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Neighborhood News
Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario
April, 2008
Signs of Trouble
 Councillor Pam McConnell had asked Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to give YQNA's planning committee a presentation of the signs that have been proposed for the Maple Leaf Square under construction west of the ACC. A dozen residents from buildings along the Waterfront attended the meeting.
In the plans, we were astounded to see both the ACC and the large podium at Maple Leaf Square studded with signs - 48 in all! Quite a few were appropriate and useful, such as wayfinding signs and names of businesses in the buildings. Others were inappropriate and clearly directed at the Gardiner Expressway traffic and other high traffic sightlines, where third-party advertising would be most lucrative.
Above the ACC entrance was a proposed 60' x 50' video screen to be used around the clock for game excerpts, interviews (with sound) and advertising. Other oversized electronic billboards were facing in all directions, and large tri-signs jutted out over the Gardiner Expressway. A 55,000 lbs. blade sign was suspended at a right angle from the wall over the York Street sidewalk.
YQNA was assured in a City Hall planning meeting, June of 2006, that Maple Leaf Square would not resemble Dundas Square with a hoard of billboards. Now we were faced with these signs.
We are asking Councillor McConnell and City Council to keep the useful signage and reject the signs that would create a bill board environment that's ugly and unsuitable for the Waterfront.
Among our concerns are light pollution and intrusion into people's homes and offices from flickering and moving images night and day. We asked that new condo owners and tenants in adjacent commercial buildings be advised about this possibility and have their opinions heard.
We also pointed out the safety hazards that large, moving images would create for drivers on the Gardiner. We asked that no signs would stick out from the envelope of the building, partly because the fierce winds that sweep the Waterfront could loosen the signs.
We will keep you posted on the recommendations from the City. If the variances to the signage bylaws carry any weight, we expect that Maple Leaf Square will be denied many of the commercial excesses in their plans. We hope this new landmark will be bright and cheerful, but not completely handed over to commercial interests, which could set precedence in our neighbourhood.
Another neighbourhood giant
We were invited to Metro Hall on April 15 to see how the plans for 16 York Street are shaping up. That's the very large project on the parking lot across the street from Maple Leaf Square. Both councillors McConnell and Vaughan were present and there was an interested crowd to see the presentation by architect Peter Clewes and city planner Al Rezoski.
A large, chunky office building will go up along the north end of the site. From that, a low-slung canopy with a green, perforated roof will cover an atrium at the base of two slim condo towers. Height: 65 and 55 storeys.
The most attractive part - and a relief from a densely built atmosphere - was the unusual atrium with tall trees poking though holes in the roof. We asked the developer to make this an inviting public space with cafes and benches, rather than aiming solely at the people who live and work there.
When the developer showed where the cars would drive into the atrium (!), we strongly suggested that people could get out at the curb and walk a few feet to their front door under the cover of the canopy. This is supposed to be a pedestrian environment. A PATH will connect this complex with Maple Leaf Square on the other side of York Street.
We were assured that this development would not attempt to carry lots of bill boards and other advertising. But that's what we were assured a couple of years ago when we first viewed the plans for Maple Leaf Square.
Ulla Colgrass
Chair, YQNA
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