According to the St. Catherines Standard report, Thorold City Council is considering stricter regulations to manage street-side signage, aiming to reduce visual clutter and improve safety. Photo courtesy © Big Stock
Unauthorized street-side signage is becoming a growing concern for Thorold City Council, according to a report by Matthew P. Barker for the St. Catharines Standard. During a recent council meeting, councillor Henry D’Angela expressed that the increasing number of signs placed on city property is making areas of Thorold, Ont., look “junky.”
“What I’m seeing is a greater usage of those signs they put on city property, advertising eavestrough cleaning, window repairs, everything else. It makes our city look junky when we have all these signs everywhere,” D’Angela said.
Barker’s report notes that D’Angela questioned the effectiveness of current enforcement procedures for these unauthorized signs. He pointed out that the latest quarterly report listed only four inquiries related to signage, suggesting this might not fully reflect the problem’s scope. Jason Simpson, director of development services, City of Thorold, clarified, “The four are the number of complaints we’ve received about signs that we’ve investigated; however, we have proactively removed hundreds of those types of signs from the city.”
D’Angela proposed that future reports should include data on the total number of signs removed, as this would provide a clearer picture of the issue. He also raised concerns about real estate signs being placed on city property, noting, “They’re starting to become sightline issues for vehicles, and we dealt with this at the last road safety committee.”
As reported by St. Catherines Standard, the council discussed the need for a clear policy regarding roadway signage, especially for temporary signs used during events. D’Angela suggested a permitting process to regulate where and when signs are placed. “If we don’t do that, then what happens is we end up with signs all over the place and it looks like a mess,” he remarked.
Simpson acknowledged that while the current bylaw provides guidelines on sign placement, these signs are often exempt from the permitting process, limiting oversight.
According to the St. Catherines Standard report, Thorold City Council is considering stricter regulations to manage street-side signage, aiming to reduce visual clutter and improve safety.
