The signage problem: “Designers long ago began pointing out that the TTC uses a jumble of typefaces, but even a casual visitor will notice indications that signage in the TTC has recently slipped to seriously dysfunctional levels. In some stations you come upon hand-lettered signs pasted on pillars by TTC employees: Obviously they’ve been hounded for directions by baffled riders, have given up waiting for assistance from the signmakers at head office and have taken matters into their own hands. Their sloppy signage makes the whole system look seedy, like a store that’s about to go bankrupt.”
That quote is actually from 1994 (Fulford), but it could apply to any era from the 1970s to present. For some reason, signage in the TTC is under the control of the marketing and public affairs department rather than, say, engineering or architecture. Placement of signage in the marketing department essentially equates wayfinding signage with advertising.
