Toronto TO360 Pilot Evaluation and the Case for Pedestrian Wayfinding ( breakout presentation )

Abstract

Background Following other ‘legible city’ projects, the City of Toronto initiated the TO360 Wayfinding Strategy in support of walking as the connecting mode that enables sustainable transportation. A pilot scheme delivered in 2015 provided a baseline for evaluation in support of a business case for citywide roll-out. Description TO360 is comprehensive multimodal strategy for pedestrian, vehicular, cyclist and transit users. The pedestrian pilot consists of on-street signage and maps at transit shelters and street furniture. Signs are deployed to support the most legible routes connecting arrival points and destinations, but also reveal the offer of the area, promoting wandering and exploration. Maps incorporate features to support walking such as 5-min walking circle, heads-up orientation and landmark buildings. Outcomes The objective of the pilot is two-fold: test user understanding and physical qualities of products, and provide an evaluation baseline. Pre- and post-implementation surveys were undertaken 12 months apart to measure change. After the pilot, rating for users to help finding their way around increased from 61% to 89%; to help making informed choices about walking routes increased from 39% to 83%; and, to learn about new and interesting locations or attractions increased from 44% to 82%. Results are comparable to other cities, notably to Legible London which also run an evaluation three years after implementation that demonstrated that as the wayfinding system expands it delivers increased awareness and confidence to explore. Implications Based on the system life-cycle costs and benefits, the indicative benefit cost ratio for Toronto is estimated at 3.7:1. This means that for every dollar invested, nearly $4 is returned through transportation benefits such as pedestrian and auto journey time savings. The case for TO360 is further enhanced by other non-monetized benefits such as additional tax revenues from retail, tourism, reduction in emissions and health care costs. However, benefits in terms of footfall and visitor expenditure are harder to justify beyond downtown areas. A recommended implementation would be to combine high quality signage in dense areas with potential for walking with more cost-effective solutions such printed and digital maps across the city, creating a consistent pedestrian information fabric.