The Blue Jays President Wants To Make Traffic In Toronto Better For Fans This Summer

If you love spending your summers road-tripping to Toronto to see the Blue Jays, fret not, the team's president has your back. At least when it comes to traffic.

Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro asked Mayor John Tory and the city council not to vote in favour of extending Active TO on Lake Shore Boulevard West in an open letter this week.

The Blue Jay's boss argues that the initiative, which has intermittently closed a portion of the roadway to vehicular traffic since 2020, has caused fans driving into the city to experience significant traffic delays.

"Many of our fans travel to Rogers Centre from outside of the GTA and taking public transit is not an option. Out-of-town fans are often not aware of ActiveTO and do not know to allocate extra travel time," Shapiro writes.

He also argues that the healthy living program often causes traffic to grind to a halt on all downtown routes, causing widespread frustration.

"As a sports organization, we support folks getting outside and being active, but Toronto has many options and routes to use, whereas our fans do not. Please do not vote to close Lake Shore Boulevard West," he concludes.

The closures were first introduced to give people more space for recreational activities during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the initiative became so popular with locals that a vote tasked whether it should be removed or not has become necessary.

The council is expected to discuss the fate of the ActiveTO program during a meeting on June 15.