Toronto Slowly Recovering

TORONTO – The City of Toronto is starting to hit its stride following the massive ice storm that hammered the city on Sunday. Power is out for hundreds of thousands of people following the storm. Restoring power is going to take several days, there are likely to be many families who do not have the power on at their homes for Christmas.

Toronto Hydro is currently reporting that approximately 225,000 customers are without power. Hydro crews have been and will continue working around the clock to respond. The utility hopes to have power restored by Wednesday. Call Toronto Hydro’s Lights Out number, 416-542-8000, for serious situations only.

The City’s emergency services (Fire, Emergency Medical Services and Police) are operating and managing increased call volumes. Residents are reminded to only call 911 in the event of an emergency. The non-emergency number for Toronto Police Service is 416-808-2222. Residents who use home oxygen and have concerns can call 416-310-2222 for assistance.

The TTC has made progress restoring system service, with streetcar service resuming on all routes. There is currently no service on the Sheppard subway line and the Scarborough RT due to hydro-related issues and cleanup after the storm. Please check www.ttc.ca for updates and service alerts.

GO Transit is operating an Adjusted Winter Schedule today. Check schedule details at http://gotransit.com/public/en/schedules/winterstorm.aspx.

The City’s Transportation Services Division reports that approximately 100 traffic signals are not working but the count may change as power is restored. Salting operations are continuing on collector roads, local roads and sidewalks. The following roads in Scarborough are closed to traffic as they are not safe due to fallen power lines and trees:
– Old Kingston Road from Military Trail to Manse Road
– Military Trail from Old Kingston Road to Bobmar Road
– St. Andrews Road from Meldazy Drive to Suraty Avenue
– Colonel Danforth Trail – Bonacres Avenue to dead end
– Highview Avenue at Lillington Avenue
– Pinegrove Road at South Edgely Avenue.

The City is operating nine Reception Centres where vulnerable residents and those who need assistance can access food, water, warmth and rest. Pets are welcome:
– Dennis R Timbrell Community Centre, 29 St. Denis Drive (Eglinton/DonMills)
– Malvern Community Centre, 30 Sewells Rd, (Neilson/Rd/Finch)
– Agincourt Community Centre, 31 Glen Walford Rd (Sheppard/Midland)
– Driftwood Community Centre, 4401 Jane Street (between Finch and Steeles)
– Mitchell Field Community Centre, 89 Church Avenue (Yonge/Finch)
– Joseph P Piccinini Community Centre, 1369 St Clair Avenue West (St Clair/Keele)
– Matty Eckler Community Centre, 953 Gerrard Street East (Pape/Gerrard)
– Franklin Horner Community Centre, 432 Horner Avenue (Kipling/Lakeshore)
– 2 Civic Centre Court – Adjacent to Etobicoke Community Centre (West Mall and 427)

Community centres with power are expected to operate as usual; those without power will be closed. There may be some program and operating impacts at community centres that are being used as Reception Centres.

Toronto public libraries with power are expected to operate as usual; those without power will be closed.

Branches without power so far are: Oakwood Village, Mount Pleasant, Perth, Dupont, Maria A. Shchuka, Wychwood, North York Central, Bayview, Centennial, Yorkwoods, Jane Sheppard, Hillcrest, Weston Road, Eatonville, Alderwood, Mimico, Swansea, Jane Dundas, Woodview Park, Richview, Bendell, Burrows Hall, Goldhawk, Highland Creek, Morningside, Port Union and McGregor Park.

The Toronto District School Board has advised that all Early Learning and Child Care Centres operated by the City of Toronto and located in TDSB sites will be closed tomorrow. A list of the sites is available at toronto.ca.

All Toronto Catholic District School Board facilities and daycare centres will be closed today and tomorrow. Toronto Children’s Services is planning to send children home at locations where the power is off. Parents should try to contact their child care centre or provider prior to drop off to determine whether service will be available.

For more information about when to keep and when to throw out refrigerated foods, visit www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/foodsafe/homefood.html.

For updates during an emergency event and other City of Toronto information, follow @TorontoComms on Twitter. The City will be using #citystorm when providing updates on the storm.

Getting around Toronto is still tricky, and many companies are simply taking the smart approach and telling their employees to stay home. There are still major delays, and many businesses are shut down for the day.

The Toronto Transit Commission reports, “The TTC currently has no service on the Sheppard subway line and no service on the SRT line due to hydro-related issues and extensive clean-up after yesterday’s winter storm. Shuttle buses continue to operate on both lines.

Trains on the Yonge-University-Spadina line continue to bypass Yorkdale and North York Centre Station due to AC power outages. Trains on the Bloor-Danforth line continue to turn back at Woodbine and Warden stations due to ongoing hydro issues in the area of Victoria Park Station. Shuttle buses are operating and TTC staff will be on-hand to assist customers.

Normal streetcar service has resumed for all routes. Expect delays on several bus routes due to multiple on-going power outages.

Airports Catching Up

Air Canada reports, “Flights may be impacted by forecasted snow and deicing. Air Canada and Air Canada Express advise that flights to, from or connecting through the airport(s) listed may be delayed or cancelled due to the storm impact”.