Item - 2022.IE27.13

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the closure of the F.G. Gardiner Expressway, from the Humber River to the Don Valley Parkway, including all ramps, and the Don Valley Parkway, from the F.G. Gardiner Expressway to York Mills Road, including all ramps, on June 5, 2022 from 2:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., for the Baycrest Ride event.
 

2. City Council prohibit other road closures due to events or film permits on arterial roads bounded by Highway 401, Warden Avenue, Lake Ontario, Humber River, Queen Street / The Queensway, and Yonge Street, as they will be required to accommodate overflow traffic from the expressway closures resulting from the Baycrest Ride event.
 

3. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission to not schedule any subway closures during the period the Baycrest Ride event is held.
 

4. City Council require the organizer to pay, within 90 days of the City issuing an invoice, any costs incurred to the City to secure the work zones along the F. G. Gardiner Expressway during the F. G. Gardiner Expressway rehabilitation work.

Baycrest has been serving Torontonians for over 103 years.  They operate the largest long term care home in the country, are a global leader in research, innovation, education and care for older adults, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Baycrest is home to a robust research and innovation network, including one of the world’s top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute; the scientific headquarters of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging, Canada’s largest national dementia research initiative; and the Baycrest-powered Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector.

The Baycrest Ride, a cycling fundraising event organized by the Baycrest, is proposing to host their event on June 5, 2022 consisting of a 25 kilometres, 50 kilometres and 75 kilometres distance rides with approximately 10,000 cyclists to participate in the event and expected to raise over $4 million for their foundation.

Council approval is being requested to close the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway on June 5, 2022 for the purpose of the Baycrest Ride in support of the Baycrest Foundation. In the past, portions of Lake Shore Boulevard, the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and all of the Don Valley Parkway have been closed for similar events.

The purpose of this report is to request City Council approval to close the F.G. Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway on June 5, 2022 for the purpose of the Baycrest Ride in support of the Baycrest Foundation.