Toronto TO360 Wayfinding

Client City of Toronto
Location Toronto, Canada
Year 2011 – Ongoing

The City of Toronto wanted to promote walking as a mode of transport. The TO360 Wayfinding Strategy developed by Steer is a multi-modal information system that places walking at its core. Over the past decade, TO360 signage and mapping have become ubiquitous across Toronto, providing consistent information to pedestrians, transit users, cyclists, and drivers.

Steer’s Design for Movement team has supported the City of Toronto since 2011 in the preparation and delivery of the TO360 Wayfinding Strategy. The activities have ranged from extensive stakeholder and community consultation, to concept and detailed design, to the preparation of an implementation plan and business case for investment.

After a successful evaluation of a pilot implementation, the project is now being rolled out citywide, with over 200 signs and 450 Bike Share station posters implemented to-date. The TO360 map base also supports printed products such as the Toronto Visitor Map and the Toronto Cycling Map, providing consistent information and user experience across platforms.

The rollout is supported by the complementary placement of TO360 wayfinding information at subway exits and in transit shelters, providing last-mile connectivity information. A cycling wayfinding strategy established consistent messaging and destination naming, and has been applied to the city’s official cycling map. The existing vehicular destination signage policy was reviewed and expanded to provide a more equitable distribution of visitor destinations on vehicular signs.

In the next 5 years, the program is set to deliver over 1,500 local information posters in transit shelters, delivering further expansion to more areas of the city. The TO360 strategy continues evolving in the realm of digital information by utilising the GIS map database to generate a Pedestrian Inventory Network that aims to support third party apps and services in delivering customised digital information for users with accessibility needs.

Consultants/collaborators
T-Kartor – cartographic database and mapping
Third Party Public (formerly Swerhun) – Stakeholder consultation
Jedco Product Design – product design
DIALOG – Public consultation and streetscape guidance