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Developing Story: City of Vancouver designs easier to read development signs

The City of Vancouver is calling for comments on a new design for development signs.

The City of Vancouver is calling for comments on a new design for development signs.

Redesigning public signs was one of the recommendations in the Engaged City Task Force report, based on concern that the existing design, particularly with respect to those related to planning and development, were written in outdated, technical language that makes it difficult for people to understand.

These signs use small fonts, lack colour, and seem to encourage people to ignore them, rather than to read and be informed by them, the report stated.

The report also recommended earlier public involvement in major rezoning proposals and enhanced notice of planning changes.

The city says the new sign design features easier to understand language and details, improved visuals, including a sketch and site map, and information on how residents can give input online or in person.

Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer says the old signs faded into the urban background.

You know somethings happening, but then you try and read it and you cant decipher what it is and you have no idea what it might mean to you and you probably dont act on it, she told the Courier. From a councillors perspective, Reimer said she often hears people say they had no idea a development was happening in their neighbourhood until being told by a neighbour or reading about it in a newspaper even if a sign had been up, in some cases, for months beforehand.

So, its quite critical. [Notification] cards that are mailed matter, the ads matter, but if youre worried about direct impact in your neighbourhood, chances are you walk by the site and the sign is the best chance we have of getting your attention, she said.

Reimer maintains its crucial people find out whats going on before an application gets to the public hearing stage, so theres a greater chance to modify a proposal.

We dont have that ability at public hearing we only have a yes/no possibility, she said.

Its certainly not the only change that were hoping to make or to effect a better dialogue. The sign [redesign] is a piece, but if it helps more people become aware and the quality of the consultation increases, and the social capacity of neighbourhoods increases so they can participate and dialogue, then thats going to help. The sign on its own is not going to change the world, but it may change someones ability to access the process.

Mike Andruff, a Dunbar community activist and member of the new political party TEAM, which aims to run candidates and challenge Vision in the 2014 civic election, argues the sign redesign is a very small item.

If our engagement as a community comes down to revamping the signs, I think this is called obfuscation were looking in one direction where right behind you Romes burning, he said. Oh theyre going to build what? Theyre going to build where youre kidding. If they put a really, really nice sign at the corner of Commercial Drive and Broadway talking about the pending decimation of the Commercial Drive area, do you really think it would make a difference? Do you think it would engage the community?

Andruff maintains the old signs arent difficult to read. Tarting them up is like changing the font on the page. Very simply the signs message is change is coming. How important is a font change when the message is no different.

Andruff calls the Engaged City Task Force a red herring, in which the governing Vision Vancouver council is attempting to create the appearance of engagement.

If they truly were accepting of civic engagement, they would be changing the direction of development in Vancouver, they would be listening to community centre boards, and they would stop telling us what to do, including when to eat meat, he said.

Residents can submit feedback on the new sign design through the city website at vancouver.ca.

noconnor@vancourier.com

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