Item - 2012.PW13.8

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee:

1.         referred Item PW13.8 back to the General Manager, Transportation Services, for a further report to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on May 16, 2012;

2.         referred the following motions to the Acting General Manager, Transportation Services, for consideration:

Motions by Councillor Perks:

a.         That City Council amend Appendix A by deleting guiding principle Item 4.

b.         That City Council amend Appendix A, guiding principle Item 3, by replacing the word "optimal" with "permitted", so that Item 3 now reads:

            “3.       The permitted location for InfoPillars is completely within the furnishing or planting zone of the sidewalk where they can be appropriately integrated into the streetscape, and not impede the passage of pedestrians.”

c.         That the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee request the Acting General Manager, Transportation Services, to report to the June 14, 2012, meeting of the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee with a revised implementation plan for installation of the remaining required elements.

Motions by Councillor Layton:

a.         That City Council amend Appendix A by adding the following new principle:

“9.        Any InfoPillar located in the vicinity of parking bays be placed on the downstreet end of the bay.”

b.         That City Council amend Appendix A, Item 4, under the heading "Process", by adding the words "immediately or within a reasonable amount of time", so that Item 4 now reads:

4.         The local Councillor will be advised if the installation of pillars requires the removal of bike rings. Bike rings will be reinstalled close to the original location immediately or within a reasonable amount of time.

c.         That City Council amend Appendix A, Item 6, by adding the following new subsection:

“6e.      adhere to the accessibility safety principles that impact people with disabilities.”

d.         That City Council amend Appendix A, guiding principle Item 6a, by adding the words "for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists", so that Item 6a now reads:

"6a)      all safety and sightline matters are addressed for pedestrians, drivers and cyclists."

e.         That City Council amend Appendix A, Item 2, by adding "including ensuring that no single ward has greater than 20% of the total number of infopillars installed."

            Motion by Councillor Shiner:

That the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee request the Acting General Manager, Transportation Services, to submit a report to the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on May 16, 2012, on the progress of staff's work with Astral Media, and a timeline,  on the options for multi-bike parking units to be provided in lieu of the 1,000 single bike posts; and

3.         confirmed the instructions to staff issued in closed session.

The Coordinated Street Furniture Program will deliver over 25,640 pieces of uniquely attractive, functional street furniture that provides a variety of public services across the entire City over a 20 year period. The Toronto program, now entering its fifth year, reflects an innovative partnership model for addressing budgetary pressures to the benefit of the public. It is unprecedented in its scale and scope, in comparison to similar initiatives in cities throughout the world. The program has delivered marked improvement to Toronto's streets, with high quality design and a better ordered and coordinated streetscape, characterized by reduced advertising and less general clutter.

The street furniture elements are provided and fully maintained by Astral Media and become the property of the City at the end of the contract. The City also receives significant revenues and other benefits from the contract. In all, the financial value to the City over the term of this agreement is $1 billion. Beyond the substantial direct benefits the street furniture program brings to Toronto streets, the City proceeds from the agreement are invested in a variety of programs and initiatives, that would otherwise not have been possible, to tangibly enhance and upgrade the quality of the public realm. 

The purpose of this report is two-fold:

1.         To provide a comprehensive update on the status of the coordinated street furniture program following the first 4 years of the 20 year contract with Astral Media.

2.         To recommend guidelines to augment the parameters set out in 'Vibrant Streets' on the deployment of the InfoPillar element of the program and the role this element will play in the development of the City's wayfinding strategy.

In response to concerns related to the initial Fall of 2011 rollout of the InfoPillars (120 in total are called for by the City in the agreement), and their placement on Toronto's streets, a number of options were explored with Astral. These included elimination of the element entirely, reducing the numbers to be deployed, redesign the ad faces, enhanced transit shelter ad capabilities, as well as variations on the placement parameters. A number of these measures generally are more onerous and could have contractual implications.

Staff are confident the enhanced guidelines being recommended will ensure that safe and pleasing streetscapes remain the primary focus while respecting the mutual business responsibilities stipulated in the Agreement to sustain the overall program and its wide ranging benefits.

At its meeting of April 3, 2012, the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee will have before it the report (dated March 20, 2012) from the Acting General Manager, Transportation Services respecting the deployment of InfoPillars (also known as "InfoToGo Pillars") on City sidewalks by Astral Media.  That report was submitted as requested by the Committee at its meeting of January 4, 2012 to provide comments on the feasibility of design changes, including contractual obligations, for the current InfoPillars to address concerns raised by the public and better facilitate an effective wayfinding strategy.

This report has been prepared in order to provide the Committee and Council with confidential solicitor-client advice respecting the rights and obligations of the parties under the Agreement (dated July 20, 2007) with Astral Media.