LEDs coming soon

by Richard Dawes

Many Windsorites who work downtown say they are eagerly anticipating the installation of large LED screens at the corner of Ouellette and University Avenues.

Windsor City council decided unanimously Oct. 1 to amend Windsor’s sign bylaw. Plans were then made to install two 6.8-metre-by-5.5-metre LED signs costing an estimated $500,000 at 300 Ouellette Ave., future home of the Windsor Star. The signs will be used as a media platform and deliver news, headlines, photos and videos.

Andy Kale, partner at Red Piston software company, walks down Ouellette Avenue almost every day to get lunch. Kale heard about the plan and said he thinks the addition will add energy and excitement to the intersection.

“It will be great because it’ll be like a little Times Square in Windsor,” said Kale.

Kale looks forward to being able to get information quickly while passing by or standing on a nearby corner.

Half a block away from the intersection, Milk Coffee Bar server Rayven Howard sweeps the sidewalk in front of her work. The site for the LEDs can be seen clearly from the coffee shop at 68 University Ave. Howard said she is also excited about the new addition but there is one aspect that worries her.

“Car crashes, that’s about it,” said Howard. “It’s all about advertising and what’s going to get you to look at the gigantic television on the side of their building.”

Howard said other than accidents she does not think the signs will affect the intersection much because it is already one of the busiest in the area.

Distracting drivers was an issue brought up at city council but City of Windsor engineer Mario Sonego described the location as “a low-speed environment” for traffic. A staff report mentions similar installations in a number of other cities including Toronto’s Dundas Square.

“More advertising will be good because it will draw attention to the businesses in the plaza,” Howard said.