The beginning of TIFF and the closure of TTC’s Scarborough RT line means travellers throughout Toronto will have to look for alternative routes in the city this weekend.

King Street, from Peter Street to University Avenue, will be closed from 5 a.m. on Thursday to 5 a.m. on Monday to make way for TIFF’s “Festival Street,” which hosts free musical performances and movie-themed art installations.

To accommodate the festival, the TTC is splitting the 504 King streetcar into two routes from Thursday to Sunday.

Eastbound streetcars will head north when they reach Bathurst Street, turn around at Bathurst Station then head south. When they reach King Street, they will turn west.

Westbound streetcars will head south when they reach Church Street, go west on Wellington Street, north on York Street then back east on King.

A 504 King bus will serve the area between Church and Bathurst, but will take routes other than King. The eastbound bus will start at Dufferin Street, and will drive along King until Spadina Avenue. It will then turn north on Spadina, east on Adelaide Street, south on University Avenue and east on King to Parliament Street.

The westbound bus will head north on University from King, west on Richmond Street, south on Spadina Avenue and west on King.

TTC closures

In Scarborough, the RT line is closed as the TTC replaces 200 metres of track and makes other. Buses will be operating between Kennedy and McCowan stations during the Sept. 12-13 closure, while collector booths will remain open at Lawrence East and Scarborough Centre Stations. The Scarborough line will reopen Monday Sept. 14 at 6 a.m.

Along the Yonge-University subway line, train service between Eglinton and Finch Stations will end early from Sunday to Friday. There will be frequent shuttle bus service between the stations. 

Event and festival closures

Aside from TIFF, there are several other festivals and events that will result in road closures this weekend.

Two sections of Bloor Street are closed this weekend. Taste of The Kingsway, which spans from Prince Edward Drive North to Montgomery Road, will prompt road closures from Friday at noon until Sunday at 11 p.m.

The Bloorcourt Arts and Crafts Fair closes Bloor Street from Montrose Avenue to Dufferin Street between 7 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

Parliament Street, from Wellesley Street to Gerrard Street, and Carlton Street, from Parliament Street to Berkeley Street, will be closed from Saturday at 6 a.m. until Sunday at 9 p.m. for The Cabbagetown Festival.

Saturday will see Rosedale Valley road closed in both directions from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. from the east side of Park Road to Bayview Avenue for the Festival of Praise parade. The parade will also close northbound lanes along Queen’s Park Crescent from College Street to Wellesley Street between 2p.m. and 5.p.m. on Saturday.

On Sunday, there will be road closures in the area bounded by Davenport Road to the north, University Avenue/Queen’s Park/Avenue Road to the west, Bay Street to the east and Dundas Street to the south from 8 a.m. to noon for the Bang and Olufsen Yorkville 5K Run/Walk and the Canadian 5K Road Race Championship.