Item - 2016.PW10.1

The Public Works and Infrastructure Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council permit the installation of up to four mid-block pilot street murals on low volume, local streets during existing street events which include permitted road closures in summer 2016 on condition that the pilot projects meet the following requirements:

a.  Each street mural is to be developed by and be the responsibility of local community groups;

b.  Community consultation on design is undertaken and support from local residents on the murals is demonstrated to the General Manager, Transportation Services;

c.  The full cost of design, community consultation, installation, and ongoing maintenance is incurred entirely by the community group, with no cost to the City of Toronto;

d.  Designs, project materials and location suitability is reviewed and approved by the General Manager, Transportation Services during the design process and in advance of installation;

e.  Transportation Services is to conduct traffic safety reviews before and after installation and has the authority to remove any installations found to diminish road safety; and

f.  The General Manager, Transportation Services consider establishing a practical life span for street murals, at the end of which the mural will be evaluated, and considered for removal or replacement through a new project.

In July 2015, City staff were directed to examine the implications of a potential new Street Mural program, whereby local residents are granted permission to paint murals on the asphalt road surface of city streets. City Staff have investigated these projects in other cities, reviewed potential requirements in the City of Toronto, and do not recommend pursuing a new Street Mural program at this time.

While street murals do offer a community-building impact, they place considerable administrative, regulatory, and maintenance burdens on the City. Based on case study research, street murals provide no tangible traffic safety benefits. 

City staff instead propose that during community road closures with appropriate approvals, communities are free to create temporary street murals with chalk or other materials that are naturally removed by the elements. This approach would provide community building impacts at no cost to the City and essentially no added risk to motorists or the artists.