York Guardian

The Toronto Triathlon takes place Sunday.

The triathlon, which consists of a 1.5 kilometre swim, 40-km bike ride and 10-km run, will use large portions of the Don Valley Parkway/Gardiner Expressway combination. But it will only shut it down in one direction from 2 a.m. to noon.

Specifically the eastbound Gardiner and northbound Don Valley get shut down, respectively, from about the Jameson entrance (to the Gardiner) to about 1K north of the Eglinton Ave (on the Don Valley).

The other direction of the two expressways (i.e. the southbound Don Valley and the westbound Gardiner to Jameson) will remain open throughout the race.

This first annual triathlon will serve up qualifying spots to the world championships, and in the subsequent two years (2013 and 2014) will also serve as the Canadian championships.

It will also be used this year by Simon Whitfield, Canada’s veteran Olympic triathlete gold medalist, as his final tuneup for the London Olympics.

The routes are as follows:

* 1.5-km swim in the protected west channel that separates Ontario Place from the shoreline;

* 40 km bike ride on the Gardiner Expressway/Don Valley Parkway combination, respectively, from Jameson to north of Eglinton.

* 10K run west on Martin Goodman Trail past the Humber River and then back east bound to Coronation Park.

A shorter ‘sprint’ triathlon will also be held featuring a 750-metre swim, 20-km bike ride and five-km run.

The Sunday triathlons are the culmination of a weekend-long triathlon festival that organizers say will include:

* on Sunday, a Finish Line Festival at Coronation Park with activities for the entire family.

* on Saturday, The Kids of Steel Run, which will stress fun over competition.

* on Friday, a casual ‘fun run’, billed as a celebration of camaraderie and sportsmanship.

* and a two-day sports and fitness expo at the Westin Harbour Castle on the Friday and Saturday.

The festival’s website is at www.torontotriathlonfestival.com

Toronto also hosts major road-closing marathons in the spring and fall among numerous other races throughout the year.

YOUTH DAY

Toronto’s Youth Day 2012 takes place July 22 at Yonge-Dundas Square. The free event, which closes down Yonge Street, features more than 100 live music and dance performances on two non-stop stages over 10 hours mostly by youth 14 to 24 years old. Also included is a Youth Art Gallery, a Kiddie corner for kids under 12, an on-stage Fashion Show, a sports player meet and greet, a vendor market along Yonge and more.

LIVE GREEN TORONTO FESTIVAL

Yonge Street from Edward Street (just north of Dundas Street) to Queen Street will be closed on Saturday, July 21 from 6:30 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. for the Live Green Toronto Festival.

BIG ON BLOOR

Bloor Street from Dufferin Street to Lansdowne Avenue will be closed in both directions on Saturday, July 21 from 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. for the Big on Bloor event.

THRILL OF THE GRILL

Danforth Avenue from Jackman Avenue to Playter Boulevard will be closed in both directions on Saturday, July 21 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FUSION OF TASTE

Albion Road from Islington Avenue to Thistledown Boulevard will be closed from Saturday, July 21 at 6 a.m. to Sunday, July 22 at 1 a.m. for the Fusion of Taste event.

EXPRESSWAYS

- From 11:30 p.m. July 26 to 5 a.m. July 27, there is a one-night ramp closure on the westbound Gardiner onramp at Spadina from Lake Shore to be closed for RESCU maintenance.

- The southhbound passing lane (Lane 1) of the Allen Expressway from Allen Road north/Yorkdale Road ramp to Lawrence Avenue West will be occupied daily for lighting maintenance from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. until July 30.

DUFFERIN CONSTRUCTION

The re-construction of the road, sidewalks, TTC streetcar tracks and water mains from the gates of Exhibition Place at Springhurst Avenue to Queen Street West kicked off in June with a December completion date.

When re-construction does get going, the functionality, safety and the overall appeal of Dufferin Street will be improved, new trees will be planted and the tree beds of the existing mature trees will be helped.

It’s expected traffic will be affected by the construction including a short time when Dufferin Street will be open in one direction only.

There is no word from the city on how the construction will impact the annual CNE.

TORONTO

- The curb lane will be closed due to hoisting of a crane from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 21 on Davenport Road from McMurrich to Bay streets.

- Bloor Street West from Dufferin Street to Landsdowne Avenue is closed due to a festival from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. July 21 to 22.

- Harbord Street will be closed due to event from Spadina Avenue to Borden Street from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 21.

- The curb lane and sidewalk on Avenue Road from Cumberland Street to Prince Arthur Avenue is closed due to hoisting of a crane from 9 a.m. to midnight July 23.

- Hurton Street, from D’Arcy to Dundas streets, will be closed Friday and Saturday nights from July 20 to Sept. 7 from 3 p.m. to almost midnight for a night market.

- Honest Ed Alley, north of Lennox Street to Bloor Street, is closed due to Honest Ed’s anniversary celebration from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. July 22.

- Western Battery Road, from Pirandello Street to East Liberty Street, eastbound and then westbound curb lane closures until July 28.

- Solidarity Way, at East Liberty Street, northbound and then southbound curb lane closures until July 28.

SCARBOROUGH

- Lawrence Avenue East, from Midland Avenue to McCowan Road, the eastbound curb lane closed due to aerial fibre optic work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until July 20.

- Birchmount Road, southbound curb lane closure at 434 Birchmount Rd., at Parnell Avenue, for duct work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. until July 20.

- The curb lanes on Kennedy Road, from Lovering Road to Huntingwood Drive, will be occupied daily for directional drilling from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until July 20.

- Eglinton Avenue East from Birchmount Road to Warden Avenue, the westbound curb lane and bus bay will have closures for surface maintenance from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 20.

- The northbound left turn lane and southbound median lane closed overnight due to centre median installation on Eglinton Avenue East at Warden Avenue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 21 to 22.

- McNicoll Avenue, from Silver Star Boulevard to the CNR tracks, the right lane is closed due to sidewalk placement from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. until July 23.

- The westbound lane on Ellesmere Road at Meadowvale Road is closed due to Hydro work at No 4066 to No. 4030 Ellesmere Rd. from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 23 to 31.

- The road in front of the premise at 150 Bloor St. W. from Avenue Road to St. Thomas street, the curb lane will be occupied daily due to crane hoisting from 9 a.m. to 3;30 p.m. July 23 to 27.

- The southbound curb lanes on Birchmount Road from Danforth Avenue to Kingston Road are closed due to drain lining from 9 a.m. to midnight July 25.

- Finch Avenue East eastbound curb lane and bus bay closure from Kennedy Road to Midland Avenue for surface maintenance from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until July 27.

- Military Trail, from Ellesmere Road to Conlins Road, will have periodic southbound curb lane closures until July 31.

EAST YORK

– Danforth Avenue will be closed due to street event from Playter Boulevard to Jackman Avenue from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 21.

PARKDALE

- The sidewalk and town square for a Parkdale bazaar is closed from Cowan Avenue from Queen Street West to Milky Way is closed from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 21.

- Until July 21 at midnight, there will be daily lane closures on Lake Shore Boulevard West from Strachan Avenue to Ontario Drive for the removal of track barrier wall, signs and other equipment after Honda Indy.

ETOBICOKE

- Dundas Street West from the West Mall Crescent to Hwy. 427 overpass, one lane is closed in each direction daily from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; two lanes closed in each direction nightly 7 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. July 23 to 28. Closures for a MTO construction project.

YORK

- Langden Avenue, from Jasper Avenue to Cliff Street, there will be lane closures due to road resurfacing, one lane open at all times, through to Aug. 31.

Wilson at Tippet, south east corner closed due to road widening, until Aug. 30.

TTC

- Multiple projects (sewer project and condo development) impacting The Esplanade between the Scott Street and Church Street intersections, and additional lane restrictions on Bay Street.

- Until the end of July, streetcars will be replaced by buses on Queen Street East, east of Greenwood Avenue, during watermain work and streetcar track repairs between Vancouver Avenue and Coxwell Avenue.

- Until early 2013, the City of Toronto will begin development work on the West Donlands project, which will result in the closure of Cherry Street, from Front Street to Lake Shore Boulevard.

CITY OF TORONTO NEW TRAFFIC WEBSITE

The City of Toronto is introducing a new website where the public will be able to get information about planned capital construction work taking place across the city.

Called T.O. INview, short for Infrastructure Viewer, the map will allow users to quickly determine what work is planned for their community in 2012 and potential impacts to the area.

The map will highlight scheduled infrastructure construction being done by transportation services, Toronto water, city planning, transit authorities and utility companies. The new site can be accessed at www.toronto.ca/inview

While the new site features planned road work, it does not include emergency or short-term work. This type of information is available at http://www.toronto.ca/torontostreets - the city’s road restrictions website. This site is a source for information about short-term construction work as well as special events that affect city roads.