Item - 2025.TE25.75

The Toronto and East York Community Council:

1.  Requested the General Manager, Transportation Services to work with Live Nation, Ontario Place, Exhibition Place, the Executive Director, Municipal Licensing and Standards, the Toronto Police Service and other relevant partners to develop a strategy for event-related pickup and drop-off in the area surrounding Ontario Place, consider any planned operational and capital projects in the area, conduct trial mitigation measures for the remainder of 2025, and report back to the Toronto and East York Community Council in first quarter of 2026.

Ontario Place is the site of the Budweiser Stage concert venue and hosts dozens of events every year, with over 70 scheduled in 2025. Budweiser Stage also has plans to expand its capacity in the coming years.

The venue generates peak traffic activity on Lake Shore Boulevard West. before and after concerts. In particular, pick-up and drop-off including rideshare is happening on curb lanes, creating congestion and unsafe movements for passengers and pedestrians.

As a busy transportation corridor, Lake Shore Boulevard West. experiences large amounts of traffic in general. The site is also close to Exhibition Place which in addition to its trade shows and conventions hosts sporting events and signature events such as the Canadian National Exhibition and Toronto Caribbean Festival that generate significant levels of traffic. These factors exacerbate the issues faced with concert event pick-up and drop off.

A staff assessment of strategies to manage pick-up and drop-off for events at this site is needed to address these concerns. These should be informed through testing of mitigation measures during the remainder of the 2025 season, and a report back in advance of the 2026 season.