Just ahead of the holidays, skating rinks are opening up around the city. Grab your skates and some hot chocolate to enjoy the start of the winter. Keep in mind, there is a service adjustment on the Lakeshore West GO transit line.
Hangar skating at YZD begins
Skating at the Hangar will open this Friday with its largest rink ever with more than 6,000 square feet of ice.
Kick off the season with the Glow and Glide night event Friday featuring LED drummers, performances, and festive lights.
There will be free skating, affordable skate rentals throughout the winter season as well as daily drop-in arts programming led by North York Arts inside the YZD Experience Centre.
Enjoy free skating, affordable rentals, and daily drop-in arts programming led by North York Arts inside the YZD Experience Centre. Warm up with hot drinks, local bites, and the city’s most spirited holiday gathering.
Opening night begins at 5 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m.
Winter skating at the Bentway opening weekend
Another season skating under the Gardiner Expressway will be underway this weekend. The winter skating trail at the Bentway opens to the public on Saturday with a cozy skate-and-sip event including free skate rentals, hot drinks, maple taffy and photo opportunities.
It runs Dec. 20-23 from 12 to 9 p.m.
Kensington Market Winter Solstice Festival
The annual Winter Solstice Festival in Kensington Market is back this weekend. On Saturday, solstice lanterns will be for sale from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Around 6 p.m. the parade assembly will begin before it kicks off at 7 p.m. to celebrate the longest night of the year.
TTC/GO closures
Lakeshore West GO service adjustment
On Dec. 20 – 21, planned construction is taking place on Lakeshore West for future, frequent service and to replace the Etobicoke Creek bridge.
Train service will run between Niagara Falls and Oakville GO. GO buses replace train service and will run between Oakville and Clarkson GO to Bramalea GO, to connect you to eastbound Kitchener line train service to Union Station.
There will be no GO Transit service at Port Credit, Long Branch, Mimico or west from Exhibition GO. Special trains will run between Exhibition GO and Union Station on a special schedule.
Alternative routes can be found here.
Road closures
Ongoing construction
Gardiner Expressway closure
As part of the long-term construction plan on the Gardiner Expressway, a stretch of the westbound Gardiner has been reduced from four lanes to three. The westbound lane closure will stretch from Park Lawn Road to Grand Avenue in southern Etobicoke. The eastbound lanes along the same stretch will be narrowed, but with no lane reductions, from April 2025 to December 2026.
For full traffic and closure updates, click here for the latest information from 680 NewsRadio Toronto.
