Item - 2015.PW5.12
Tracking Status
- This item was considered by Public Works and Infrastructure Committee on May 28, 2015 and was adopted without amendment.
PW5.12 - A Design Competition to Re-Imagine Toronto Parking Signage
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Adopted
- Wards:
- All
Committee Decision
The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee:
1. Requested the General Manager of Transportation Services to investigate possible changes to parking regulation signage, through a design competition, in coordination with the Division's Curbside Management Study, and in accordance with the provincial highway regulatory framework.
Origin
Summary
Toronto’s signage should reflect a commitment to design excellence. If given the opportunity, the graphic design community in this city and around the world will offer alternatives to our current drab and often illegible parking signs. Through a public competition juried by experts in transportation, graphic design and data visualization, Toronto has the opportunity to develop a more legible and attractive standard parking sign.
Cities across North America are embracing higher standards of design for their signage including the use of graphics to explain parking regulations. Los Angeles has recently proposed a redesign of its parking signage which uses a simple illustration to define when parking and stopping are and are not permitted. Toronto has an opportunity be a leader in this field by re-imagining how we communicate parking regulations to residents and visitors.
For the past several months, I have been consulting with Toronto Transportation staff to create the framework for a competition to reinvent Toronto’s parking signage. I have been advised that the upcoming Curbside Management Study will provide a springboard from which to launch a public design competition.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/pw/bgrd/backgroundfile-79821.pdf