Toronto

Toronto Waterfront Marathon road closures this weekend. Here’s what you need to know

By
Phil Tsekouras

Published: 

More than 60,000 runners are hitting the city streets for the marathon, and that means plenty of road closures.

The Toronto Waterfront Marathon will shut down a large section of the downtown core’s streets and highway this weekend.

The event features a 5K race on Saturday, and a half marathon and full marathon on Sunday.

As the name suggests, the lion’s share of the course takes place along the edge of Lake Ontario, with a section of track on Bathurst, Bloor, Yonge, and Bay streets.

Most of the closures take place early Sunday morning for the marathons, but a handful of road restrictions will be in place on Saturday morning for the 5K.

Here’s what you need to know:

5K course - Saturday

  • Bay Street will be fully closed from Queen Street West to Front Street and from Front Street to Lake Shore Boulevard West starting at 4 a.m. The road is scheduled to reopen later that afternoon at 1 p.m.
  • Lake Shore Boulevard will be closed from Yonge to Bathurst streets from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Half marathon, full marathon – Sunday

  • Lake Shore Boulevard East will be fully closed from Carlaw Avenue to Woodbine Avenue from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • In the west end, Lake Shore Boulevard West will be shut down from Windermere Avenue to Bathurst Street starting at 5 a.m. The road is expected to reopen at 2 p.m. A closure of the westbound lanes from Bathurst Street to Yonge Street will also take place at that time.
  • Yonge Street will be closed at from Carlton to Gerrard streets starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday. A further closure on Yonge Street from Gerrard to Richmond Street takes effect at 3 a.m. on Sunday. A third section of the major roadway will be closed from Bloor Street to Carlton at 7 a.m. on Sunday. Those closures should lift by 11 a.m.
  • Bathurst Street will be fully closed from Bloor Street West to Lake Shore Boulevard West starting at 7 a.m. before reopening at 11 a.m.
  • Bloor Street is closed as of 7 a.m. from Bathurst to Yonge Street until 11 a.m.
  • The closure on Bay Street stretches from Queen Street West to Lake Shore Boulevard West and will be in effect from Sunday at 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For a full list of the road closures, click here.