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Toronto Wayfinding Strategy (City of Toronto, Design Phase)

Looks far better than I've come to expect from the city, I'll have to go down and see it in person to be sure but this looks really good. I think the 2d diagrams of buildings, like FCP here, is the weakest point. I'd prefer to see a smaller 3d isometric illustration, or nothing at all. The diagram they have now sort of blends into the map and doesn't read as a building. It also takes up a large area which I doubt would work in all situations.

I also prefer option #2 for overall design. It actually reminds me a lot of the wayfinding they have in London, although it doesn't seem to have the 'perspective' map, where instead of north, the map is oriented in the direction the user is facing. I'm sure they considered and rejected this idea, would like to know why.
 
I also prefer option #2 for overall design. It actually reminds me a lot of the wayfinding they have in London, although it doesn't seem to have the 'perspective' map, where instead of north, the map is oriented in the direction the user is facing. I'm sure they considered and rejected this idea, would like to know why.

Yeah, I think #2 is the best after a quick eyeballing - really have to get more detail to be sure.

AoD
 
Looks far better than I've come to expect from the city, I'll have to go down and see it in person to be sure but this looks really good. I think the 2d diagrams of buildings, like FCP here, is the weakest point. I'd prefer to see a smaller 3d isometric illustration, or nothing at all. The diagram they have now sort of blends into the map and doesn't read as a building. It also takes up a large area which I doubt would work in all situations..
Same. That FCP diagram is distracting.
 
Will this way finding strategy be used across the city or just downtown?

Across the city, there is a suburban pilot project planned as well. Interestingly, the study also extends to highway and street signage, as detailed in this report: http://www1.toronto.ca/City Of Toro...Walking/Files/pdf/torontowayfindingreport.pdf

It seems they want to use this in PATH, so I have to wonder why they aren't also working with the TTC when they are currently revamping their wayfinding (poorly)? It could also be applied in public parks and other public areas like the islands and the spit. It would be much better if all city agencies used the same 'language' for wayfinding, rather than the multiple standards in place now.
 
Surprised nobody updated the thread. Go down to the prototype sign at Bay/Queen and see for yourself, I think they did an excellent job with this. I actually have almost no complaints. I would love to see it rolled out across the city and in PATH and ideally to replace the area maps the TTC uses.

vtDo8AD.jpg
 
It's a bit inconsistent - why the use of diagrams for some buildings (e.g. FCP) and not others (Scotia, Osgoode)?

AoD

There is a (final?) PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE on this later in the week:

Public Open House
Thursday, October 2nd 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Presentation at 7:00 pm
Metro Hall
Rooms 308/309
55 John Street Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
 
Surprised nobody updated the thread. Go down to the prototype sign at Bay/Queen and see for yourself, I think they did an excellent job with this. I actually have almost no complaints. I would love to see it rolled out across the city and in PATH and ideally to replace the area maps the TTC uses.

It looks like the point is to show everything within a 5 minute walk. The scale should be changed so that the entire 5 minute circle fits on the map.
 
It looks like the point is to show everything within a 5 minute walk. The scale should be changed so that the entire 5 minute circle fits on the map.

It's not shown in that image but there is a second map on the pillar that shows a larger area but with less detail.
 
Transit isn't represented very helpfully on these maps. If I'm a visitor, I not only want to know where the subway stations are, but where they actually go. In the above map, you have to actually look at the separate numbers on the subway station names to know that, because the numbers are the same at King, Queen, and Dundas, the trains at those stations run north-south. Putting a schematic of the line route on the map would mitigate that.

I also think that the PATH connections should be more prominent, which is I think a victim of the very muted and limited colour palette -- the light grey on white just doesn't stand out, especially when it abuts the other light grey of the street-level portions of the buildings.

And I don't quite understand which buildings get the orange treatment, and why they aren't noted in the legend for the map. And while the side-view diagrams for some buildings is an interesting choice, it leads to the weird inconsistency of those notable buildings having the building footprint in a completely different colour, that darker blue. It would make more sense to me to have the footprint consistently in the orange, and the side view diagram in the blue or some other colour.
 
Transit isn't represented very helpfully on these maps. If I'm a visitor, I not only want to know where the subway stations are, but where they actually go. In the above map, you have to actually look at the separate numbers on the subway station names to know that, because the numbers are the same at King, Queen, and Dundas, the trains at those stations run north-south. Putting a schematic of the line route on the map would mitigate that.

I find it really strange that they labeled every Subway entrance, and didn't actually explain that each cluster is the same stop.
A visitor isn't going to necessarily understand that unless it's explained in some way.
 

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