Condo signs create clutter at intersection
A-frame signs used to advertise new condos for sale are claiming squatter’s rights at the intersection of Yonge St. and Davisville Ave.
Most people wouldn’t know it, but putting up and taking down Aframes — also known as sandwich board signs — has become a business unto itself in condo-crazy Toronto.
Late at night on weekends, trucks make their way around the city, dropping off the signs in locations near the dozens of condo towers in need of aggressive peddling so developers can make a bundle.
Exactly where the signs are placed has more to do with sales than trifling matters such as pedestrian safety, impeding drivers from getting a good look at oncoming traffic or regulations that apply to A-frames.
And nowhere is the lack of concern about anything but pushing condos more evident than at Yonge St. and Davisville Ave., where signs are stacked up every weekend, on all sides of the busy intersection.
Bao Choi Chan copied us on a complaint he made to Toronto’s Municipal Licensing and Standards department, saying the signs do not comply with city rules governing A-frames.
“There are more than two groups of signs at the intersection,” he said, adding: “All four corners have signs on them.”
“One of the signs has helium balloons attached to it, so it exceeds the 1.2-metre height allowance and is a visibility distraction to drivers. The tethered balloons blow out into the street right at drivers’ eye level.”
He noted that some of the signs “sit right on the edge of the curb. Should they ever be clipped by a passing car or a wide-turning bus, a pedestrian could be gravely injured by a plywood projectile.”
We went there Sunday and found lots of signs at all four corners, but high winds that swept the city on Saturday night and Sunday blew over almost all of them, so that they were under the feet of pedestrians. And the helium balloons attached to the signs on the northeast corner had lost their gas, leaving them flat on the ground. But at least they weren’t distracting drivers. Status: We’ve asked Municipal Licensing and Standards, which is in charge of ensuring that A-frame signs comply with city rules, if it can check out the signs at Yonge St. and Davisville Ave. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823 email jlakey@thestar.ca. To read our blog, go to thestar.com/news/the_fixer. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.