Sign by-law tries to balance rights of residents with needs of business

Dennis Hanagan –

The Bay Cloverhill Community Association (BCCA) met in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood March 24 with the city’s sign by-law manager Ted Van Vliet who gave an overview of a recently completed study about electronic and illuminated signs and their impact on traffic safety and the people who live near them.

City bylaw manager Ted Van Vliet

Signs’ brightness and size can impose on residents, Van Vliet noted. At the same time business wants to advertise products and services. “People have the right to live in peace, so how do we find a balance?” he asked.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise signs with rapidly changing images are a distraction. Van Vliet said a resolution is to have images fade gradually from one to another.

A question from the small audience asked whether advertisers were okay with the less attention-getting fading ones. “When we presented these (ideas) to the industry they didn’t really like any of them,” Van Vliet said.

Although research was inconclusive and conflicting, the study said there’s no evidence that electronic signs with changing copy cause traffic collisions. Electronic moving signs were found to be appropriate for places like Dundas Square, the Air Canada Centre and Ripley’s Aquarium.

In a letter to the planning and growth management committee, BCCA president Rick Whitten-Stovall said “diverse effects” of digital billboards on people’s physical and mental health is the city’s responsibility. “It is not responsible or appropriate for the (committee) to approve such a far-reaching increase of these billboards simply because there is a large demand,” Whitten-Stovall wrote.

The study found 63% of respondents agreed electronic and illuminated signs are useful, while 55% said the city needs to do more to control them.

As for aesthetics, 55% said they contribute to the look and vibrancy of the city, and 35% said they were concerned with the negative impact they have on the look of their neighbourhoods.

The planning and growth management committee referred the study back for further consideration and to report to the committee next spring with a draft by-law.