A major expressway was shut down, more than a million people attended the country's largest street festival and an aging rock star played a sold-out show at the Air Canada Centre. It all made for a weekend of traffic tieups, late commuter buses and crowded public transit - but the TTC didn't mind.
"If there are more people on transit, that's good. It's a win-win," said TTC spokesman Kevin Carrington.
The Taste of the Danforth in Greektown closed three kilometres of the busy east-end thoroughfare between Broadview and Jones avenues, as attendees packed the street and jammed the Bloor-Danforth subway from Friday to Sunday.
Organizers pegged the crowd at a record-breaking 1.3 to 1.4 million for the weekend, despite a light sprinkling of rain Sunday.
"We were concerned about the rain at one point, but it let up," said Howard Lichtman, a spokesperson for the event. "If you're on [a high-vantage point] you see an endless sea of moving people."
The festival, which wrapped up at 8 p.m., encouraged people to arrive via public transit because of the lack of nearby parking.
Meanwhile, the demolition of two bridges over the Gardiner Expressway closed most of the freeway all weekend. The westbound Lake Shore Blvd. bridges to Dunn Ave. and west of Jameson are being torn down to be replaced with newer versions.
Most of the Gardiner was closed between the Humber River and the Don Valley Parkway starting early Saturday morning. It will re-open by 5 a.m. Monday, in time for rush hour. The only section left open was a small stretch of the eastbound lanes, from Spadina Ave. to the DVP.
GO Transit buses between Union Station and Hamilton, Georgetown and Stouffville ran 40 minutes to an hour late over the weekend because of the closing. Despite reports of crowding on GO Trains that run along part of the route of the closed Gardiner, officials said it was no worse than usual.
Adding to downtown traffic and transit was a concert by Sir Paul McCartney Sunday night, the first of two dates in the city.
Official ridership figures won't be calculated for a few days, but the TTC says the various events plus the closing of the Gardiner would very likely make for more customers than a typical weekend.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was a little more congested than normal," said Mr. Carrington. "The fastest way to get [to Taste of the Danforth] and around the city, is the subway."
The system reported no volume-related delays this weekend, but had to bypass Victoria Park station Saturday after a shooting. The 72 Pape bus was also diverted to Donlands station during the festival.
Neither GO Transit nor the TTC added extra service this weekend.
Next weekend, meanwhile, is shaping up to be a little easier on travellers throughout the city. The Gardiner will be open, but restricted to two lanes in each direction near Jameson Ave. until work on the new bridges is finished next year.
The Argonauts will face the Montreal Alouettes at the Sky Dome and the Backstreet Boys will sing at Molson Amphitheatre.