How difficult is driving around Toronto and in the downtown area? My husband has decided it is a great idea to take a road trip to Toronto, from WI, in February.
Two facts about Toronto driving from a Toronto citizen.
1) As I see posted above, the 401 highway through Toronto is the busiest in North America. DO NOT arrive during rush hour. Plan your drive to arrive at your hotel between 11am and 3pm, or after 7pm.
2) Well known quote, Toronto is a one hour drive from Toronto. No, that is not a typo. Urban sprawl, traffic and areas with highway inaccessibility mean I can sometimes drive to Niagara Falls faster than the other side of town.
Coming from Toronto, I have no problem driving in other infamous cities like New York and even wonder what their bad reputation is about. Meaning, Toronto is on par or worse than those towns.
In particular, pedestrians are worse than cars. The drivers are predictable but walkers don’t know the laws and think they always have right of way.
Parking is another issue. If you are anywhere downtown, expect parking costs to be between $25 and $45 CAD dollars per day... with the lower end only if your hotel has private parking.
If you have a hotel outside of town, expect event parking near concert venues to be $15 to $35 depending on it’s popularity.
Advice: Just accept the price and do not drive around looking for savings. All the nearest spots will cost the same and it could (without exaggeration) take 30 minutes to circle the block. In February, definitely take the first indoor parking garage you find.
Regarding temperature, it will be cold... but no worse than Wisconsin. In fact, we’ll probably be warmer... errr, less cold... than you if you’re from the the north end of your state.
As someone above said, a flight may save a tonne of stress and time with costs offset by parking. I’ve driven to Wisconsin once (in February during a -25C cold snap no less) and many drives to Chicago. The problem is driving around the Great Lakes. So, the drive is sooo much longer than the flight (which goes over the lakes).
PS. This advice comes from someone who loves Toronto AND loves to drive. So, what I say above is realistic and from experience.