Toronto Cycling and Road Safety Tour

Join Transportation Services staff to experience cycling and road safety projects throughout downtown Toronto, including raised cycle tracks, cycling-only spaces, community and school safety zones, and the first protected intersection in the downtown core, which uses the City’s Vision Zero geometric safety improvements. The majority of the tour will take place within protected bikeways or on streets with low vehicle volumes, with opportunities to explore recently upgraded cycling infrastructure on Bloor Street West and University Avenue.

Please note that delegates will be required to wear helmets on this tour. Helmets and bikes will be provided by the City of Toronto.

Ontario Line

This tour takes you to three Ontario Line station sites: Queen, Osgoode and Queen-Spadina. Metrolinx will share how they’re preserving the historic building facades at future station sites, what it takes to build an underground tunnel through the heart of Toronto, and how this project is shaping land use and development.

Please note that this tour will require an adequate amount of walking outdoors. We encourage you to wear comfortable shoes and to dress according to the weather.

Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) Control Room

As the planner and operator of Ontario’s electricity system, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) ensures we have a reliable, sustainable and affordable grid. With this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the electricity system, operating in real-time, participants will learn more about the IESO role, as well as gain insights into how communities are critical in shaping our electricity future.

U of T’s Structural Testing Facilities Laboratory

A tour of the Structural Testing Facilities (STF) in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus will showcase our existing world-class equipment and our newest project, a new strong floor to host our adjustable multidimensional testing frame (AMD).

The STF is among the top few testing facilities in North America and has received numerous awards for the quality of research performed. The main laboratory facility spans the basements of the Sandford Fleming and the Galbraith building and includes numerous ancillary facilities such as a concrete mixing laboratory, machine shop, welding bay and woodworking area.

The original Structures Laboratory, opened in 1960, provided the department with one of the best such facilities in North America at the time. Experiments conducted in the laboratory have contributed significantly to the development of Canadian structural engineering codes and practice. The noteworthy contributions were accomplished using full-scale building elements of concrete, steel, timber and glass.

Elevated Tour of Union Station

Metrolinx is upgrading Union Station to support the creation of a network that has the capacity to deliver two-way, all-day service every 15 minutes or better along core segments of the GO network. A tour at CIBC Square’s fourth floor park will provide an above look of site progress, including the new south passenger concourse and reconfigured platforms. Union is the gateway to the region and modernizing the station while preserve heritage features will expand capacity to meet transit needs now, and in the future. You will learn how Metrolinx is building more convenient platform access for customers and the unique construction techniques used when working in an area just 30 metres wide. The tour will also detail how improvements to Union Station are being done in phases and will allow approximately 80 trains per hour to move through the station once complete – quadruple current levels.