RESIDENTS WHO FEARED that the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue intersection might soon resemble the bright lights and abundant signage of Yonge-Dundas Square are breathing a sigh of relief.
A flood of applications for sign variances had come forward to East York Community Council in advance of the new billboard sign bylaw that comes into effect April 6.
I
n the end, council refused nearly all of the approximately 25 applications from Astral Media after local residents expressed concern. The one application that was approved was to change a sign from MIX 99.9 to Virgin Radio 99.9.
Members of the Deer Park Residents’ Association were among those who expressed concern. One application, which was ultimately rejected by council, proposed an increase in the number of illuminated signs on the northwest corner of Yonge and St. Clair from three to four, and detailed a change from traditional ticker-style displays to LED curved signs and requested that it be opened up to third-party advertisers.
“There were big colourful signs. It makes it sort of like Yonge-Dundas Square,” said Cathie Macdonald, president of the association. “We wanted to know what was actually being proposed.”
“Our intention… was to modify [the signage] so that it would be available to our clients who are in the outdoor business as well,” said said Ron Hutchinson of Astral Media. He added the cost of making an application under the new bylaw is enough to deter them.