For many years, the City allowed the owners of the former Edgewater Hotel (who recently switched the franchise from Day's Inn to a Howard Johnsons) to put up a billboard on their roof in exchange for maintaining the historic Edgewater sign. The owners failed to hold up their part of the bargain, allowing the vintage sign to deteriorate to the point that two weeks ago safety inspectors had it removed, as reported in the Torontoist.  It's a low point in the history of a once great intersection.>

We believe that getting rid of the giant billboard on the roof of the former Edgewater Hotel would help us begin to take back that intersection.  Not only is that corner the true western gateway to the City of Toronto, historically the intersection was an important connection to a once great waterfront with its music dancehalls and boardwalk. Driving through the intersection today, you wouldn't know it. The giant billboard dominates the corner, encouraging eastbound drivers, accustomed to seeing huge billboards along highways, to perceive of the Queensway as a highway, instead of seeing it for what it is -- a city street.

Rami Tabello of illegalsigns.ca adds, in detailed posts here and here and here, that even though the hotel owners have a City permit for the billboard, the permit violates the City's own bylaws. Illegal permits such as these are fairly common, apparently. Meanwhile, the company that owns the billboard makes $500,000 a year from the billboard. It's also worth noting that the TTC also earns some money from the sign because of encroachment rights -- about $4,000 a year.

Over the past year, the City has been hearing lots of complaints about billboards, as it implements its new Permanent Sign Bylaw, aimed at cracking down on obtrusive outdoor advertising. Add your voice to the issue by commenting here and contacting Councillor Gord Perks to let him know how you'd like to reclaim that corner.