[jn_12]

But 99% of posters on poles are multiples of clubs or bigger businesses, not your local dog walker. They're abusive and ugly and I'd rather they be limited. There are plenty of opportunities for legitimate community posters at community centres, condo lobbies, laundry rooms, etc.

Even then, I'm fine with postings for clubs and events (I often see them for upcoming concerts or theatre events). I'm not sure how a poster can abuse you, but I'd suggest they're no uglier than any other form of advertising, only in this case advertising has been democratized to allow even you and me to get our message across to others.

And you're right, there are other places that posters can go up, but obviously poles have become the place for it where they can reach the most people. For those other options, most people never set foot in a community centre, have in-suite laundry and perhaps just aren't allowed to post in their condo lobbies (this doesn't make it right in the same way local residential associations shouldn't be banning things like clothes lines).

To me, this postering argument is no different than people who complain about windmills off the Scarborough bluffs or the aforementioned clothes lines in the suburbs. It might be something others benefit from, but because I don't like to see it it shouldn't happen.

 

[jn_12]

Downtown perhaps ... out in the suburbs, east of Broadview, it is your local dog walker.

Even my example was from City Place, and really I should have extended it to the Harbourfront neighbourhood too, because it's quite common to see entrepreneurial posters there too.

 

[hawc]

It really is a blight on downtown Toronto. Go to San Francisco, or Washington or Chicago and you don't see these ugly flyers posted up everywhere. The police could totally crack down on the people posting them if they wanted to (I see them putting them up all the time) but there's not political will.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Downtown perhaps ... out in the suburbs, east of Broadview, it is your local dog walker.

I'm east of Broadview and the one I most often took down was "CLEAR MY JUNK" with a 905 number.

Dog walkers, "green" landscaping companies, yoga, it all comes down as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know if this site is still a going concern, but they've got the right idea:

http://www.causs-canada.org/index.html

 

[Colonel Samuel Smith]

It really is a blight on downtown Toronto. Go to San Francisco, or Washington or Chicago and you don't see these ugly flyers posted up everywhere. The police could totally crack down on the people posting them if they wanted to (I see them putting them up all the time) but there's not political will.

On the flipside, when I visited Italy last fall I saw plenty of posters all over the place. I'm certainly not going to say it was a highlight of my trip, but I found it interesting to look at theirs and compare them to what we've got (theirs were alot more political). If I'm traveling to somewhere I'd rather see posters being put up, it gives the place more local flavor and makes things less sterile. So for me I'm not exactly impressed by going to San Francisco and gaping in awe at their unblemished utility poles.

 

[Mississauga Slim]

I'd suggest they're no uglier than any other form of advertising

I'd suggest they are:

 

[jje1000]

Grungy!

 

[Lenser]

Keep the poles. Keep the posters. I find nothing wrong with either and don't feel they negatively impact the urban environment. If anything, I'd argue that posters and poles enhance as they create spaces for community discourse. For example, in the City Place area they're often used to announce condo meetings or meetings on issues with Adam Vaughan. If not those, I see posters for dog walkers, movers, painters, and a plethora of other entrepreneurial endeavours, which allow people to make a living and reach an audience that it probably couldn't afford to reach through traditional forms of advertising. For an area that people seem to critique for a lack of community, these posters are a step forward.

I'd also suggest that "hydro poles are ugly" is an entirely subjective thing. I actually like them and have little issue with how they look (and I'm an urban planner).

+ 1.

Back in the day, when I was still in art skule, companies didn't poster poles - bands did. And last time I checked, they still do - but the internet does most of the heavy lifting in that regard.

I have no problem with the layered look of successive layers of posters. I consider it part of the urban aesthetic. But yeah, I'd rather the posters look cool... not just be homogenous-looking ads for junk removal or local handymen, etc.

 

[Mississauga Slim]

I have no problem with the layered look of successive layers of posters. I consider it part of the urban aesthetic.

I prefer the term "vertical litter."

 

[jn_12]

I'd suggest they are:

Actually, I'd equate those to the old painted ads you would find on the side of older brick buildings in the city that have long worn away but are faintly visible.

And, I'd argue these are far worse for the urban environment

 

[Torontovibe]

^^ How can anybody take that seriously at all? Are you trying to be ridiculous or does it just come to you naturally? Sheesh!

 

[Mississauga Slim]

I'd argue these are far worse for the urban environment

Okay, what's your argument?

 

[Mississauga Slim]

Actually, I'd equate those to the old painted ads you would find on the side of older brick buildings in the city that have long worn away but are faintly visible.

And this too then, I guess?

 

[Lenser]

Yep... those new "information signs" are a blight on the landscape and are thoughtless obstacles to pedestrian flow. And the overhanging, winking and blinking ad gak overlooking and garishly festooning the Gardiner is yet more urban blight.

 

[doady]

So a few billboards in select locations far above the street downtown is more of a blight upon Toronto's urban landscape than every single hydro pole, lamp post, phone booth, utility box. etc. at street level being covered literally by thousands of posters. This is sad.