Chris Glover MPP, Spadina–Fort York

Traffic Management for Taylor Swift Concerts

Taylor Swift will be performing at the Rogers Centre on November 14-16 and 21-23 from 7-11 pm. Several measures are in place to help ensure the estimated 500,000 tourists can visit comfortably and safely. See the map above with traffic restrictions on concert dates. Full details available here.

Here’s what you need to know:

Traffic Management

• Traffic agents, traffic control personnel and paid duty officers will provide traffic control at key locations and drop-off/pick-up areas, with City support to close roads
• Additional staffing in the City’s Traffic Operations Centre to actively monitor traffic conditions and respond to congestion or incidents including real-time signal timing adjustments as needed
• Variable messaging signs will be used inside and outside of the perimeter to share information about road closures and other real-time information
• Active street parking enforcement by Toronto Police Service

Limited Activity Zone

• From Thursday, November 14 to Saturday, November 23, the City will implement a Limited Activity Zone between King, Jarvis, Bathurst and Queens Quay. Within this zone, planned work that requires a road occupation permit – such as construction, filming and utility cuts – will not be allowed on concert dates.
• Work may take place in this zone on non-concert weekdays between 7 am and 7 pm pending approval from the City. 
• Emergency work requiring road occupation will be permitted. 

Road Closures

To mitigate the anticipated traffic impacts and help ensure residents and visitors can move safely and efficiently around Rogers Centre during the concert period, the following road closures will be in effect on concert dates: 

1:00 pm

• Westbound lanes on Bremner between Rees and Navy Wharf Court. Eastbound lanes will remain open for two-way traffic. 

2:00 pm:

• Bremner between Spadina and Simcoe — local traffic only
• Northbound lanes on Rees. Southbound lanes will remain open for two-way traffic including an accessible entry point.
• Blue Jays Way between Spadina and south of Front — local traffic only
  • The Marriott Hotel will be accessible from Front via Blue Jays Way. 
• Navy Court Wharf — local traffic only
  • Access to residences will be via a police checkpoint at the Spadina and Bremner intersection. 
• Lake Shore Blvd will be reduced to two westbound lanes at the intersection with Rees for a drop-off/pick-up point. 

10:00 pm

• Front between Blue Jays Way and Simcoe
• John south of Wellington
• Windsor south of Wellington

11:00 pm

• Eastbound and westbound Gardiner off-ramps to Spadina will be closed to restrict traffic into the area as concertgoers leave Rogers Centre.

All roads and ramps will reopen when traffic and crowds dissipate which is expected to be 1:00 am. The City and partners will debrief after every concert, adjusting closures as needed.

Drop-Off/Pick-Up Zones

• Dedicated drop-off and pick-up zones will be located at: 
  • Front between Bathurst and Spadina (south side) 
  • Bay between Richmond and Wellington (west side) 
  • York between Wellington and Adelaide (west side) 
  • Queens Quay between Bay and Freeland (south side) 
  • Lake Shore Blvd at Rees (north side) 

• Parking will not be permitted in the drop-off and pick-up zones and will be enforced by City bylaw officers.

Gardiner Lane Closures 

Beginning March 25, lane closures on the Gardiner Expressway will be implemented between Dufferin and Strachan for pre-construction work. The work will occur in stages, impacting one lane in each direction at a time, starting with the eastbound lanes.  

During the eastbound lane closure, the eastbound on-ramp from Lakeshore Blvd, east of Jameson, will also be closed to facilitate this work. Intermittent additional nightly lane reductions will also occur.   

Starting in mid-April, the Gardiner will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue, with intermittent additional nighty lane reductions as necessary. More details are available on the City’s website here.

The City of Toronto announced that the Gardiner Expressway will be reduced to two lanes in each direction between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue for three years, beginning late March. This is part of the city’s six-part Strategic Rehabilitation Plan that was approved by council in 2016.

This stretch of the Gardiner is very close to Exhibition Place and the city says they are working with the appropriate groups to coordinate around major events such as the Honda Indy and the CNE. The closure will also coincide with the FIFA World Cup tournament. The city says the lane restrictions will be lifted for three months from May to July in order to accommodate the games.

Pedestrians will continue to have access to the GO Station and the city will be working with Metrolinx to avoid disruptions. City staff did warn that there will be significant traffic impacts and that the project will create some noise. Public notices and community meetings are expected to take place in the near future to inform residents.

Toronto Road Restrictions & Closures

• For a listing of road closures, visit the City of Toronto's website here.

Ontario Line Construction Notices

• For a listing of notices related to the Ontario Line, visit the Metrolinx website here.

Metrolinx Construction

• For a listing of all construction notices, visit the Metrolinx website here.

Go Transit Construction

• For a listing of notices related to Go Transit, visit the website here.

TTC Construction

• For a listing of notices, visit the TTC website here.