Downtown Toronto will be crawling with Swifties as Taylor Swift heads north for the Eras Tour this week.
Swift will perform six shows at Rogers Centre from Nov. 14-16 and 21-23, 2024. The City of Toronto has implemented several road closures and a limited activity zone to try to contain the inevitable traffic nightmare during the concert series.
GO Transit and the TTC will also have added services.
Here are the full details:
Road closures
To mitigate the anticipated traffic impacts and ensure residents and visitors can move safely and efficiently around Rogers Centre during the concert period, the city will implement the following road closures and restrictions on concert dates:
- Starting at 1 p.m., the westbound lanes on Bremner Boulevard between Rees Street and Navy Wharf Court will be closed. The eastbound lanes will remain open for two-way traffic.
- At 2 p.m., Bremner Boulevard between Spadina Avenue and Simcoe Street, Blue Jays Way between Spadina Avenue and south of Front Street, and Navy Court Wharf will be restricted to local residents and businesses. Access to condos within the zone will be at a police checkpoint at the Spadina Avenue and Bremner Boulevard intersection. The Marriott Hotel will be accessible from Front Street via Blue Jays Way.
- The northbound lanes on Rees Street will be closed, while the southbound lanes will remain open for two-way traffic, including an accessible entry point.
- Lake Shore Boulevard will be reduced to two westbound lanes at the intersection with Rees Street for a drop-off/pick-up point.
- At 10 p.m., Front Street between Blue Jays Way and Simcoe Street, John Street south of Wellington Street, and Windsor Street south of Wellington Street will be closed to support crowd control before concertgoers leave Rogers Centre.
- At 11 p.m., the eastbound and westbound Gardiner Expressway off-ramps to Spadina Avenue will be closed to restrict traffic into the area as concertgoers leave Rogers Centre. Additional spot road closures may be needed for crowd and traffic management.
- All roads and ramps will re-open when traffic and crowds dissipate, which is expected to be by 1 a.m. following each concert.
There will be pick-up/drop-off zones for those picking up concertgoers, taxis and ride shares:
- Front Street West between Bathurst Street and Spadina Avenue (south side)
- Bay Street between Richmond and Wellington Streets (west side)
- York Street between Wellington and Adelaide Streets (west side)
- Queens Quay between Bay and Freeland Streets (south side)
- Lake Shore Boulevard at Rees Street (north side)
TTC Adjustments
The TTC is increasing service and staffing and enhancing safety and security measures from Nov. 14 to 16 and again from Nov. 21 to 23.
There are no subway closures planned on these dates.
The TTC will have extra service on key routes throughout the shows, with special attention being paid to the post-show surge:
- On show days only, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Line 1 trains will operate approximately every three minutes, with Line 2 trains operating every four minutes.
- 509 Harbourfront streetcars will resume regular service between Union Station and Exhibition Loop with a minimum of four additional streetcars running on show days for 11, up from the usual seven.
- 510D Spadina bus replacement will operate normally, with an additional 15 buses operating frequently on concert days. After the shows, these extras will run northbound direct to Spadina Station, stopping only to drop off at King, Queen, Dundas and College streets.
- 511 Bathurst streetcars will run from Bathurst Station to Union Station on concert nights until Nov. 17, when they will run to Union as scheduled service.
- 19 Bay will receive an additional 10 buses to supplement service on concert days. After the shows, they will operate northbound direct to Bay Station, stopping to drop-off only at King, Queen, Dundas and College streets.
GO service adjustments
Metrolinx is offering increased GO service to get customers to the Taylor Swift concerts and home.
Lakeshore customers:
In addition to regular, frequent service, special service will be available on the Lakeshore West and Lakeshore East lines from Nov. 14-16 and Nov. 21-23 to help customers safely get to and from Taylor Swift’s Rogers Centre concerts.
Milton customers:
Metrolinx will add a late-night special event service for the concert series on Nov. 14-16 and Nov. 21-23 to get customers home after the shows.
Kitchener, Barrie and Stouffville customers:
On the Kitchener, Barrie and Stouffville lines, the night’s last train will be held back until each concert is finished so customers don’t miss a beat.
Bus service
There will be special event service on some GO bus routes on Nov. 14-16 and 21-23 to help get customers to and from the Eras Tour safely. Some bus trips may be reduced and adjusted due to anticipated heavy traffic in downtown Toronto.
For more details on the added GO service for Taylor Swift’s Toronto concerts, visit GO Transit’s website.
Bike Share Toronto
Bike Share Toronto will add extra bikes and valets to assist with docking near Rogers Centre. It will also offer a special three-day pass for $19.89.
Limited activity zone
To mitigate the anticipated traffic impacts, the City of Toronto is implementing a Limited Activity Zone around the Rogers Centre and neighbouring downtown areas. Planned work that requires a road occupation permit will be limited to certain off-peak hours on non-concert dates and will require approval from the City to take place during this period.”
The limited activity zone will encompass a large section of downtown stretching from Spadina Avenue in the west to Jarvis Street in the east and from Queens Quay north to King Street.
