Toronto Cyclists to Benefit from New Multi-Bike Parking Racks from the Coordinated Street Furniture Program

TORONTO, Nov. 27, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Astral Out-of-Home, a division of Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A ACM.B), and the City of Toronto are launching a pilot program for new multi-bike parking racks that would make parking bicycles more convenient for Toronto cyclists.

The pilot program is part of Astral Out-of-Home and the City of Toronto's ongoing commitment to develop street furniture solutions that make the best use of City streets. The new multi-bike rack will maximize available bicycle parking by allowing multiple bikes to be parked in each location.

The program is meant to test the new style of bike rack and if adopted will be installed to supplement Toronto's iconic post-and-rings units. The new racks will expand the options currently available to the many Torontonians who choose to ride their bicycles around the City.

"Along with the City of Toronto we are committed to offering street furniture solutions that improve the beauty and functionality of Toronto's streets," said Luc Sabbatini, President of Astral Out-of-Home. "The new multi-bike racks will help improve the experience of the City's cyclists and is just one of the ways Astral and the City of Toronto are working to improve City streets and make Toronto's Coordinated Street Furniture Program the best in the world."

The first of the new multi-bike parking racks are being installed in the following locations:

• 138 Main Street
• Bloor Street West and Christie Street, northwest corner (Christie Pits)
• 14 Roncesvalles Avenue
• 1303 Queen Street West
• 117 Jefferson Avenue
• 1272 Dundas Street West
• 589 Queen Street West
• 401 Richmond Street West

The Toronto Street Furniture program was launched in 2008 and provides essential street furniture elements including transit shelters, litter/recycling bins, newspaper bins and corrals, information/ wayfinding pillars, public posting columns, bicycle racks and benches across the City of Toronto. The program is fully funded by advertising and the 20 year contract has a value of $900 million for the City of Toronto in street furniture, repairs, maintenance and capital expenditures. For more information visit the Astral Out-of-Home website.

Astral Out-of-Home is one of Canada's leading out-of-home advertising companies with more than 9,500 strategically-placed advertising faces in key markets in Québec, Ontario, and British Columbia. As a forward-looking company, Astral Out-of-Home has embarked on a series of green-and-clean initiatives to reduce its ecological footprint and actively participate in sustainable development.

Founded in 1961, Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several media properties—pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties—among the most popular in the country. Astral plays a central role in community life across the country by offering diverse, rich and vibrant programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers alike. To learn more about Astral, go to astral.com.

SOURCE: ASTRAL MEDIA INC.

Media Contacts:
Amanda Santino
Account Supervisor
Weber Shandwick
416 642-7901
[email protected]

Ron Hutchinson
Senior Vice-President Real Estate Services, Ontario
Astral Out-of-Home
416 924-6664
[email protected]