Electronic dance parties to continue at the Ex

All-age electronic dance parties will continue on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition.

In a 31 to 4 vote on Thursday afternoon, Toronto city council decided it would order the Ex to allow the parties on site, reversing a previous decision by the board.

Councillor Mike Layton who was behind the motion said that by hosting the events at city venues, you can have control of them.

Thousands of young people attend the parties and Layton said this is the best way to keep them safe.

The motion they passed also included a review of safety protocols.

Read the motion here.

At the end of the meeting in a procedural move, council voted unanimously to excuse Mayor Rob Ford’s absence from the meeting. The mayor announced his leave of absence last week to seek rehabilitation for a “problem with alcohol.”

Earlier on Thursday, the third day of what was supposed to be a two-day meeting, council approved a new street furniture contract with Astral media.

The motion passed 29-11.

The street furniture contract has been profitable for the city during its first seven years. In fact, during two of those years, the city raised more revenue than expected.

Click here to see revenue charts (page 4)

However, there are some safety concerns with the new bus shelter ads. The digital ads, when lit, may be overly bright. If the lights went out, or, if it was during the day, bus drivers and pedestrians wouldn’t be able to see inside the shelter.

“Although I have some concerns, I will support this contract,” Coun. Raymond Cho said during the debate.

Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly was also in favour of the contact, pointing to the city’s long history with Astral. He also said he did not feel the safety concerns were justified.

“We’ve spent a lot of years working with Astral. They are not an adversary, they are a partner,” Kelly said in council.

“Creative advertising proposal by Astral does not impair the safety of anyone in this city.”

Click here to read the motion.

Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong was also in favour of the agreement.

The new contact represents “120 advertisements out of 4,600 – 2. 5 per cent of the contract. This is not a big deal,” Minnan-Wong said.

“I would think that an advertiser who wants to sell things would not put up a piece of creative advertising where someone might get hurt.  That would hurt their reputation…and be contrary to them selling things.”

Amendments to limit the decibel level of the new signs, to keep them out of heritage districts, and to keep the ads from being interactive all failed.

However, an amendment to study the safety of the new ads, including gender-specific concerns and issues raised by the TTC, was approved.

Click here to see the full list of amendments.