Weekend need-to-know: Maple Leafs playoffs, cherry blossoms in Toronto

Toronto is buzzing with Maple Leafs playoff excitement as fans hope the team can bring home the Stanley Cup this year, the first one since 1967. Amid that thrill, others will be heading to various city parks to catch the arrival of the cherry blossoms.

Scroll below for some of the events taking place in the city this weekend. As you make your plans, consult the list below for TTC closures and other transit disruptions, as well as ongoing road closures due to construction.

Events

Maple Leafs playoff action

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are counting down to the team’s first playoff game this season on Saturday against the Bruins in Boston. The puck drops at 8 p.m. ET.

The team hasn’t beaten the Bruins in the post-season since the 1950s, and now, the Leafs are ready for a rematch.

Fans of the blue and white will not disappoint as they cheer on their team during this round and hopefully the next. Playoff games will be broadcast in Maple Leaf Square with gates opening two hours before the games’ start time. Fans can register for free passes through the Toronto Maple Leafs app starting at 1 p.m. on Friday.

Ramping up the fan experience in a new way this year, GO trains will be transforming into the GO Leafs GO trains on the Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West lines.

Cherry blossom season in Toronto

With the forecast calling for sunshine this weekend, it may be a good time to marvel at the cherry blossoms, which are expected to reach peak bloom over the next week or so.

The blossoms can be viewed at more than a dozen locations around the city including High Park, Exhibition Place, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, John P. Robarts Research Library (U of T), and Trinity Bellwoods Park. Click here for a full list.

For those planning to go to High Park, keep in mind that the city plans to block vehicle access and parking inside the park starting on April 22 and for the duration of the peak bloom. Only TTC Wheel-Trans vehicles will be allowed in. The park can be accessed using transit.

More hockey with the Marlies

Hockey fun doesn’t stop with the Toronto Maple Leafs as the AHL’s Toronto Marlies take on the Cleveland Monsters at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday and Sunday. The games will be held at 4 p.m. Click here for tickets.

Festivities ahead of Earth Day

Earth Day is on Monday, April 22, and several festivities will be held this weekend to mark the day, which takes place amid Earth Month.

Evergreen Brick Works will be holding its Earth Day event on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be surrounded by nature as they take in various activities such as a drop, swap and shop clothing exchange and a book swap to promote sustainability, and watching a film about the climate crisis, among other nature-friendly fun.

On Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can help to clean up the area near the Don Valley Parkway with the team at Don’t Mess with the Don. The clean-up will take place at Seton Park and Sun Valley. In past Earth Day events, almost 50,000 pounds of garbage have been removed from the area.

The City of Toronto will be continuing its Earth Month activities this weekend and on Earth Day. Residents can join city staff in its annual spring cleanup program during Clean Toronto Together, which takes place from Friday through to Monday. The city says last year, more than 70,000 students, community members and corporate participants helped to pick up trash.

TTC/GO closures

Line 2 partial subway closure

If you need to head to and travel out of the city’s east end this weekend, subways won’t be running on Line 2 between Woodbine and Kennedy stations on Saturday and Sunday for infrastructure work. Shuttle buses will be running.

The stations will remain open for Presto purchases. At Victoria Park Station, the Teesdale entrance leading to the westbound platform will be closed.

Lakeshore West GO service disruption

GO train service on the Lakeshore West line will be temporarily modified to an hourly schedule on Saturday and Sunday due to track work.

For riders who usually connect from the Lakeshore East line to travel west, Metrolinx says not all trains will continue past Union Station. Connections for GO bus Route 21 will be adjusted.

Late-night train service on Friday will also be adjusted.

Regular service is expected to resume on Monday. Check here for GO updates.

Route diversions

The 505 Dundas streetcar route will be on diversion nightly between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday and Saturday due to track repairs on Dundas Street East between Parliament and Church streets.

Streetcars will diverting both ways from Broadview Avenue to Bay Street, running along Gerrard Street East, Carlton Street and College Street. Replacement buses will run on Dundas Street, between Broadview Station and University Avenue.

Road closures

Ongoing Gardiner closures

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

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Other ongoing city closures

• 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 all ways for condo construction and sewer installation until 2025.
• 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 for at least four-and-a-half years until 2027.
• Northbound Yonge Street is reduced to one lane between Wellington and King Streets for TTC construction. The project 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 for sewer installation until October 2024.
• Eglinton Avenue West is down to a single lane east of Islington and west of Scarlett Road for tunneling work related to the multi-year Eglinton Crosstown West Extension project.