Just as the CNE disruption wraps up, the cycle starts again, and Toronto's International Film Festival comes back to the city for its 44th year this week until Sept. 15. That means people from around the world will be visiting the city, taking part in TIFF festivities and making the streets of Toronto a whole lot busier. With the festival taking over from this Thursday, there will be a host of TIFF 2019 closures to account for this busy weekend.
For starters, the sixth annual Festival Street Initiative will reign over King Street West, causing some closures for the upcoming Sept. 5-8 weekend. There will be a free pop-up street festival with music and screenings.
In fact, the entire King West area will be closed to traffic from Peter Street and University Avenue from 5 a.m. on Sept. 5 all the way to 5 a.m. on Sept. 9.
Other streets that will also be closed are:
- John Street between King Street West and Wellington Street West
- Ed Mirvish Way between King Street West and Pearl Street
- Simcoe Street between Wellington Street West and Pearl Street.
The eastbound lanes on King from Spadina Avenue to Peter will be temporarily closed for the festivities. In addition, the westbound lanes on King West from York Street and University will be closed.
If you plan on taking the TTC to hit up this high-profile event, please take note there will be some service adjustments to avoid accidentally crashing the street party.
The 504A King and 504B King, 508 Lake Shore, and 304 King streetcar - which runs at night - will reroute during this time.
Plan on driving instead of putting yourself at the mercy of the transit system?
Wel, the City of Toronto has this handy interactive map that can help you see what is closed and what route to take when arriving to the events.
In terms of restaurants on King Street, you can expect a lot of places open to accommodate the street flow, so that means waiting times for a table might take a while.
The Toronto International Film Festival ends on Sept. 15 so if catching a movie is on your bucket list, you can get tickets on their website.
Plan your trip accordingly! You might just catch a couple of celebs while you're at it.