Michael Lewis
Special to Ontario Construction News
The City of Toronto says the unusually long three-month construction ban around FIFA World Cup 2026 matches in the city this summer will be “softened” following the final contest at BMO Field on July 3.
A Toronto spokesperson said last week that the city will begin to ease restrictions in affected areas after the Friday match, including allowing greater flexibility for construction activity, “while maintaining safe and reliable traffic flow and access to priority transit routes.”
The city says further easing of restrictions is anticipated later in July while it will continue to work with partners including the local construction industry to shorten no-roadwork zone timelines where possible and review exception requests.
Richard Lyall, president and CEO of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON), an industry group representing residential builders, said city officials agreed in a meeting March 17 to “reduce restrictions by a couple of weeks at the back end.”
He added that RESCON is drafting a proposal “to see these timelines compressed” further, perhaps by cutting the period of restrictions now slated for all of May.
Toronto has said the ban proposed to run from May 1 to July 31 aims to manage extreme traffic congestion, ensure security, and accommodate a massive influx of tourists.
While the matches take place over a shorter period, from June 12 to July 2, the lengthy ban is designed to prevent international embarrassment, Lyall said, by addressing the city’s already gridlocked downtown, which is expected to see a 10 to 15 per cent increase in traffic due to the games. The city says the ban is also intended to allow for preparations leading up to the games at BMO Field, which is being renovated to accommodate 45,000 seats.
Lyall said builders understand the need to provide a safe and convenient experience for football fans and to put Toronto’s best foot forward on the world stage, but the timeline “just seemed excessive to us. You can’t do hydro digs, excavations or lane closures during the prime building season.”
Russell Baker, Toronto’s media relations and issues management director, said restrictions will only apply in targeted areas, including around BMO Field, also known as Toronto Stadium, and in the Liberty Village and Spadina Fort York areas, with a focus on larger-scale, extended projects.
He said smaller-scale work, including utility connections, is expected to proceed, while key projects such as the DVP/Richmond ramp rehabilitation have been expedited.
Exception requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, Baker said, adding that the city has been communicating World Cup-related project management with the construction sector for more than 18 months.
“These measures are intended to support safe and reliable traffic flow and maintain access to priority transit routes during a period of increased demand,” Baker said in an email.
Toronto has proposed limited construction activity downtown and along major arteries during the three-month period, issuing a map to builders and developers banning work on roads and sidewalks within an area bounded by Sherbourne Street, Bloor Street, Lansdowne Avenue and the lakeshore.
Major arteries between Yonge and Dufferin streets, and as far north as Highway 401, would also be no-roadwork zones for the period — limiting construction because builders often need to curb lanes to serve their project sites.
In a RESCON-hosted webinar in early March Dave Twaddle, the city’s permits director with transportation services, said developers’ staging areas in traffic lanes could remain.
But he said deliveries would have to stop for three days around each World Cup game to allow for fan gatherings during and around games.
Twaddle noted that, except for emergency work, no other road closures for activities such as crane installation or removal would be allowed within the designated area between June 11 and July 3.
He said the city would look at suggestions to mitigate impacts of restrictions that could include allowing overnight construction to accelerate some projects before the start of the games.
Toronto Hydro has said it would focus on emergency work only during the May 1 to July 31 period so that building projects requiring an electricity hookup during the period would need to check with the utility to see whether the work can proceed.
Scott McLellan, chief operating officer of Toronto developer Plazacorp, which has two major condo projects under construction in the affected zone, said restrictions that block building supply deliveries will effectively shut down worksites for extended periods.
He said that would eliminate thousands of work hours, delay move-in times for residents of condo towers under development and put builders at risk of financial penalties for missed construction deadlines.
“It will have a huge impact” he said, with every month of delay costing builders a minimum of $1 million, adding that projects downtown and along major north-south arteries in the centre of the city could be hit by delays, from condo towers to smaller jobs such as single-family homes and renovations.
