Baldwin Steps by Casa Loma and Spadina Museum

Spadina Road runs between Queens Quay and Eglinton Road, broken by the steep grade at Baldwin Steps, just north of Davenport Road. The steps are situated in Spadina Park which is between two historic Toronto landmarks - Casa Loma and Spadina Museum.

Casa Loma's front courtyard

Casa Loma is an amazing piece of architecture and holds plenty of events throughout the year, including Christmas at the Castle. Entrance to the building is fairly expensive, especially when they hold special events.

Near the top of the Baldwin Steps - this view is always free

Looking down on Spadina Road and the City's skyline

See more of the area after the jump.

Accelerating Toronto's Gardiner Expressway replacement

Toronto traffic is crap, has been for awhile and will be for many more years, maybe for as long as we have cars. Thank goodness that public transit is stepping up and making it easier for people to get into the city on trains and busses, reducing the amount of vehicles required. Of course the two major issues would be road closures and amount of traffic and these are impacted by construction and major events. Nothing lasts forever and roads and bridges need maintenance and replacement while adding new public transit also provides new headaches.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT project has been going on forever I believe. The almost 16km Ontario Line subway project started impacting the downtown core beginning in late 2021 and will finish in 2031. Hitting hard is the latest phased replacement of the 60 year old Gardiner Expressway, started in March of 2024 and was expected to last 3 years, followed by more phases while a previous phase was completed in 2021 and there are four more phases to go after this one. Traffic in Liberty Village has been making the news lately and not in a good way. Add in a few other road reconstruction projects and a summer full of street festivals and sport events and it all adds up to gridlock.

The Province of Ontario took on the responsibility for the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway (long known for flooding) and has freed up a lot of money (about $1.9 billion) the City can use in other locations, which might be hard to do as the City is pretty stingy on spending money (sarcasm).

On July 24, 2024 the City and the Province announced plans to accelerate this phase of the Gardiner Expressway construction by working longer days (24/7 possible) to bring the completion of this section from 2027 to 2026.

Mayor Olivia Chow says “Together with the provincial government, we can rebuild the Gardiner Expressway more quickly and ease the painful congestion in downtown Toronto. Working together, we can repair our aging infrastructure, ensure that the Gardiner Expressway is safe and help people get around our city easier.”

The original announcement on lane closures starting in 2024 had both highway directions losing lanes. Until I actually looked along the Gardiner I didn't realize that basically they have shifted all traffic to one side of the Gardiner and started tearing down the other half the highway, including the deck and support columns. Then they pour new columns, allow the concrete to cure and then put in new bridge decking, section by section.

Decks gone, ripping out the supporting columns

New columns ready for the new bridge sections

Constructing the new supporting columns

NTT IndyCar Sunday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto 2024

It's THE race day in Toronto - Sunday, July 21. Time for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto 2024 NTT IndyCar race day! The previous days have been a warmup to the always exciting speedfest around Exhibition Place and onto Lake Shore Boulevard West. Sometimes there are too many facts and figures so I will simplify, the almost 3km street circuit has just over ten turns, starting and finishing in about the middle of Princes' Boulevard and the fastest could make the course in just about one minute at just over 100 miles per hour, something in today's traffic would take you or me roughly two hours.

Colton in Practice number 2 on Saturday

IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden of the number 2 car and the Firestone Firehawk mascot during driver introductions

IndyCar qualifications took place on Saturday with the Firestone Fast Six determined. On top of both practice and qualification was Colton Herta, seen in the photo at top in the number 26 car passing the gate. Colton will lead the grid in the P1 position, his third of this season. 

IndyCars outside Pit Lane ready for the Sunday 10am warm-up session 

Warm-up session

There are 27 IndyCar drivers scheduled to race today including a new addition - Theo Pourchaire, who replaces the injured Alexander Rossi in the number 7 car. The IndyCar 85-lap race schedule is as follows. The field of drivers has several past Toronto winners like 2023 winner Christian Lundgaard, some of them winning multiple times, so it never is a lock about who will win.

12:40pm Driver Introductions

1:07pm Grid Formation

1:10pm Invocation and Anthem

1:14pm Drivers to cars

1:23pm Drivers Start Your Engines 

1:30pm Green Flag means go!

The race should take about 2 to 2.5 hours to finish

Then the Victory Circle celebrations with the top three winners getting their trophies and spraying champagne at each other

Then the track is torn down

Colton leads Kyle

And Colton Herta takes the checkered flag winning the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race, followed by Kyle Kirkwood and Scott Dixon. There were a couple cautions early in the race but the full contact, multi-car crashes later in the race sent one car sailing into the air after Pato O'Ward spins out in turn 1 on lap 73 and several cars run into him as they come around the sharp corner. The track went to red flag and the field stopped as workers moved fast to check on the drivers and then to clean the track.

Drivers holding their William Ashley Waterford crystal trophies

Kyle Kirkwood, winner Colton Herta and Scott Dixon in Victory Circle with their new trophies, then having a little sparkling wine fight while confetti blasts through the air. This year they opened Victory Circle so fans can get up close, or as close to possible to the trophy awards, confetti blasts and of course the spraying of champagne, or champagne like products.

Lochie Hughes wins the USF Pro 2000 race 2 on Sunday morning and celebrates in Victory Circle, above. Lochie is now famous for renting a bike then running to the welcome press conference because Toronto traffic was too bad. There are three other support series races taking place before the Honda Indy race.

The lead up to this race has taken awhile and included the track build, getting ready for race weekend (not helped by a bunch of rain, some say a little too much rain), then there was Free Fan Friday and Saturdays multitude of practice, qualifications and races. IndyCar is headlining the event but there is also four other support series taking part in this year's Honda Indy Toronto.

Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto has named The Tragically Hip band members as the honorary Grand Marshals. "Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fay will be on the starting grid as part of pre-race festivities and offer the command for drivers to start their engines. The Tragically Hip are a critically acclaimed rock band that has been a fixture in Canadian music for over 30 years and are beloved by fans across the country and the world. They’ve won 17 Juno awards and sold more than 15 million albums worldwide."

 

The Tragically Hip during driver introductions

“It’s such a thrill to be a part of this awesome tradition in Toronto,” said The Hip. “We’re grateful for the experience and we can’t wait to give the command and hear the engines roar!”

Off track there are many attractions to explore, inside and outside Enercare Centre and out on Thunder Alley and into the paddocks and truck stops. The gates open at 7:30am and the first action on the track is a USF2000 race beginning at 8am.

Check out the full 2024 race weekend coverage at the following links.

NTT IndyCar Sunday Race Day

Saturday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Free Fan Friday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Getting Ready for Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Track Build for the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

See more photos of the day after the jump.

Saturday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto 2024

Day one of the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race weekend is in the books, day two features IndyCar's second practice at 10:30am and the qualifying, with the Firestone Fast 6, at 2:45pm. The track schedule is also busy with the support series including four races taking place on Saturday, July 20. The Breakfast Club Charity event closes out the evening and tomorrow is the big race day with the 85-lap IndyCar race taking centre stage with driver introductions beginning at 12:40pm and green flag at 1:30pm. Gates open at 8:45am.

IndyCars are stacked at entrance to track in Turn 10, waiting for their chance to get on track for the second practice.

The races and start times are as follows.

11:45am Sports Car Championship Canada SCCC Race #1

12:40pm USF2000 Race #1

1:40pm Radical Race #2

4:30pm USF Pro 2000 Race #1 (shown in photo at top)

Also in the mix is a number of qualifying sessions, so on and off the track you can enjoy the racing and off track activities. Don't forget to go visit the support series paddocks, no ticket required, only the NTT IndyCar Paddock needs a credential to gain access.

Josef Newgarden 

Will Power

Practice two top five drivers 1: Colton Herta, 2: Kyle Kirkwood, 3: Will Power, 4: Scott Dixon and 5: Alex Palou. Combining the two practice sessions produces the same results!

Saturday's Qualification results - the Firestone Fast Six; 1: Colton Herta with a lap speed of 107.982 mph, 2: Kyle Kirkwood, 3: Felix Rosenqvist, 4: Scott McLaughlin, 5: Romain Grosjean and 6: David Malukas. There are a few new names from the original practice results, however Colton remains as someone who has got the number of this track. Let's see what happens on the final day, although the forecast of rain is growing (now 40%) and the introduction of moisture on the track would really change the race. Hopefully the rain stays away from Toronto.

Prepping the USF Pro 2000 cars in Pit Lane

IndyCar practice

Radicals parked in the outdoor supporting paddocks

Toronto is IndyCar's only journey north of the border this year and one of the 17-race 2024 season. And one of the interesting new things about IndyCar is their use of hybrid technology which can be used, then must be regenerated so I understand it is a little tricky and adds some complexity to the drivers race time routine - which they are only lately trying to master. 

An English Fan wears a flag

The new engine is a 2.2-litre, twin-turbocharged V6 engine with hybrid power introduced mid-season during the Mid-Ohio race. It adds over 100 pounds to the race car and impacts handling and balance as well as providing more horsepower when engaged. The extra power lasts only a short time before it must regenerate and from the discussions with the drivers they seem to use it in corners mostly, or as a new way to start the car on the track when they stall.

IndyCar practice

Outdoor Paddock area

Great crowds watching IndyCar qualification in Grandstand 11

Qualification session as Santino Ferrucci goes into Turn 1 at Princes' Gates

Check out the full 2024 race weekend coverage at the following links.

NTT IndyCar Sunday Race Day

Saturday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Free Fan Friday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Getting Ready for Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Track Build for the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

See more of Saturday's Honda Indy action after the jump.

Fan Friday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto 2024

A massive Toronto flood isn't stopping the 36th annual Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto race weekend, although it did hinder the progress of track building for a few days. The compressed building schedule they were working to meant they were able to make up the lost time with plenty of hard work and extra crews. Thursday is the last day to get things ready before race weekend gets down to where the rubber hits the sometimes bumpy road made of asphalt, concrete and sometimes both. This is also the first year of the new title sponsor Ontario Honda Dealers, taking over from Honda Canada who lasted from 2009 till 2023.

The Radicals morning practice session

Free Fan Friday is back once again, having already raised over $1 million dollars for Make-A-Wish Canada over the years and looking to raise lots more, so you don't need a ticket to gain entry to the event on July 19th, just make a voluntary donation to the charity and take your pick of General Admission or grandstand viewing - first come, first pick. And if you have a Presto card you can validate it at the NTT IndyCar Paddock in the Enercare Centre for free entrance to the paddock during Fan Friday. Honda Indy President, Jeff Atkinson, explained that fans have been asking for more attractions and events off the track and they have added a number of things to that end. By moving the IndyCar paddock east, they were able to add some new public areas outside the paddock, including the Ontario Honda Dealers Pit Stop and the adjacent Fuel Stop where you can get some grub.

USF2000 cars in practice

You can enter a contest at the Pit Stop and pick up some free swag, including ear plugs.

The crowds are growing as the morning progresses and for those looking - the hot tub ladies aren't here (they were always on the outside of the pedestrian bridge).

As a temporary race track, winding through Exhibition Place and onto Lake Shore Boulevard West, the city of Toronto is one of the few street courses, and the last of 2024, in this year's IndyCar schedule. Its mixed surface can be tough to navigate, especially if it rains when the concrete becomes very slippery, and changes from one year to another means you can't turn down any chance to get some practice on the course. The drivers noted that the track on Friday is different than the conditions you get on Sunday. 

IndyCars go through technical inspection then are gassed up

IndyCar's Friday schedule has an autograph session starting at 12:30am in the Heritage Court, a new location, which would be in the hall beyond the paddock area near the Coca-Cola Coliseum. It used to be held in the long hall at the front of Enercare Centre and is free to attend. 

2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto map showing the 2.874-kilometre (1.786-mile), 11-turn temporary circuit on the streets of Toronto

Enercare Centre floorplan showing Heritage Court in Orange

NTT IndyCar will take to the track Friday from 3:00pm to 4:15pm for their first practice session of the weekend. The second IndyCar practice and qualifying follows on Saturday, with the headline race taking place Sunday, July 21.

The top five IndyCar drivers based on their first practice run are 1: Colton Herta, 2: Felix Rosenqvist, 3: Marcus Armstrong, 4: Scott Dixon and 5: Graham Rahall. Top speed was 105.334 mph. Driver Alexander Rossi of the number 7 car crashed into Turn 8 and broke his thumb and will have to be replaced.

A marshal's flag hole ready for racing

For IndyCar the drivers are running after series leader Alex Palou and only six races, including Toronto, remain to be completed. Alex finished second in Toronto last year so he certainly has the skills to win 2024's race. Previous winner Scott Dixon is also in the running to win in Toronto, he has been dubbed the “Street Circuit King” in 2024.

Toronto police and fire have a presence in Thunder Alley. Here's Blinky the police car, a little less advanced than Kit

Of course IndyCar isn't the only race series in Toronto, although many of the drivers are hoping to make it to North America's premier open-wheel race series. Also racing during the weekend are the USF Pro 2000 and the USF2000 Championship, both presented by Continental Tire, along with the Sports Car Championship and the Emzone Radical Cup Canada, presented by Michelin, and finally Radical Cup North America. In fact the first race will be on Friday with the Radicals race #1 from 5:10pm to 5:44pm. Finally the Charity Event Rev & Run will finish the track events from 6:25pm to 7:55pm.

Radical Cup Canada Race #1 winners in the 22 lap competition were Kenny Reidman 1st, Travis Hill 2nd and Owen Clarke 3rd. 

Bring sunscreen, empty water bottles (fill on site at a free water station) and earplugs to protect your hearing and have some full throttle fun. Gates on Friday open at 8:30am.

Check out the full 2024 race weekend coverage at the following links.

NTT IndyCar Sunday Race Day

Saturday at the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Free Fan Friday at Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Getting Ready for Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

Track Build for the 2024 Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto

See more of Fan Friday after the jump.

Harbourfront mist cloud and market in the public square

The public square at Harbrourfront Centre was converted from a summer pond/winter ice rink to a open square, for sure with interesting benches folding around the edges and a nice pattern of stone, but it seemed boring. Then they added holes and pipes that sprays mist and creates a low lying cloud at the square and life is good again.

In addition to the nearby Lakeview Market they also have a Harbourfront Night Market, located in the same square as the mist. And the free, outdoor night market featuring "culinary delights, food trucks, artisanal crafts and community" is open on select days from Saturday, July 13 to Sunday, September 15, 2024.

Sat, Jul 13 - 12:00pm ↑ 11:00pm
Sun, Jul 14 - 12:00pm ↑ 8:00pm
Sat, Aug 17 - 2:00pm ↑ 11:00pm
Sun, Aug 18 - 2:00pm ↑ 8:00pm
Sat, Sep 14 - 2:00pm ↑ 11:00pm
Sun, Sep 15 - 2:00pm ↑ 8:00pm