STOP Vandalism?

Stop & ThinkAs any Torontonian knows, Toronto is in love with the stop sign. It likely is the most popular traffic sign in the city: virtually every residential intersection has four big, red, hard-to-miss octagons with capital "S", "T", "O", and "P" printed on them (usually reinforced with an emphatic "ALL WAY"). So it's no wonder that if you're trying to convince people to stop something, you might be tempted to use these very conspicuous objects to get your message out.

So, what do the people of Toronto believe should be stopped?

Well, apart from the occasional thugs like the ones who scrawled "Kill Police" on a stop sign near St. Clair and Spadina, the editors of our street signs seem to have, by and large, noble intentions. The messages call out for us to STOP:

THE WAR,
HATE!,
HARM,
Corporate Greed (good luck!),
Driving,
EATING ANIMALS,
WEARING FUR,
and (my favourite) ...& THiNK.

There is also some rebel who urges us to NEVER STOP, and indeed it appears that some of us actually can't.

Of course, quite apart from the content of the messages, the method of their delivery is likely to cause hot debates among those who care about the city. It is the old argument of "vandalism" vs. "street art" and "community activism". I certainly can't condone turning traffic signs into public billboards and tagging targets. If nothing else, it can present a real safety hazard (I had a friend run a stop sign he didn't even notice since the red barely showed through the spray paint). But I sheepishly admit that I like the non-intrusive "STOP & THiNK" one. What do you THiNK?

Reader Reviews and Comments

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this post would be better if i could see all the photos, with links to the photographers' names. clicking through to the different pages is annoying.

Posted by: Sidh Chailleann at May 26, 2008 12:11 AM

NO! It would be better if it $50 was deposited into my bank acount every time you clicked on one of those links. You can't always get what you want...

I like the Stop and Think one as well.
Stop Nagging.
Stop your Whining.

Posted by: Peter at May 26, 2008 12:25 AM

Stop

Hammertime


I always laugh when I see that. I never gets old.

Posted by: Ninja at May 26, 2008 12:25 AM

Stop
IN THE NAME OF LOVE, on Church
AND STARE, on Richmond near Republik
and (my favourite) ...SNITCHIN' around King & Dufferin

Unfortunately, I usually pass by the signs too fast to see what they say, but kudos to these photos.

Posted by: SCREWFACE at May 26, 2008 12:30 AM

I think the best is STOP, collaborate and listen.

Mostly because it only works with the comma.

Posted by: John at May 26, 2008 12:48 AM

STOP
being an asshole on the internet

:)

Posted by: Jerrold at May 26, 2008 7:30 AM

Whoa, weird that the "kill cops" stop sign made the paper, I lived a block from that sign last winter, and I actually saw the kids doing it one night.

You gotta love hoods from Forest Hill- Suuuure guys, I bet you're real badass.

Posted by: james a at May 26, 2008 7:44 AM

STOP
Jerrold before it's too late.

Posted by: Ry-Tron at May 26, 2008 7:47 AM

STOP
Thinking it's not too late, because it is. ;)

Posted by: Jerrold at May 26, 2008 8:07 AM

I think I need to make stencils for "Don't" and "Believing".

I loves me some Journey.

Posted by: Nandes at May 26, 2008 8:42 AM

STOP
this nonsense

full
STOP

Posted by: Roger at May 26, 2008 1:22 PM

Haha! this reminds me of Kalle Lasn and his adbusters thing! its called culture jamming, Tatiana. i wrote an article about it if you guys want to head over and look at it.

P.S. were you in York?

Posted by: Tabish Bhimani at May 26, 2008 7:11 PM

Interesting comment, Tabish, but I don't see that much connection with culture jamming (which does seem to be an exciting concept). Isn't that mostly about protesting pop culture and consumerism? Traffic signs can hardly be considered part of either.

P.S. Yep, York U grad here.

Posted by: Tatiana at May 27, 2008 12:57 AM

STOP pretending you're part of an important social movement, since no one cares

Posted by: handfed at May 27, 2008 10:35 AM

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