Rain, road closures make for a tricky night in Toronto for Game 6
Here is the traffic and transit information you need to know for the big game
Fans in Jurassic Park, the uber-popular fan zone outside Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, roared tonight — and despite foul weather and road closures, cheered their team on outside.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) briefly cleared the massive line-ups to get into the zone amid heavy rain and localized flooding. However, just before 6 p.m. ET, the organization decided the event would go ahead outdoors.
The move came hours before the Raptors play the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena, in Oakland, Calif.
If the Raptors win tonight, it will be the franchise's first championship. It will also mark the first time a Canadian team wins the NBA crown.
Fans brave pouring rain
Toronto Raptors fans had been camping out for hours in pouring rain to get into Jurassic Park when they were forced to leave the line. Security guards told a Radio-Canada reporter on the ground that fans had to leave due to the risk of thunderstorms.
Reporter Christian Noël tweeted video of the deserted lines as heavy rain came down.
La file pour <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JurassicPark?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JurassicPark</a> est déserte, le tonnerre gronde, la pluie tombe. ⛈🌩💦⚡️🏀🦖 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheNorth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheNorth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBAFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/y6EVt0xN2T">pic.twitter.com/y6EVt0xN2T</a>
—@CNoelSRCOther images posted on Twitter showed flooding in some areas, with fans crossing large puddles atop shipping palettes.
With forecasted rain and thunderstorms underway, it is flooding outside Jurassic Park and security is erecting a bridge with woodblocks for people to cross. <a href="https://t.co/Q7IrHqAuZD">pic.twitter.com/Q7IrHqAuZD</a>
—@sdbcraigEarlier, the City of Toronto warned it's anticipating huge crowds in the downtown core, and urged people not to drive to the area.
"Please consider riding public transit, cycling, walking, taxi or ride hailing," the city said in a statement.
Toronto police will be present throughout downtown for public safety purposes; additional closures or restrictions may be in effect as required, the city said.
By 11 p.m., police tweeted that that intersection of Yonge Street and Dundas Street was closed to help manage the volume of people in the city.
The TTC tweeted that trains are also not stopping at Dundas station due to overcrowding.
In the true <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Toronto?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Toronto</a> spirit, a large volume of people are downtown tonight for <a href="https://twitter.com/Raptors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Raptors</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JurassicPark?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JurassicPark</a> game 6. To assist with traffic, in and out of the city, the intersection of Yonge + Dundas is closed. Please choose alternate routes. We will advise when re-opened.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheNorth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheNorth</a>
—@TPSOperationsLine 1 Yonge-University: Trains are not stopping at Dundas due to overcrowding.
—@TTCnoticesRoad closures in effect
The following road closures will be in effect on Thursday night:
- Maple Leaf Square (Bremner Boulevard between Lake Shore Boulevard West and York Street) from 7 a.m. Thursday until 2 a.m. on Friday.
- York St. (between Lake Shore Boulevard West and Front Street West) and Bremner Boulevard (between Lower Simcoe Street and York Street) from 9 a.m. Thursday until 2 a.m. on Friday.
- Bremner Boulevard between Lower Simcoe Street and Rees Street, and Lower Simcoe Street between Lake Shore Boulevard West and Front Street West, will be closed from noon Thursday until 2 a.m. on Friday.
- York-Bay-Yonge exit ramps (eastbound and westbound) on the Gardiner Expressway will be closed from 10 p.m. and could remain closed until 4 a.m. on Friday. Drivers are asked to use Spadina and Jarvis exit ramps if travelling downtown during this period.
TTC information
The TTC said it will be running additional service Thursday night to get people to and from the downtown core.
Five additional trains and 25 buses will be available both before and after the game. The last trains out of downtown depart Union Station at 2:25 a.m. with last connections available east/west on Line 2 at Bloor-Yonge and St. George stations, and to Line 4 at Sheppard-Yonge station.
Surface connections at all stations will run as regularly scheduled.
The TTC's Blue Night Network will run overnight, but routes through downtown may be required to divert depending on road closures.
Several diversions and short turns will be in place to accommodate crowds and road closures planned for this evening.
There will be no streetcar or bus service in the area east and west between Bathurst Street and Church Street and north and south between College Street and Lake Shore Boulevard. The following routes will start short turning at or near those intersections at the end of the third quarter of tonight's game:
- 6 Bay
- 72 Pape
- 121 Fort York-Esplanade
- 320 Yonge
- 501 Queen
- 504 King
- 505 Dundas
Go Transit information
GO Transit will also have extra trains on standby along the Lakeshore line post-game.
Due to road closures in the area, Union Station Bus Terminal closed at approximately 9 p.m. Customers heading north should use their valid GO ticket to ride the subway from Union Station to Highway 407 Station (at no extra charge) where GO buses will be waiting.