Friday, July 30, 2010

2010 Scotiabank Caribana Festival Parade Information

On Saturday, July 31, 2010, the 43rd Annual Scotiabank Caribana Festival Parade will take place on Lake Shore Blvd. W. between Strachan Avenue and Colbourne Lodge Drive.The festival will require numerous road closures, restrictions which will lead to delays and congestion in the immediate area of the parade.

Road Closures:
The following Gardiner Expressway ramps will be closed at 12:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 31st, 2010:
E/B Gardiner Expressway and Jameson exit, Jameson entrance and B.C. entrance.
W/B Gardiner Expressway and Dunn Ave. exit ramp.

Lakeshore Blvd. W. will be closed to traffic at 1:30 a.m., from westbound Strachan Ave. to Parkside Dr. and eastbound from Colbourne Lodge to Strachan Ave. on Saturday, July 31st, 2010.

Caribana will set up their Market Place locations south of the Lakeshore Blvd. W. on the Thursday and Friday prior to the day of the event. Their final move in of goods and supplies will be on Saturday, morning from 1:30 a.m.. to 8:00 a.m., then all vendors will be refused entry. All access for vendors will be via Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Colborne Lodge Dr., eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. from Ellis Ave. or Windermere Ave.

All vendors must have a Caribana permit adhered to their front windshield in good condition or entry will be refused. (One permit per vehicle - absolutely NO exceptions)

Parade bands/ floats/trucks will access the formation area via Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave., then travel west to Newfoundland Rd. to enter the Exhibition Grounds Formation Area. The cut off time for entry into the formation area is 1000 hrs however, any late arrivals will be permitted into a staging area on the north side of Lakeshore Blvd W. from Strachan Ave to Newfoundland. The late arrivals will be permitted northbound on Newfoundland Ave at three separate times for 15 minute intervals each (10:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m.). Entry will not be permitted at any other point. Support vehicles will exit prior to 10:00 hrs from Newfoundland Rd. and Lakeshore Blvd. W., then eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. to Strachan Ave.

Tour Buses: are to be directed to the Loading Docks on the east side of the Direct Energy Centre at Canada Blvd. south of Manitoba Dr.

Disabled Parking: will be at the Direct Energy Centre. Enter via Manitoba Dr. and Strachan Ave. then south on Canada Blvd. to the entrance ramp of the Direct Energy Centre.

V.I.P.’s and Media parking will be in the direct Energy Centre: underground parking garage west side.

Volunteers are to use the Dufferin St. access to gain entry to Parking Lot “4” on Saskatchewan Rd north of Princes’ Blvd.

All vehicle access to Ontario Place will be through Remembrance Dr. at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Vehicles exiting Ontario Place will do so only at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Ontario Place Blvd. and will travel eastbound on Lakeshore Blvd. W. only.

RESTRICTED ACCESS POINTS

In order to assist the safe movement of traffic and to provide for as little disruption as possible to residents, the following streets will have a restricted access, for vehicles:

Dufferin St. south of King St. W.
Dowling Ave. south of King St. W.
Stadium Rd. south of Lakeshore Blvd. W.
Queens Quay W. west of Bathurst St.
Springhurst Ave. west of Jameson Ave.
Springhurst Ave. east of Jameson Ave.

Other streets, although not restricted to vehicles, will be strictly enforced for parking infractions. These streets are in the area south of King St. W., east of Colborne Lodge and west of Bathurst St.

VEHICLE PASSES

There are several vehicle passes for Caribana participants, volunteers and V.I.P.s. There are also vehicle or personal identification cards used by employees of Exhibition Place and Ontario Place. All of these passes are valid for the given location or event specified in the specific traffic details. Caribana has assigned marshals to the entrance to the formation area at Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave.

The final move in for Vendors will be between 01:30 a.m., and 8:00 a.m., on Saturday morning. All vendors must enter the Market Place from the west end of the closure on Lakeshore Blvd. W. from Colborne Lodge Dr. only. All vendors approaching the closure southbound on Parkside Dr. will be directed west to Colborne Lodge Dr. to enter the closure. The Vendor Holding Area will be east of Parkside Dr. to the area near the Palais Royale.

Drivers entering Lakeshore Blvd. W. are to be advised to drive slowly and watch for pedestrians and obey directions of Caribana Marshals.

BATHURST ST. CLOSURE

Vehicle access west of Bathurst St. on Fleet St. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. may be closed after the parking lots at Ontario Place and Exhibition Place Gore Lots are full. This closure will be in effect as required.

TOWING POLICY

All vehicles including tour buses, parked illegally on Lakeshore Blvd. W. (including the grassed area), Bathurst St., Fleet St., King St. W., Queen St. W., Roncesvalles Ave., Dufferin St. and The Queensway will be tagged and towed.

Vehicles parked illegally in the Parkdale and Stadium Rd. areas will be tagged and towed.

The Parking Enforcement Unit will be mainly responsible for towing issues.

T.T.C.

TTC: The T.T.C. will be putting 25 buses on the Parkside Dr. route starting at 8:40 a.m. on Saturday, July 31, 2010. This will be an express route to the Keele St. Station from the Palais Royale area on Lakeshore Blvd. W. Bus lanes will be marked by the placement of cones on Lakeshore Blvd. W. by the T.T.C.

The Jameson Ave. bus route will have approximately 12 buses in service and will not stop at Springhurst Ave. when southbound. The drop off and pick up area will be a temporary T.T.C. bus stop on the south side of the westbound lanes of Lakeshore Blvd. W., between Dunn Ave. and Jameson Ave., for the express buses to the Bloor St. W. subway line. To maintain this bus route Springhurst Blvd. must be kept clear of parked vehicles between Jameson Ave. and Dunn Ave.

The Dufferin St. bus line will have approximately 65 - 70 buses assigned to handle the heavy crowds. It will not enter Exhibition Place Grounds.

The Bathurst St. streetcars will drop off passengers on the north side of Fleet St. Streetcars and buses leaving Exhibition Place will not stop at Strachan Ave.

T.T.C. service to and from the east end of the event will be through the Manitoba Dr. and Strachan Ave. area of Exhibition Place.

TTC will stop at Fort York Blvd., and Fleet St., to enable any passengers attending Ontario Place to exit at this location.

The Princes’ Gates will remain closed on Saturday, July 31st, 2010 commencing at 12:01 am.

General Parking is provided by Exhibition Place inside the grounds in the underground lot at the Direct Energy Centre, and Lot #6. Lot #4 is the Volunteer Parking Lot. There is also parking available in the Gore Lot (n/side Lakeshore Blvd. W. east of Strachan Ave).

ONTARIO PLACE

Access to Ontario Place will be possible along Remembrance Dr. from Lakeshore Blvd. W. and Strachan Ave. Ontario Place parking lots will be open during this event. Exit from Ontario Place will be at Ontario Place Blvd. and Lakeshore Blvd. W. to travel eastbound only.

All Ontario Place employees have their own identification provided by Ontario Place. Should a road closure take place at Bathurst St., people from Ontario Place (with valid vehicle passes) and Yacht Club members will be allowed through the closure point.

VENDORS

The vendor check area for the parklands (FMC Vendors) will be located eastbound Lakeshore Blvd. W. between Colborne Lodge Dr., and Parkside Dr. Caribana officials, Security, and Police personnel will be present.

C.N.E. Vendors will be allowed to enter Exhibition Place Grounds at all times provided they have the proper Exhibition Place Vendor passes/identification.

LOST CHILDREN

Lost children will be taken to the Queen Elizabeth Building Exhibit Hall on the north side of Princes Blvd. west of Ontario Dr. The location will be signed as such.

At 10:00 p.m., any remaining children will be transported to No. 14 Division which is located at 150 Harrison Street, Toronto (416)808-1400

The Gardiner Expressway is a restricted access highway which will be patrolled to ensure that vehicles are not parked adjacent to the parade route and pedestrians do not enter the highway area. Drivers who chose to stop or drive in a manner that puts other road users at risk will be subject to strict enforcement.Due to the large number of visitors and continuous events that occur with the festival, intermittent road closures may occur throughout the downtown core, without notice, in the evenings and nights of Friday, July 31 to Sunday August 2 in the interest of public safety.Historically, Yonge Street and the Entertainment District access has been restricted in the evenings and overnight.It is recommended that you make yourself aware of alternative routes before heading into the downtown or entertainment district areas to avoid delays.

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