Toronto councillor wants residents to say no to new 'super-sized billboard'

A Toronto councillor is asking residents to reach out to the city's mayor and ask him to prevent a "super-sized billboard" from being erected in her riding.

The billboard in question would be put up near Leslie Street and the Highway 401, and Ward 17 counc. Shelley Carroll says it would be three times larger than what the city usually allows.

"Now, I don’t really mind these giant digital billboards when they’re out on the 407. There’s such a large green buffer surrounding the highway that they don’t compete with many distractions," Caroll wrote in a blog post about the topic.

"Here in the city, I despise them. On a high-volume highway in a densely populated area, like the Gardiner, these billboards are so distracting that they can be downright dangerous.”

The City of Toronto has a number of bylaws in place regulating billboards, controlling the size and location of the signs.

The applicant is asking the city to amend the bylaws, which prohibits a third party signs from going up in that location. They are also asking for an amendment to regulations determining size and shape of the sign's configurations.

This plan is contingent on the removal of five existing signs located within 20 kilometres of the proposed billboard.

"Essentially, this is describing a digital Super-Billboard at Leslie and the 401 that is three times larger than what the City usually allows. Each sign would be 14 feet high and 48 feet across, placed 75 feet in the air," Caroll said.

"The height of these billboards is important to the applicant, because the taller the installation, the more time cars have to absorb the images from a distance. The problem is that it also means the light from the billboard will cast into more and more residential windows."

Caroll says the location is too close to North York General Hospital, as well as residential towers and homes.

In her blog post, she asks residents to send an email to Toronto Mayor John Tory before council makes a final decision on June 15.

The Planning and Housing Committee is recommending that city council approve the bylaw amendments, despite the fact that Toronto's Chief Building Official does not support the decision.