Weekend need-to-know: Streets shut down Sunday morning for Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Runners will be taking over the streets of downtown this weekend for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, resulting in the closure of many streets Sunday morning.

Keep in mind, there is also a service adjustment on the Lakeshore West GO line.

Here what’s going on this weekend.

Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Get out and cheer on fellow Torontonians this Sunday at the annual Waterfront Marathon. Over 60,000 runners are set to take to the streets, running either the full 42.2 kilometres, the half-marathon or the 5K.

More than $6 million is raised annually for the event for over 300 charities.

Details for runners, including the route and when you can pick-up your kit, are available on their website.

You can find the road closures for the event below and on the website, but expect delays in the morning in much of the downtown core and along Yonge Street.

Rugby Canada Women – Canada vs. England

Catch the Canada Women’s Rugby team in action against world champion England this weekend at BMO Field.

The women’s team will be playing their first game back on Canadian soil since they won the silver medal at the Rugby World Cup last October.

Tickets are still available for the match set to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Toronto After Dark Film Festival

Watch new horror, sci-fi and action films this weekend at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival. The festival kicked off on Thursday and wll frature 14 premiers as well as 33 genre short films from Canada and around the world.

Movies will be screened Oct. 14-18, 2026, at the Scotiabank Theatre and CineCycle on Spadina.

A full lineup can be found on their website.

Fall Festival 2026 at Queen’s Park

See the beautiful colours in Queen’s Park at the annual Fall Festival on the Legislature’s grounds this Saturday. There will be a pumpkin patch and the “Almost A Farm Petting Zoo” where kids can interact with farm animals and learning about their care.

Festival-goers can also see inside the Legislative building with crafts, activities and self-guided building tours.

The event begins at 11 a.m. and runs at 4 p.m.

TTC/GO closures

Lakeshore West GO service adjustments

GO trains will run between Niagara Falls GO and Aldershot GO, and between Oakville GO and Union Station. Regularly scheduled trains that begin and end at Confederation and West Harbour GO will not run.

There will be no GO train service between Aldershot and Oakville GO due to planned construction.

GO buses will run between West Harbour/Aldershot and Oakville GO to connect to train service. There will be no GO Transit service at Appleby or Bronte GO.

Details can be found here.

Road closures

Weekend closures

The following road restrictions will be in effect for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon this weekend. Those travelling through the downtown core this weekend are encouraged to reference this interactive map of closures or contact the closure hotline at (647) 952-4969 to help plan their route. 

Road closures on Friday October 16, 2026, at 10 a.m., to Sunday October 18, 2026 at 9 p.m. (pre-event set-up at finish line area):

• Bay Street; from Dundas Street West to Queen Street West
• Hagerman Street; from Elizabeth Street to Bay Street
• Elizabeth Street; from Dundas Street West to Hagerman Street, local access on Elizabeth Street is maintained to Foster Place
• Albert Street; from Bay Street to James Street, Westbound Lane open for local access

These streets are scheduled to reopen on Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 9 p.m.

Road closures for Saturday October 17, 2026, starting at 4 a.m.:

• Bay Street: Front Street to Queen Street

Road closures for Saturday October 17, 2026, starting at 8 a.m.:

• Bay Street; from Front Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West
• Lake Shore Boulevard West; westbound lanes from Yonge Street to Bathurst Street
• Lake Shore Boulevard West; eastbound lanes from Bathurst Street to Lower Simcoe Street

These streets are scheduled to reopen on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 1 p.m.

Road closures for Sunday October 18, 2026, starting at 4 a.m.:

• Wellington Street; full road Bay Street to Church Street
• Church Street west side; to Yonge Street from Wellington Street to south side of Bloor Street (local access only)
• Bay Street east side; to Yonge Street from Wellington Street to the south side of Bloor Street (local access only)
• Bay Street; from Queen Street to Lakeshore Boulevard West
• Queen Street West; from York Street to Bay Street

Road closures for Sunday October 18, 2026, starting at 5 a.m.:

• Lakeshore Boulevard West; from Windermere Avenue to Yonge Street

Road closures for Sunday October 18, 2026, starting at 6 a.m.:

• Yonge Street; from Dundas Street to Queen Street – Full Road/3 lanes
• Dundas Street from University Avenue to Victoria Street – Full Road
• Front Street, eastbound lanes, from Church Street to Jarvis Street
• Wellington Street, full road, from Church Street to Yonge Street
• Church Street, full road, from The Esplanade to Front Street East (local access only)
• Richmond Street, full road, from University Avenue to Yonge Street (local access only between Sheppard Street/York Street/University Avenue)
• Queen Street, full road, from University Avenue to Bay Street (full road until 11 a.m. -access to Queen Street and York Street from 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)
• Adelaide Street, from University Avenue to Yonge Street (full road – local access only between Sheppard Street/York Street/University Avenue)

Road closures for Sunday October 18 starting at 7 a.m.:

• Yonge Street, from Gerrard Street to Davenport Road/Church Street (full road/2 lanes)
• Bloor Street West, full road, from Church Street to Bathurst Street
• Bathurst Street, full road, Bloor Street West to Lake Shore Boulevard West
• Fort York Boulevard, full road, from Bathurst Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West
  • Exceptions:
  • Local access on Bloor Street between Church Street and Yonge Street
  • Local access on Yonge Street between Davenport Road/Church Street and Bloor Street
  • Eastbound lanes of Fort York Boulevard are available for local access out of Fort York Boulevard east to Bathurst Street
• Front Street East, full road, from Cherry Street to Bayview Avenue
• Bayview Avenue, full road, from Front Street to Rosedale Valley Road

Road closures for Sunday October 18, 2026, starting at 8 a.m.:

• Lake Shore Boulevard East, full road, from Carlaw Avenue to Woodbine Avenue
• Queen Street East, full road, from Woodbine Avenue to Balsam Avenue
• Eastern Avenue/Front Street East, full road, from Carlaw Avenue to Jarvis Street
• Exceptions:
  • Access Lane from Leslie Street to Coxwell Avenue eastbound curb lane to Ashbridges Bay Park Road
  • Access Lane in the westbound curb lane on Eastern Avenue from Booth Avenue to Dibble Street
  • Access Lane in eastbound curb lane on Front Street from Sherbourne Street to Cherry Street

These streets are scheduled to reopen on Sunday, October 19, 2026, at 5 p.m.

Fred Gardiner Expressway Ramp Closures/Access – Sunday, October 19, 2026, beginning at 4 a.m.:

• Eastbound Closures Sunday, October 18, 2026:
• Lake Shore Boulevard off ramp (west end) – OPEN (eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard closed at Windermere Avenue until 1 p.m.)
• Jameson Avenue off ramp – CLOSED (5 a.m.-1 p.m.)
• Jameson Avenue on ramp – NO ACCESS UNTIL 1 p.m.
• British Columbia Drive on ramp – NO ACCESS FROM Lake Shore Boulevard UNTIL 1 p.m. (access available from Exhibition Place)
• Spadina Avenue off ramp – OPEN – Spadina Avenue off ramp exit gate will be opened to allow cars to enter on to eastbound Lake Shore Boulevard

Westbound Closures Sunday October 18, 2026:

• Lake Shore Boulevard on ramp (west end) – OPEN
• South Kingsway off ramp – OPEN
• Jameson Avenue on ramp – OPEN (access from SB Jameson Street only until 1 p.m.)
• Dunn Avenue off ramp – OPEN
• Spadina Avenue on ramp – Access to FGX OPEN, Lake Shore Boulevard CLOSED (5 a.m.-1 p.m.)
• Spadina Avenue off ramp – Access to Spadina Avenue OPEN, Lake Shore Boulevard CLOSED (5 a.m.-1 p.m.)
• York Street on ramp – OPEN, access from north of Lake Shore Boulevard up until 1 p.m.
• Yonge Street/Bay Street off Ramp – CLOSED (5 a.m.- 4 p.m.)
• Jarvis Street off ramp – OPEN
• Jarvis Street on ramp – OPEN
• Lake Shore Boulevard (east end) – OPEN

Gardiner Expressway 

The following closures will be in place to facilitate construction work to repair bridges along and over the Gardiner Expressway west of the Humber River: 

• Nightly Thursday and Friday from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.:  
  • The Gardiner Expressway westbound collector lanes will be closed underneath Kipling Avenue from the Gardiner westbound express-to-collector transfer to Kipling Avenue.  
  • The ramp from northbound Kipling Avenue to the westbound Gardiner will be fully closed. 
• Nightly from Sunday, October 18 to Thursday, October 22 from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.:  
  • The Gardiner Expressway westbound express lanes will be closed underneath Kipling Avenue from the Gardiner westbound express-to-collector transfer to Kipling Avenue. 
• Nightly tonight to Thursday, October 22 (excluding Saturday, October 17) from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.:  
  • The Gardiner Expressway eastbound collector lanes will be closed underneath Kipling Avenue from the East Mall to Kipling Avenue. 

University Avenue and Elm Street 

As part of work underway replacing two watermains along University Avenue, the following restrictions will be in place from 7 a.m. on Friday, October 16 until 7 p.m. on Monday, October 26: 

• Northbound and southbound traffic will not be permitted to turn left onto Elm Street. 
• Traffic on Elm Street approaching University Avenue will be restricted to right turns only onto University Avenue. 

Mount Pleasant Road and Davisville Avenue 

From 2 to 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, Mount Pleasant Road will be fully closed from Balliol Street to Millwood Road and Davisville Avenue will be fully closed from Acacia Road to Belle Ayre Boulevard for filming. Travel may be restricted in the intersection from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. 

Eastern/Adelaide Bridges Rehabilitation    

The following road restrictions will be in effect for work as part of the Rehabilitation of Eastern/Adelaide Bridges project: 

• 9 p.m. Sunday, October 18 to 5:30 a.m. Monday, October 19:   
  • Eastern Avenue will be closed from Sumach Street to Broadview Avenue. 
  • Adelaide Street East will be closed from Power Street to Eastern Avenue. 
  • The northbound DVP on-ramp at Eastern Avenue will be closed. 
• 10:30 p.m. Sunday, October 18 to 5:30 a.m. Monday, October 19: 
  • The southbound DVP off-ramp to Richmond Street will be closed. 

Gardiner Expressway long-term closure

As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, a stretch of the westbound Gardiner has been reduced from four lanes to three. The westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke. The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.

For full traffic and closure updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.