Many pedestrians have noticed over the years that “No Exit” signs on streets often don’t apply to walkers, because there is in fact an exit for people travelling on foot. It’s frustrating to see a sign that is meant only for drivers and be left uncertain as to whether you, on foot, can get through.
The prevalence of these signs is a symptom of how car-centric transportation planning has been in Toronto. So Walk Toronto is starting a campaign to get the City to change this situation and establish more inclusive and accurate signage that provides information to all travellers, not just drivers.
Our first step is developing a map, created by steering committee member Sean Marshall, of locations in Toronto where there is a “No Exit” sign but, in fact, there is actually an exit for pedestrians. See the map here (Google maps) or below. On the map, blue walker icons indicate where pedestrians can exit, green walker icons indicate where both pedestrians and cyclists can exit, and stairs are indicated separately, since they pose additional accessibility challenges.
The map is being crowd-sourced, so if you know a location that is not listed yet, post a tweet to @sean_yyz or send an email to info@walktoronto.ca with “No Exit” included in the subject line.
Solutions could be as simple as a pendant sign that says “Pedestrians Excepted” or, if relevant, “Pedestrians and Cyclists Excepted”, similar to the “Bicycles excepted” signs that have been added to “No Entry” signs where new cycling contra-flow lanes have been introduced on one-way streets. As well, the city could develop a more precise “No Exit for Motor Vehicles” sign.
Thank you to Twitter user @The_Terroirist whose series of tweets about this problem inspired our campaign.
