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Parking on Toronto’s many streets can sometimes feel like a chore, but municipal staff say they want to launch a pilot project that will work to simplify messaging drivers to make the rules easier to understand.
However, based on feedback CityNews heard from drivers downtown, the task of getting buy-in from drivers may be a difficult task.
In a report Going to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee on Thursday, it is proposed that city staff run the pilot project for 18 months starting in the spring of 2026 at an estimated cost of $150,000.
Nazareno Capano, a manager in the City of Toronto’s transportation services department, said the proposal came at the direction of council amid ongoing complaints in the municipality about street signs and that a “refresh” was needed.
“It is somewhat confusing for a lot of motorists when they want to see if they can park on the roadside, as sometimes the signs are difficult to read. Sometimes there are lots of parking restrictions on the same pole and it is difficult to interpret which restriction actually applies to them,” he told CityNews.
“We’re looking to consolidate some of these signals onto a single signal, from most restrictive to least restrictive, so that it’s easier to interpret.”
In 2024, more than 1.8 million tickets were issued to drivers for violating curbside rules such as no parking, no stopping or no standing. It’s unclear what percentage of those tickets are simply due to confusing signage.
City staff gave an example of Richmond Street West, just west of Duncan Street in Downtown Toronto, where there are four signs on a pole stating no parking east of the pole, no stopping during morning and afternoon rush hours during the week, no standing between 2 and 6 a.m. Friday to Monday, and a green P sign underlined when paid parking is in effect.
CityNews asked two random drivers to interpret the signs. The first resident said it was not clear.
“It says paid parking and no parking, so I don’t know,” she said.
“So I guess from 3:30 to 6:30 you can’t park there…can’t stand, are you not allowed to stand there?” another resident said.
Under the new proposed signage, the no stopping, no parking and no standing rules would be consolidated on one large sign and there would be a separate sign with Green P information next to it. The new proposed signs are larger than those currently in place and some of the text is larger.
The first resident CityNews spoke to said there is a little more clarity on the proposed sign, but notes there is a difficulty if you are driving by with your own car.
“You just don’t see any restrictions, you won’t go into detail until 7:30 [9:30] And if I’m looking for parking downtown, I’ll see if there’s parking or no parking,” she said.
“No restrictions, no… I think it’s too much. I think people will just move on,” said another resident, still sounding confused.
Other proposed signage types include updating information signs such as the Green P and adding electronic signs that can be changed to warn of icy routes while in effect or towing operations.
If the pilot project is approved, Capano said they will finalize a list of locations in downtown Toronto and elsewhere to be included in the pilot project and a list of locations will be released in early 2026.
To determine whether the pilot project is successful, Capano said they will look at a few different metrics.
“Seeing that ticketing has gone down at that particular location will tell us that potentially people are starting to understand the restrictions a little bit better and are complying and also some general response and reaction from the public,” he said.
Asked about costs, Capano said it included the actual signage, staff to carry out the work, monitoring of locations for the duration of the pilot project, and public consultation processes.