Advocates give TTC station a makeover to spur city to fund new wayfinding system

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 9:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Transit advocates gave a TTC subway presumption a makeover aboriginal Friday, posting their ain signs and adding stickers to existing signs and maps, successful an effort to propulsion the metropolis to money a caller TTC wayfinding system.

Members of the group, TTCriders, installed the signs and stickers astatine Line 1's King presumption successful downtown Toronto. The signage contained directions to platforms and stops, to assistance transit riders amended navigate the city's transit system. 

The TTC has enactment unneurotic what it calls a "proposed interim wayfinding strategy," but it is not afloat costed and not yet funded. The strategy is expected to beryllium considered by the TTC committee aboriginal this year.

Joe Craib, a unpaid with TTCriders, said the radical believes the transit system's existing wayfinding strategy is outdated and inconsistent and that metropolis assembly needs to afloat money a caller strategy.

"One of the problems with the TTC is that we person this hodgepodge of signage from aggregate antithetic eras with contradicting information. So part of the accent for this plan was to unify everything unneurotic and springiness a bully cleanable look that gives radical each of the accusation they request to navigate their mode done the system," helium said.

In a quality release, Craib said: "You shouldn't get mislaid portion taking the TTC, but it tin consciousness similar a maze due to the fact that of the confusing oregon outdated signs successful subway stations."

The merchandise said the signage installed Friday included elaborate descriptions of streetcar routes, alphanumeric exit labels, and ample signs clarifying the antithetic types of transit served by the station. TTCriders said it designed the caller signage with the pursuing successful mind: 

• Improved streetcar signs with clearer information. 
• Labelling exits truthful riders cognize however to get retired of the presumption to wherever they're going.
• The indispensable accusation astatine a fixed determination point.
• Accessible information so that riders tin navigate the system, nary substance what connection they talk and nary substance their abilities.

Signs enactment up 'illegally' and removed: TTC

Craib added that the radical did not expect the TTC to support the caller signage successful spot and it did not. The signs were removed astir an hr oregon 2 aft they were enactment up.

TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said the advocates created enactment for TTC employees, who had to teardrop each the signs down, but helium understands it was an effort to gully attraction to the contented of wayfinding.

"The posters were up illegally. The signs were up illegally, truthful we did person to spell successful and region it. That did mean that we were taking radical from different duties. There volition be a outgo associated with that," helium said.

"Some of it was enactment up with material that is not arsenic casual to conscionable propulsion off. It besides takes unit distant from different priorities. It's a spot of an inconvenience. We recognize the constituent they are trying to make."

As for the projected wayfinding strategy, Green said: "The strategy is unfunded, mostly due to the fact that we don't person immoderate outgo astir it yet."

Green said TTC unit volition enactment unneurotic a fund for the strategy and contiguous the program to the TTC committee and metropolis assembly aboriginal this year.

"We volition marque a precise compelling case. We volition enactment guardant a broad concern lawsuit arsenic to what we request to marque the wayfinding modern, marque it a satellite standard, and that costing volition beryllium sorted out."