Trying to get around the GTA during the winter storm? Here's some key information
A winter storm battering much of southern Ontario could seriously complicate your holiday travel plans.
Environment Canada is urging everyone to avoid non-essential trips until Sunday, with a mix of ice, snow and high winds making for treacherous conditions on roads, including in the GTA.
If you are planning to travel, here's some important information on what to expect.
Roads and highways
The Ontario Provincial Police has snow crews working throughout the duration of the storm this weekend, says OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt in an update on Twitter.
Schmidt said police are seeing major problems across the province, highlighting the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 406 along with other major highways.
Earlier Friday, up to 100 vehicles were involved in a pileup that led OPP to close a roughly 120-kilometre stretch of the busy Highway 401 from London to Tilbury, along with Highway 402 from Michigan to London.
Schmidt says if people choose to drive, it's important commuters pay attention to what's happening around you, especially the snow clearing and salting operations.
"Happy holidays — stay home if you can, and if you can't, be aware of how quickly those conditions can change," said Schmidt.
In Toronto, police are warning drivers to prepare for blowing debris and power outages at signalized intersections.
Police asked drivers to consider alternate routes or avoid:
Dundas Street East and Bond Street due to an active fire. Area is also closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic due to the winter weather.
University Avenue and Dundas Street West, where roads are closed due to weather. Southbound University Avenue from Elm Street to Dundas Street will be closed.
College Street and Spadina Avenue after a TTC streetcar wire went down. Eastbound College Street is closed from Spadina Avenue.
Lake Shore Boulevard and Parkside Drive due to reports of a light pole on the road.
Beck Taxi, which describes itself as Toronto's largest taxi brokerage, says the company is unable to guarantee wait times as service times have increased, and is supporting its drivers choosing to stay home.
"Drivers are reporting treacherous conditions and are going home in large numbers. You should too," reads a tweet from the company.
Meanwhile, the City of Toronto says it's sending crews and equipment to high-priority areas so that they can respond when required.
WATCH: What is the city's salting and brining protocol? Mayor John Tory explains:
Salting starts as soon as the snow starts to stick to the ground. Plowing will begin when the snow reaches:
Two centimetres on sidewalks and separated cycle tracks.
2.5 centimetres on expressways.
Five centimetres on major roads, transit routes and streets with hills.
Eight centimetres on residential streets.
Residents can check in real-time where snow vehicles have visited on the City of Toronto website.
TTC enacting severe weather plan
The Toronto Transit Commission says it's enacting its severe weather plan to ensure it can continue delivering essential transit service.
And as of Friday morning, that includes cancelling service to 41 bus stops and shutting down the Line 3 Scarborough SRT line and replacing it with shuttle buses instead. It has also issued a number of alerts for multiple routes in the city.
The transit agency says it also:
Has extra staff and vehicles available if need be.
Put in anti-icing and snow clearing protocols in place in all bus, streetcar and subway divisions.
Will store subway trains in tunnels along main lines to avoid issues getting out of the yards.
Applied anti-icing treatment to the streetcar overhead network and vehicles. Should any issues arise on 512 St Clair, replacement buses will run.
Has private contractor tow trucks ready to help any trapped vehicles.
Has a fleet of snow-clearing equipment to be used if needed.
GO Transit
Metrolinx, the parent company of GO Transit, says the winter storm is impacting its bus and train service.
The provincial transit operator announced Friday afternoon there will be no early homebound service due to the storm.
Instead, the agency says it's running on a special schedule that includes significant service changes. It advises customers to check the modified storm schedule on GO Transit's website.
Spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins says trains are "operating well" despite the storm.
"There's a few cancellations and delays average 15 to 30 min due to poor road conditions across the region. Check ahead and give yourself extra travel time," said Aikins.
Pearson, Billy Bishop airports
The storm upended holiday travel plans for many people in Ontario as airlines pre-emptively cancelled flights, with more disruptions expected.
WestJet was one of the first major airlines that has cancelled all flights arriving and departing from Toronto's Pearson Airport Friday.
The cancellations begin at 9 a.m. ET until the end of the day and the airline says a "restart" depends on weather conditions by Saturday.
Along with Toronto's Pearson Airport, WestJet said the cancellations will affect 140 flights across four airports in Ottawa, London, Waterloo and Montreal. It added that the decision to cancel was made after it consulted airport authorities and NAV Canada. All travellers have been notified, it said.
"The prolonged and extreme weather events that continue to impact multiple regions across Canada are unlike anything we've experienced," said Diederik Pen, WestJet's chief operations officer, said in a statement.
Daniel Araya, who was travelling with his family from Chile to Vancouver, was stuck at the Toronto airport after his fight was delayed.
"We really are hoping for a Christmas miracle," he said. "We spent a lot of time to get here and it will be really sad if we can't make it to Vancouver to see my sister."
Meanwhile, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport says several flights have been disrupted, with more delays and cancellations likely throughout the day.
Porter Airlines and Air Canada have cancelled all flights at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, with the latter cancelling "a number of flights" in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
Billy Bishop has also suspended its ferry service.
"Hopefully with the airlines planning offering free changes, our team on the ground cleaning up as we can, we can try to reduce the disruption," said Deborah Wilson, vice president of public affairs and communications for the airport.
Tori Gass, spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said that flights at Pearson were still running smoothly early Friday but warned that could change.
Gass said it is "definitely a possibility" that other airlines could begin mass cancelling flights if conditions deteriorate, and she urged all travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
