Road closures and TTC diversions for Santa Claus parade

Make way for Santa — the 111th annual Toronto Santa Claus parade gets underway Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and will bring several transit disruptions. 

One million people are expected to line the parade route, which will see Bloor Street closed from Christie Street to Avenue Road. The parade will then turn south, heading down University Avenue to end at Front Street.  

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The parade brings both disruptions and additional service to the TTC, says spokesman Danny Nicholson. 

"The TTC will be adding service, we do this every year for the Santa Claus parade … but it's highly recommend people leave the car at home." 

The subway stations on the parade route are Christie, Bathurst, Spadina, St. George, Museum, Queen's Park, Osgoode and St. Andrew. 

​The following diversions will be in place Sunday from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. 

• 5 Avenue Rd - Buses will divert to St George Station, running in both directions, via Avenue Road, Davenport Road and Bedford Road.
• 6 Bay - Buses will turn back north at Adelaide Street diverting south on Bay, east on Adelaide, north on Yonge, west on Richmond and north on Bay to regular routing. There will be no service on Bay Street from Adelaide Street to Queens Quay during the parade.
• 75 Sherbourne - Northbound buses will divert east on Queens Quay, north on Parliament Street, west on Front Street and north on Sherbourne Street.
• 94 Wellesley - This route will be split and buses will operate on both ends. An east end route will run between Castle Frank Station and Wellesley Station, following its regular routing in both directions.  A west end route will operate from Ossington Station to the Harbord Street at Spadina Avenue intersection, south on Spadina, looping at Spadina Circle, north on Spadina, west on Harbord to regular routing.
• 126 Christie - Buses will divert to Ossington Station, running in both directions via Dupont Street and Ossington Avenue.
• 172 Cherry Street - Buses will not operate to Union Station. Buses will divert west on The Esplanade, north on Sherbourne Street, east on Front Street, south on Berkeley Street and east on The Esplanade.

Also, there is no subway service on Line 1 (Yonge-University) between St. George and St. Clair West stations this weekend due to track work. 

The TTC says downtown streetcar service will run during breaks in the parade. 

GO Transit will also be running special parade trains on their Milton, Kitchener, Barrie and Stouffville lines today.

Gardiner closure

Also on Sunday, a section of the Gardiner Expressway will be closed between Rees and Jarvis streets. The eastbound right lane, the eastbound Rees Street on-ramp, eastbound Bay Street on-ramp, and eastbound Jarvis Street off-ramp will also be closed from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.