Display of Over Street Banners Policy

Windsor, Ontario

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 2a264aac32d2 · verified 2026-06-10 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

POLICY FOR DISPLAY OF OVER STREET BANNERS IN THE CITY CENTRE Approved by: CR811/97 July 19, 1997 1. PURPOSE 1. This policy applies to over street banners which are to be displayed in the City Centre with the following intentions: a) to bring colour to the City Centre. b) to provide an opportunity and venue for the advertisement of special events occurring in and around the City Centre which are of interest to Windsorites and tourists. c) to increase local tourism and City Centre visitation. 2. LOCATION At a meeting held on March 7, 1996, the Design and Planning Sub-committee of the City Centre Revitalization Task Force agreed that the banner locations shall be at gateways which are identified in the City Centre Revitalization and Design Study. Further discussion with the Traffic Engineering Department indicated that mid-block locations are preferred for safety reasons. 1. Banners are affixed at sites that: a) do not impair the visibility of regulatory and informational signage, traffic signals or other traffic control devices; b) emphasize major entry points into the City Centre; c) maximize visibility. Therefore, banners shall be located at mid-block locations. 2. The initial banner site shall be at the North-South City Centre gateway mid-block location on Ouellette Avenue between Wyandotte Street and Maiden Lane East. 3. Additional sites for over street banners may be explored after a minimum one (1) year monitoring period in order to observe how the initial banner functions in all seasons. 4. Before banners are installed at additional sites this policy will be revised as necessary to reflect that situation. 3. BANNER POLES INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE 1. The esthetic design of the banner poles shall: a) complement the existing decorative street furniture and lamp standards in the City Centre. b) exhibit a "sculptural" quality such that they appear as attractive streetscape elements when there are no banners affixed to them. 2. Banner poles shall be owned and paid for by the City of Windsor. 3. As with most other streetscape elements on the public right-of-way, the Public Works Dept. shall have the responsibility for: a) approving the engineering design of banner poles and footings; b) initially installing banner poles. 4. The Parks & Recreation Department shall have the responsibility for maintaining the banner poles in satisfactory condition. Costs associated with banner pole maintenance shall be chargeable to the Banner Maintenance and Administration Fund (see Sec. 5.8) 4. BANNER SPECIFICATIONS Banners eligible for display shall meet the criteria established in this section. The City of Windsor reserves the option of not honouring a request to display a banner which does not meet the specified banner criteria. 1. Over street banners used for display shall be purchased, paid for, and owned by the applicant. The City of Windsor assumes no responsibility for the care, maintenance, or condition of a banner approved and installed for display. 2. Banners shall be constructed of suitable materials such as canvas or vinyl to ensure durability during the display period. 3. Banners shall meet the following construction specifications and those illustrated in Schedule A: a) standard length of banner shall be 40" (12.2 m). b) standard width of banner shall be 4" (1.2 m). c) sufficient vent openings to minimize the "sail effect" of the banner. d) top connection break away strength of 2,000 pounds. e) bottom connection break away strength of 1,000 pounds. 4. Banners shall be designed so that both sides of the banner surface contain a message and/or are decorative. There should be no "backside". 5. The visual images and written messages of banners shall be within the confines of good taste. If there are reasonable grounds to suspect a banner proposed for display is deficient in these regards, City staff processing requests to display banners shall refer the request to City Council for a final decision. 6. Banners are permitted only to advertise time-limited community festivals, events and activities. There shall be no advertisement of commercial enterprises except as identified sponsors of a festival, event or activity. No more than 20% of the area on each side of a banner shall be used to identify commercial enterprise sponsors. Any federal, provincial and/or municipal regulations concerning commercial sponsorship shall also apply. 5. BANNER DISPLAY 1. The Commissioner of Parks & Recreation shall administer requests to display and temporarily remove over street banners. 2. Applicants permitted to display over street banners shall be non-profit, charitable or other groups deemed by the Commissioner of Parks & Recreation to be acting in the public interest. 3. Completed applications shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Parks & Recreation at least four (4) weeks prior to the desired banner display period. 4. Completed applications for the display of banners shall be considered on a first come, first served basis. Where there is more than one such application made simultaneously for a single or overlapping display period, negotiations with the applicants will be held in an effort to reach a mutually agreeable arrangement for display. 5. The standard period of banner display permitted per application shall be three (3) weeks. 6. Requests for a banner display period of less than three (3) weeks shall be considered by the Commissioner of Parks & Recreation whose decision is final. The standard three week rental fee shall apply in this circumstance. 7. If the nature of the advertised event or activity on the banner exceeds three (3) weeks, and there is no banner scheduled to replace the banner already on display, an additional display period of up to three (3) weeks may be permitted provided that the pro-rated rental fee for each additional week is paid before the additional display period begins. 8. To recover the costs associated with the administration and maintenance of the over street banner project, including the costs of installation, handling, and removal of banners, the banner applicant shall pay at the time of application a rental fee of $150 for each banner display period. 9. All fees received for charges applicable under this policy shall be deposited in a separate Banner Maintenance and Administration account administered by the Parks & Recreation Dept. Disbursements from the fund shall be approved by City Council. 6. BANNER INSTALLATION AND REMOVAL 1. Banner installation, display and removal will be carried out according to the adopted procedures. 2. Applicants shall deliver the banner to the Parks & Recreation Dept. as specified in the application at least three (3) days before the start of the approved display period. Banner will be available for pickup from the same location. 3. Banners shall be installed and removed by the Parks & Recreation Dept. during off-peak hours of vehicular traffic in accordance with minimum overhead clearance standards set by the Ministry of Transportation. 4. The City of Windsor shall not be responsible for the cost of any damages resulting from banner installation, display and removal. The applicant shall indemnify the City for any potential liability. 5. In the event that the banner becomes significantly torn, damaged or detached from the pole, the banner shall be removed immediately upon notifying the Parks & Recreation Dept. An additional charge of $50 will be levied. The City will not reimburse any fees or charges in this eventuality. 6. To temporarily remove a banner for a parade, event, maintenance, or some other reason, the organization requesting temporary removal shall: a) submit a completed application to the Commissioner of Parks & Recreation at least four (4) weeks prior to the start date of temporary removal; b) provide at the time of application, a letter of permission from the applicant whose banner is displayed, to remove the banner for a specified period of time (the "down time" will not be deducted from the banner applicant"s rental fee); c) remit a fee of $50 to the Commissioner of Parks & Recreation to cover the costs of the removal, handling and reinstallation of banners.