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Critics peeved over new sidewalk ‘information pillars’

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Critics peeved over new sidewalk ‘information pillars’


Dec. 28, 2011

By Edward Tubb

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Read More: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...-sidewalk-information-pillars/article2285770/


Toronto’s newest piece of street furniture was going to be the centrepiece of a state-of-the-art tourist information system and then it was redesigned. Now that it’s being placed on downtown sidewalks, public-space activists are making their opinion clear: They hate it. Why? Because they say it looks like nothing more than a garish billboard. The city calls them “information pillars,†but opponents say that name is disingenuous. “They’re 95-per-cent advertising and the information they offer is of negligible value,†said Tim Grant chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association. “It is clearly a billboard.â€

- Opponents such as Councillor Janet Davis say Toronto is selling its public spaces for a pittance. “These are supposed to help people find their way and help them enjoy the public space,†she said. “Instead, they obstruct the sidewalk and hurt the aesthetic of the street.†Each three-metre pillar holds a board with two backlit six-by-four-foot ad spaces – the same standard size as the posters on a bus shelter. The space for tourist information such as walking maps, however, is much smaller and many of the pillars were installed before the maps were ready. In surface area, there is six times more advertising than space for tourist information.

- That’s very different than in the pillar’s original design. The street-furniture contract initially included a model that Astral COO Jacques Parisien has called the most useful and attractive street pillars in North America. It had a touch-screen interface, an LED ticker and a link to an information hotline. It even won an international design award. However, the technology proved unreliable and difficult to place, says Fiona Chapman, acting manager of the city’s street-furniture office. The design was also bulkier than the new one and had maintenance issues, she said. In response to the concerns, Astral proposed the current design, which passed council easily in June. In comparison, it has 60-per-cent more ad space by area and none of the originally promised technology.

- For Councillor Adam Vaughan, the problem is not just the information pillars’ appearance but also how they are being installed. Unlike the MegaBins, they are designed to be oriented perpendicular to sidewalk traffic. This maximizes advertising exposure to pedestrians and drivers but causes problems on narrow sidewalks. Partly due to placement issues, Astral has already removed about 6 pillars it installed earlier this fall, said Ms. Chapman. According to details of the agreement, Astral will pay the city the greater amount of either a guaranteed annual minimum or a set percentage of yearly revenue.

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These signs are completely pointless. Most cell phones these days have GPS which tourists can use to get around the city.
 
There is hardly any info, these are just tacky side walk billboards.
 
As long as the billboards provide ample information, I don't see the problem putting up ads. I haven't seen the before and after info pillars so I don't know how the info display have changed. If there's not enough useful info, then they should put more in to help tourists or locals find places. BTW, NOT EVERYONE owns a data plan on their cell phone. NOT EVERYONE has a cellphone either.

What I see a problem with is the profit split between Astral Media and the city. Astral's is getting a larger and larger cut than the city is out of it.
 
As long as the billboards provide ample information, I don't see the problem putting up ads. I haven't seen the before and after info pillars so I don't know how the info display have changed. If there's not enough useful info, then they should put more in to help tourists or locals find places. BTW, NOT EVERYONE owns a data plan on their cell phone. NOT EVERYONE has a cellphone either.

What I see a problem with is the profit split between Astral Media and the city. Astral's is getting a larger and larger cut than the city is out of it.

One would think that tourists would bring a map with them or buy one when going to a different city. They seem to have got around fine in the past without these pillars.

I'd say most people own a cell phone these days unless they're completely destitute. I'm kind of an anomaly in this part of the world. I come from an upper middle class background, but I've never owned a cell phone in my life.
 
One would think that tourists would bring a map with them or buy one when going to a different city. They seem to have got around fine in the past without these pillars.

I'd say most people own a cell phone these days unless they're completely destitute. I'm kind of an anomaly in this part of the world. I come from an upper middle class background, but I've never owned a cell phone in my life.

I own a cell but I don't always carry it out with me. I tend to forget it at home. It's also a pay as you go and there's no data plan. As I said, not everyone owns a cell. Some do, some don't. As for bringing a map, if they could find their way, they wouldn't have to ask me for directions. I often come across tourists asking me for directions on how to get to places. Some had a map and still don't know how to get to places because they don't know where's North, South, East and West. I have a hard time noticing too and sometimes go in the wrong direction. And I live in Toronto. Luckily sometimes I can spot the CN tower so that tells me where south is located. What would probably be helpful is telling people which direction is where for tourists who are unfamiliar with the streets.
 
The old model had a map. The one on Queens Quay even had a map dispenser. The new one I see near Yonge and Eglinton is a billboard blocking half the sidewalk. The fact you can slap a sticker on the side of a billboard doesn't make the whole thing way-finding. They should only approve this new design if one large display side is an advertisement and the other large sign is completely way-finding. Only the current council could be so stupid to think using the frame of a billboard or the post of a billboard as way-finding provides enough value to go crazy with more billboards. Might as well slap some of those Gardiner sized billboards on main streets... the post that holds them up are bigger than the width of these new sidewalk billboards... think of the way-finding!
 
I came across one of these a couple months back on King East, right near the main entrance to George Brown College. It was at a spot where the sidewalk is particularly narrow and often crammed with students heading to the subway. In a city where we are becoming used to suffering from nonsensical ideas, this one stuck out as particularly boneheaded.

I couldn't believe how out of scale the thing was, and even though I quickly walked around it I didn't actually notice any "information". The last time I went by, the pillar was gone, but I don't know if they realized how stupid it was or if they were just repairing it or something. Infuriating either way. If they feel a need to be installing more street furniture, why don't they start by replacing those god-awful broken "new" garbage cans they've already strewn about our city?
 
I came across one of these a couple months back on King East, right near the main entrance to George Brown College. It was at a spot where the sidewalk is particularly narrow and often crammed with students heading to the subway. In a city where we are becoming used to suffering from nonsensical ideas, this one stuck out as particularly boneheaded.

I couldn't believe how out of scale the thing was, and even though I quickly walked around it I didn't actually notice any "information". The last time I went by, the pillar was gone, but I don't know if they realized how stupid it was or if they were just repairing it or something. Infuriating either way. If they feel a need to be installing more street furniture, why don't they start by replacing those god-awful broken "new" garbage cans they've already strewn about our city?

The one on King East at GBC has been removed after local complaints - it took up more of the sidewalk than permitted.

Despite cell phone and GPS there really is a need for "information" on our streets. I live near the St Lawrence Market and there are usually many people wandering around looking for either the Distillery or the subway - many do have maps which they are unable to read. Frankly a few old fashioned signposts might be the best solution.
 
They should put these across half a lane of traffic. Then Council might finally see the problem.
 
Frankly a few old fashioned signposts might be the best solution.

Indeed! I have always thought simple directional signs at major intersections and subway entrances that point to attractions are the optimal solution.

For example a sign at Yonge and Carlton/College could show:
Old Cabbagetown: EAST 2km
Riverdale Farm: EAST 2.5km
University of Toronto: WEST 2km
Chinatown: WEST 2.5km
Kensington Market: WEST 3km
Little Italy: WEST 3.5km
Yorkville: NORTH 2km
Eaton Centre: South 1km
Harbourfornt: South 2km

*All distances above are estimated by my currently slightly intoxicated mind.

Signs at downtown subway stations can list the major attractions and what stops they are at. They key here is to put large point font signs in multiple locations in and out of the fare paid area.
 
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