Niall Horan, formerly of the hit boy band One Direction, had to walk to his concert at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto because traffic was so backed up. He posted a clip on Instagram that showed him walking along a busy Toronto street towards Scotiabank Arena, as he says to the camera, "The traffic's too bad in Toronto, so we're walking to the venue."
Cars are seen in the background at a standstill -- bumper to bumper as Niall walks several blocks beside the road. As he approaches a sign saying "Welcome to Scotiabank Arena," he turns to the camera and says, "In all the years of doing shows, I don't think I've ever walked into a venue."
Niall played two sold-out nights -- June 28 and 29 -- for Toronto fans before taking a week off prior to his next show on July 7 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His concert tour is international, starting in Ireland on February 20, then touring a selection of European cities, followed by Australia and the U.S., with only one stop in Canada. The second Toronto show was added after the first sold out.
The Irish singer/songwriter isn't the first celebrity to publicly complain about traffic congestion in Toronto -- in July 2023 while promoting Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Tom Cruise was asked during an interview with eTalk if he would take on the challenge of filming in Toronto and battling traffic for two hours -- without road rage. He responded, "I have done that challenge and I've been in that traffic. I've made movies in Toronto, and I've visited Toronto, and I have friends in Toronto. What's up with the traffic in Toronto? Have they figured this out?"
Since last year, traffic has gotten much worse downtown since the Gardiner Expressway reduced lanes for repairs in March, with work to continue until mid-2027. Earlier this year, Toronto topped the list of the most congested cities in North America and ranked third internationally, coming behind only London and Dublin. ~Alexandra Heilbron
Toronto is the worst for traffic. I never go downtown anymore, it's just too frustrating and the TTC is unreliable. It's embarrassing that celebrities are starting to notice it and comment on it.
Glad I don't live there.
Just another reason to avoid Toronto. Come to Halifax next time Niall!
Toronto has become so unliveable and since I moved to North York, I avoid downtown like the plague! We have everything we need up here and downtown has become so douche-y anyway. On the other hand, the headline makes it seem like the singer should have been helicopetered out to the show. I mean, what choice was there but to walk?? So many out-of-town performers complain about the awful traffic in Toronto - it seems to be known pretty much everywhere.
You should come in Montreal.Everything is done to make took bicycle or the bus/metro. And you wish there is no delay. The day can be long. I use my bicycle.On summer.But people are crazy and feel alone in their world on the street.
Victoria BC is smaller, but the traffic here is brutal. Poor CRD planning and the area is just expanding! Any mass transit like a skytrain (like Vancouver), is always talked about but never actioned even though the rail lines are in place. If there's an accident on the Malahat, there's no detour routes or the one detour gets it's own congestion because it is a smaller road. Any accidents, good luck getting anywhere. If you want to get off the island, you must take a ferry which is not reliable and costly! The ferry traffic when people offload and get on the island is only 2 lanes into the city backed up and slow moving the entire way. This is a venting comment lol. Everywhere, there are traffic issues, not just the Montreal's and Toronto's out there.