November 6, 1998
To:The Urban Environment and Development Committee
From:City Clerk
Subject:Oversized Street Name Signs
- International Year of Older Persons (1999).
Recommendation:
The Seniors' Task Force on November 4, 1998 recommended that:
(1) The Urban Environment and Development Committee and the Budget Committee be
advised that as a project of the Seniors' Task Force for the International Year of Older Persons
(1999), it supports the inclusion of $250,000.00 in the 1999 Capital Budget for the installation
of oversized street name signs.
The Seniors' Task Force also recommended that:
(2) Consultation take place with experts in this field prior to any decisions being made on the
size and lettering on the sign; and
(3)The Seniors' Task Force would like the opportunity to review proposals and samples of
the oversized street name signs, if possible, at its next meeting scheduled for December 8,
1998.
Background:
The Seniors' Task Force had before it a communication (September 18, 1998) from David C.
Kaufman, General Manager, Transportation Services, advising, in response to Councillor
Anne Johnston's letter of June 23, 1998, that the cost of implementing oversized street name
signs at all major and minor arterial road intersections throughout the City of Toronto is
estimated to be approximately $1,850,000.00 for 620 locations; that a trial installation will be
conducted in 1999 in order to gauge public reaction to and acceptance of the oversized street
name signs; that $250,000.00 will be included within the 1999 Capital Budget submission for
this pilot project; and assuming the response is favourable, a seven year retrofit program is
anticipated in order to minimize the financial impact of this work.
City Clerk.
(B. Gattoni, Secretary, Seniors' Task Force)
Attachment.
Also Forwarded to The Budget Committee.
Copy to:Barry Gutteridge, Commissioner, Works and Emergency Services
David C. Kaufman, General Manager, Transportation Services.
September 18, 1998
Councillor Anne Johnston
Chair, Seniors' Task Force
Suite 205, Metro Hall
55 John Street
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 3C6
Dear Councillor Johnston:
Re: Oversized Street Name Signs
This letter is in response to your June 23, 1998 letter to Barry Gutteridge, Commissioner,
Works and Emergency Services, regarding a request from the Seniors; Task Force to replace
the street name signs on arterial roads with signs with larger lettering. We have completed a
review of your request and are pleased to provide the following information:
We recognize that the proportion of senior citizens in our population is increasing, and the
vision of elderly is often weaker than that of younger people. One measure we can introduce
to accommodate the needs of the aging population is the installation of larger (oversized)
street name signs, especially at major intersections.
We have developed a proposed plan of sign manufacture and installation, which is described
briefly in the following paragraphs. The cost of implementing this signage plan at major
intersections throughout the City of Toronto is estimated to be approximately $1,850,000.00.
Before embarking on an annual retrofit program, we propose to conduct a trial installation in
1999 in order to gauge public reaction to and acceptance of the oversized street name signs.
We will be including a $250,000.00 item within our 1999 Capital Budget submission for this
pilot project. Assuming the response is favourable, we anticipate a seven year retrofit program
in order to minimize the financial impact of this work.
The placement of oversized street name signs is most appropriate at the intersection of major
streets in Toronto. These intersections are almost exclusively controlled by traffic control
signals which provide the necessary structural support for the oversized street name signs. The
most effective placement of an oversized street name sign is on a pole mast arm at the far side
of the intersection. The oversized sign would be highly noticeable at this location because it
would be located next to a traffic control signal head. This would also be consistent with the
practices in the adjacent municipalities of Mississauga and York Region.
A four foot (1.2m) long sign could be installed at traffic control signals in the downtown and
urban areas of Toronto, typically in the former cities of Toronto, York, and East York, and
downtown Etobicoke. Suburban locations could accommodate a larger six foot (1.8m) long
sign. Many locations would require the installation of a new mast arm to accommodate the
additional weight of the sign in conjunction with existing traffic control signal equipment and
other existing signage such as turn prohibition signs.
The cost to install oversized street name signs at the approximately 620 major intersections in
the City of Toronto is estimated to be $1,850,000.00. This would provide an oversized street
name sign at all major arterial and minor arterial road intersections.
If you have any questions or wish to discuss this in further detail, please contact Peter Bartos,
P. Eng., Transportation Engineer, at 778-2225.