August is coming to an end, which means the city is busy gearing up for the Toronto International Film Festival.
2019 marks TIFF’s 44th year and, as usual, Torontonians can expect a few TTC streetcar diversions on King St. W. The road will be closed between Peter St. and University Ave. from Thursday, Sept. 5 at 5 a.m. to Monday, Sept. 9 at 5 a.m. The road closure will affect four TTC routes: 504A King, 504B King, 508 Lake Shore, and 304 King (night route).
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The King St. closure is mainly due to TIFF’s Festival Street. This public event runs from Sept. 5 to 8 and includes free screenings, music performances, and activations along King street.
From Monday, Sept. 9 to Tuesday, Sept. 10, there will be some service disruptions due to red carpet events. The four TTC routes will divert on these days from 3:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., and from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Knowing that these transit detours are a pain for commuters, TIFF and the TTC will once again hand out free movie vouchers on King St. on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 5.
Here are the TTC streetcar and bus routes that will be affected by TIFF
504A King: The streetcar will operate as a split route service. The west end route will divert north on Spadina Ave. and east on Queen St. W. It will then do a loop via Church, King, and York before heading back on Queen and Spadina to King St. W.
The east end route will start from Distillery Loop, head north on Cherry, then west on King. It will then loop north on York St., east on Queen, south on Church and head back east on King.
504B King: Service will operate in the east end, looping via York, Queen and Church streets.
508 Lake Shore: Service will start Tuesday, Sept. 3. The route will turn around via Queen St. E. Church St., Richmond St. E., and Victoria St.
304 King Streetcars: Both eastbound and westbound streetcars will divert. Eastbound cars will travel via Spadina, Queen, Church, and King before heading back on its regular route. Westbound cars will travel via York, Queen, and Spadina and return to its route.
304 King Shuttle Buses (from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.): The route will operate from Bathurst St. and Wolseley Ave. to Front St. E. and Parliament St. Eastbound buses will divert to Adelaide St. W., while westbound buses will divert via Richmond St. W.
