Recommendation:

It is recommended that the Bell Canada telephone booth advertising proposal be deferred until the end of 1998 to provide the opportunity to assess the reaction to the installations in Etobicoke and East York in the context of a general assessment of advertising possibilities on the public road allowances.

Discussion:

It has become apparent that it would be desirable to provide more time to assess the merits of this proposal relative to the concerns that have been expressed about more advertising on the road allowances. In particular, the Scarborough and Toronto Community Councils, at their meetings of January 21, 1998, both requested a further deferral of this item.

In this regard, it is also important to recognize that the former City of Etobicoke and the Borough of East York have entered into agreements with Bell Canada for a one-year period (ending December 31, 1998) for telephone booths on their former local road systems.

Given the diversity of opinion on this matter, it would seem that it would be advantageous to gain more experience with the Etobicoke and East York installations prior to proceeding with the consideration of booths on the former Metro road system, as currently proposed, as well as other parts of the road system. In this respect, the Etobicoke and East York installations could be considered as pilot projects. A deferral of one year would also provide sufficient time to examine the telephone booth advertising proposal relative to the broader question of the extent to which more advertising signage should be allowed on the public rights-of-way.

Joe Pantalone, Councillor

Chair, Urban Environment and Development Committee