The following video presents Complete Streets – Planning 101:
Complete streets are fundamental to healthier and sustainable communities. These streets are safe, efficient, convenient, equitable, and based upon good policy and planning principles that serve present and future generations. Learn about the role that complete streets play in communities.
The City of Toronto and Spacing Magazine/Store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, are holding a photography contest to showcase elements that make up a complete street.
Complete streets are streets that are designed to be safe for all users, such as people who walk, bicycle, take transit or drive, and people of varying ages and levels of ability. They also consider other uses like sidewalk cafés, street furniture, street trees, utilities, and stormwater management.
While not every type of use of user may be accommodated on every street, the goal is to build a city with a well-functioning street network that supports and sustains our quality of life in Toronto. Complete streets will ensure that social, economic and environmental priorities are integrated in street planning and design.
The Complete Streets Guidelines will help Toronto’s communities by:
- ensuring safe and accessible streets for people of all ages and abilities,
- giving people a range of transportation choices,
- creating healthy and livable neighbourhoods,
- creating vibrant and attractive public spaces,
- supporting economic prosperity, and
- improving environmental sustainability.
….More than 700 jurisdictions in Canada and the United States are adopting a complete streets approach. Other leading cities – like New York, Chicago and Boston – have complete streets guidelines. We’re learning from other cities and developing what will work best in Toronto.
There is no single way in which to make a street ‘complete’. It depends on many factors depending on the character and context of each particular street. The Complete Streets Guidelines will help prioritize the many demands placed upon our streets. They will be applied when streets are constructed, reconstructed, or otherwise improved….
Prizes for each of the two public participant categories (Youth, and General Public) at each Phase (1 and 2) will include:
|First Place||Second Place||Third Place|
- Thus there will be a total of 12 winners.
- Staff prizes may include lunch with the Chief Planner or the General Manager, Transportation Services.
- All finalists will receive a certificate from the City of Toronto.
- There may also be a number of honourable mentions.
- This contest is open to residents or visitors of Ontario, Canada, of any age.
- Contestants are eligible to participate in one of three separate Participant Categories:
- Youth – under 18 years
- General Public – 18 years and older
- City Staff – This includes City of Toronto elected officials, appointed officials, employees, and employees of City of Toronto agencies and corporations.
Consider the design and use of the spaces on the road and sidewalk. Are they comfortable and convenient to travel on? Are there green elements, spaces to linger, or artistic features you like? Is the street inviting for cultural and commercial activities?
We are especially looking for inspiring images of Complete Streets Principles in action.
- The photo subject must be relevant to the photo contest’s theme: “What makes a street feel more complete?”
- Submissions must be photos taken by the submitting contestant.
- Photos can be of any street in the world, taken at any time.
- Wide shots are great, but so are close-ups of elements you really like.
- Sorry, drawings, paintings, renderings or composites (aka “photoshopped”) images will not be accepted.
- Portraits of individuals (e.g. selfies) will not be accepted.
- Photos must be your own.
- Contestants can enter up to 20 photos.
- Photos should not include any text overlay. The City reserves the right to crop out any overlayed text.
- Photos may be submitted until 5:00pm, local Toronto time, on October 31, 2015.
- Submissions will be accepted using the following:
- To be considered for Phase 2 (Judges + Popular Votes) of the contest, contestants must provide the following:
- Email address
- Acknowledgement of reading and agreeing to these rules
- In order to be considered for Phase 2, contestants in the Youth category (less than 18 years old), will be required to provide the City with written permission, in a form and content acceptable to the General Manager of Transportation Services or his/her designate, to participate in this contest from his/her legal guardian. Permission can be provided by email directly from the guardian to email@example.com with reference to accepting these Contest Rules.
Public Voting and Selection by Judges: Two Opportunities to Win
Phase 1: Facebook Only Votes (During submission period from early September to end of October)
- All acceptable photos will be posted in a public (social media) gallery hosted by EasyPromosApp.com.
- Logged in Facebook users will be invited to vote for their favourite photos in the gallery throughout the submission period.
- The top three most popular photos in each participant category will be selected as winners.
Winners from Phase 1 may or may not be selected for voting in Phase 2.
Phase 2: Judges + Popular Online Votes (After the submission period: Online voting – Phase 2 – will be conducted in November, with winners celebrated shortly thereafter.)
- Pulling from the entire gallery of submissions, expert judges will shortlist 10 photos in each participant category.
- The main criteria to be used for selection by the judges: Inspiring images of Complete Streets Principles in action – examples that demonstrate elements of the City’s draft guiding principles as defined on the project web page (www.toronto.ca/completestreets)
- The panel of three judges for Phase 2 short -listing will include:
- Selected photos in each of the Youth and the General Public categories will be voted on separately in a public online survey (which does not require any social media accounts).
- City Staff shortlisted entries will not be included in the public survey and will be voted on in a survey published to City Staff only.
- The top three most popular photos in each participant category will be selected as winners.
….Winners’ names and photographs will be published in promotional materials directly related to the contest and may be publicized in any other reasonable manner the City considers appropriate for the purposes of the contest.
The personal information is collected under the legal authority of City of Toronto Act, S.O. 2006, Chapter 11, Schedule A, s. 136 (c). The information will be used to contact you about your submission to the contest. Questions about this collection can be directed to the Senior Co-ordinator, Communications & Consultations, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, 19th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3C6 or by phone at 416-338-2830.
….The contestant must be the sole owner of all rights to the photos that the contestant submits.
Upon submission to the contest via web form or social media, the contestant gives permission to the City for the City to publish the image:
- within the online contest gallery (Phase 1);
- within the online survey (Phase 2);
- in promotional materials directly related to the contest;
- in Spacing Magazine and on spacing.ca; and
- printed and displayed in City Hall as part of a temporary gallery.
Beyond the above uses, the contestant will retain full rights and ownership of their photos.
The City may request permission to use select photos for publication in other materials. If the owner is agreeable, full credit will be provided, and/or compensation on an individual basis.
The contestant will hold the City harmless from any infringement of any copyright or other intellectual property in any and all photos the contestant submits.
The photographs submitted to the Photo Contest are considered to be part of a public record as defined by section 27 of the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act…..
Pleease read the full rules of the contest at http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=40c42d5e0a1df410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=bf4e968dea37e410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD .
Good Luck! / Bonne Chance!
Photography enthusiasts invited to share their images in contest on Toronto ‘complete streets’ theme
The City of Toronto and Spacing Magazine are holding a photography contest to showcase elements that make up a complete street. The City invites submissions and Facebook voting for the Complete Streets Photo Contest until October 31.
The term “complete streets” refers to streets designed to be safe for all users, including people who walk, bicycle, take transit or drive, and people of varying ages and other characteristics such as walking speed. Complete streets also give consideration to other uses of streets, such as sidewalk cafés, street furniture (benches, garbage/recycling bins and transit shelters), trees, utilities and stormwater management.
Photos taken on any street – not limited to Toronto or even Canadian locations – can be submitted using Instagram and Twitter (with the hashtag #TOCompleteStreets in the description), or uploaded to the contest web page, or emailed to firstname.lastname@example.org. Facebook users can vote for their favourites as displayed in an online photo gallery until the end of October, resulting in popular winners in this first phase of the contest.
In the contest’s second phase, in November, an expert panel will shortlist its choice of photos and the public will be invited to vote for their favourites. Prizes will include a vanity City of Toronto street sign, gift certificates for the Spacing Store and subscriptions to Spacing magazine.
The goal of the photo contest is to raise awareness of the complete streets approach and guidelines the City is developing to ensure social, economic and environmental priorities are integrated in street planning and design. The City engaged stakeholders and the general public on the initiative’s guiding principles in the spring, and there will be more public events on complete streets design early in the new year.
The public can join the conversation online using the hashtag #TOCompleteStreets. More information about the photo contest and the complete streets project is available at toronto.ca/completestreets.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world’s most livable cities. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.