It is always frustrating for Torontonians and visitors when the Gardiner Expressway or Don Valley Parkway is closed on a weekend when the Blue Jays, Raptors, and Marlies all have games scheduled. This weekend, the Gardiner is shut down for maintenance, despite rainy weather, according to the City of Toronto.
The city stated that the Gardiner Expressway will be fully closed from the Humber River to Spadina Avenue from 11 p.m. on Friday, April 24, until 5 a.m. on Monday, April 27. Additionally, TTC subway and GO Train route interruptions are adding to the difficulty of getting into and around the city.
Maintenance Work and Major Events Collide
Ironically, the City of Toronto says some of the timing is related to the upcoming FIFA World Cup of Soccer games in June and July, and some is due to the Blue Jays World Series run last fall. The city explained in a news release that this planned work supports its long-term strategy to maintain expressway infrastructure, reduce future disruptions, and prepare Toronto for major events, including the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The closure allows crews to complete final paving of the eastbound lanes between Dufferin Street and Strachan Avenue as part of the city’s long-term Gardiner Expressway Strategic Rehabilitation Plan. Other work includes paving the Jameson Avenue off-ramp. Major rehabilitation in this area was completed last year, 18 months ahead of schedule, but final paving could not be finished due to scheduling conflicts during the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff run.
The Gardiner closure, combined with TTC track maintenance from Kipling to Jane stations, created a nightmare for commuters from the west end. Councillor Brad Bradford said that if he wins the mayor’s race in October against Mayor Olivia Chow, Toronto will see changes in how construction days are coordinated.
“This weekend: Khalsa Day. Three Jays games. TFC. Raptors playoffs. Jurassic Park. Hundreds of thousands of people on the move and the city is closing the Gardiner,” said Bradford. “Road work has to happen. But you plan around a weekend like this one, not through it.” He added, “Every family, every fan, every shift worker is going to pay for this in hours they will not get back. That’s Olivia Chow’s time tax. Torontonians deserve a City Hall that checks a calendar before it closes the expressway.”
Call for Better Scheduling
One also wonders how things may change when the city loses control of the Gardiner and the DVP, as Premier Doug Ford’s Ontario is committed to seeing happen and is conducting due diligence on at this time. Common sense needs to prevail, and a different kind of scheduling is required. Work should be done overnight and in shorter time frames instead of shutting down a highway for a whole weekend when people are expected to head into the city for big events.
Government should strive to make things easier for people, not harder. The schedule of taxpayers should come ahead of the schedule of maintenance. To Bradford’s point, it should be the crews working around the people, not the people working around the crews.
