the Royal Canadian Legion.

TTC/GO Closures

Line 2 weekend closure

There will be no subway service between Kipling and Keele stations on Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10 due to planned track work. Shuttle buses will operate. Regular service will resume Monday, November 11 by 6 a.m. 

Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO service adjustment

Starting late evening on Friday, November 8 until end of service on Sunday, November 10, Lakeshore East rail service will be temporarily modified to accommodate critical track work. During this time, trains will only run between Pickering GO and Durham College Oshawa GO and will operate every 30 minutes. GO shuttle buses will operate at Pickering GO station and run express to Union Station Bus Terminal.

There will be no GO Transit service at Danforth, Scarborough, Eglinton, Guildwood, and Rouge Hill GO stations. Customers traveling to and from those stations are encouraged to use local transit options.

Also, starting late evening on Friday, November 8 until end of service on Sunday, November 10, the Stouffville line rail service will be temporarily modified to accommodate critical track work

During this time, Stouffville Line trains will begin and end at Kennedy GO station. There will be no train service between Kennedy and Union GO stations.

Customers travelling between Kennedy GO and Union Station are encouraged to use the TTC.

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.

From 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday, November 8 to Saturday, November 9, the following lane restrictions will be in effect on the Gardiner Expressway between Park Lawn Road and Grand Avenue for water level measurements related to the rehabilitation of overpass bridges:

• The westbound left lane and shoulder will be closed
• The eastbound left lane and shoulder will be closed

Weekend closures

Remembrance Day Ceremony March

From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, November 10, the following road closures will be in effect for the Remembrance Day Ceremony March:

· Birmingham Street between Third and Seventeenth Streets

· Seventeenth Street between Birmingham Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West

· Lake Shore Boulevard West between Sixteenth Street and Kipling Avenue

Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada

From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 10, the following intermittent road closures will be in effect for the Annual Remembrance Day Parade by the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada:

• Shuter Street between Jarvis and Church Streets
• Church Street between Shuter Street and Bloor Street East
• Bloor Street East between Church Street and Jarvis Street
• Jarvis Street between Bloor Street East and Shuter Street

48 Highlanders of Canada

From 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, November 10, Queen’s Park will be closed from College Street to Bloor Street West for the Annual 48 Highlanders of Canada Annual Remembrance Day Ceremony.

Yonge Street

From midnight on Saturday, November 9 to 5 a.m. on Monday, November 11, Yonge Street will be closed between Front Street and Lake Shore Boulevard East for the safe dismantling of a tower crane.

Front Street

From 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 9, Front Street East between Scott and Church Streets will be reduced to one eastbound lane for the safe hoisting of HVAC equipment.

From 1 to 5 a.m. on Monday, November 11, eastbound lanes on Front Street will be closed between York and Bay Streets for the safe hoisting of a container. Westbound lanes will be maintained.

Temporary closures

• Intermittent lane closures will be in effect on Wilson Avenue between Dufferin Street and Billy Bishop Way until late November for the replacement of a natural gas pipeline.
• 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.
• 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. 
• 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.