WARMINGTON: Highway and TTC closures a nightmare for commuters attending big events

It should be the maintenance crews working around the people – not the people working around the maintenance crews

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Published Apr 25, 2026  •  Last updated 16 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

The Gardiner Expressway was shut down for maintenance on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, making it difficult for sports fans and others to make their way into the city over the weekend. Photo by Supplied /City of Toronto

It’s always frustrating for Torontonians and visitors to the city to see the Gardiner Expressway or Don Valley Parkway closed on a weekend when the Blue Jays, Raptors and Marlies all have games scheduled.

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Currently it’s the Gardiner that according to the City of Toronto will remain closed for maintenance all weekend – despite the rainy weather.

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“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,” the city explained in a statement.

Making it even harder for people to get into and around the city, there are also TTC subway and Go Train route interruptions this weekend.

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Ironically, the City of Toronto says some of the timing is related to the upcoming FIFA World Cup of Soccer games, which will be played in June and July, and some it is because of the Blue Jays World Series run last fall.

“This planned work supports the city’s long-term strategy to maintain expressway infrastructure, reduce future disruptions, and prepare Toronto for major events, including the FIFA World Cup 2026,” the city said in a news release.

The Gardiner Expressway was shut down for maintenance on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, making it difficult for sports fans and others to make their way into the city over the weekend. Photo by Supplied /City of Toronto

“The Gardiner Expressway closure will allow 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,” the city explained.

“Other work includes paving of the Jameson Avenue off-ramp. Major rehabilitation work in this area was completed last year, 18 months ahead of the schedule. The final paving could not be finished due to scheduling conflicts during the Toronto Blue Jays’ playoff run,” the city added.

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The Gardiner Expressway was shut down for maintenance on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, making it difficult for sports fans and others to make their way into the city over the weekend. Photo by Supplied /City of Toronto

The closure of the Gardiner, combined with the TTC doing track maintenance from Kipling to Jane stations, created a nightmare for commuters coming into the city from the west end.

Councillor Brad Bradford said if he wins the mayor’s race in October against Mayor Olivia Chow, Toronto will see changes in how these 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.”

“Every family, every fan, every shift worker is going to pay for this in hours they will not get back,” Bradford added. “That’s Olivia Chow’s time tax (and) Torontonians deserve a City Hall that checks a calendar before it closes the expressway.”

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One also wonders how things may change when the city loses control of its responsibility for the Gardiner and the DVP – something Premier Doug Ford’s Ontario is committed to seeing happen and is doing its “due-diligence” on at this time.

Common sense needs to kick in and there needs to be a different kind of scheduling. Do the work 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 try to make things easier for people – not harder.

The schedule of the taxpayers should come ahead of the schedule of the maintenance.

To Bradford’s point, it should be the crews working around the people and not the people working around the crews.

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