A member of city council wants to see interactive digital touchscreen kiosks in downtown Windsor that would let people have information available right at their fingertips.
Ward 3 Councillor Renaldo Agostino has asked city administration to propose a process to allow digital billboard signs or kiosks, including an RFP process, and any amendments to the sign bylaw.
Major cities across North America, including Detroit, have added similar digital signs or touchscreen kiosks for street level use.
Agostino says the signs are usually as wide as flat-screen televisions and around six to eight feet high.
"The first time you see one when you're in another city, the first thing that comes to your mind is that's cool, that's neat, that's interesting. I've never seen anything like that before. Since there's very little cost, if any, associated with the city itself for having these installed, I thought it would be a cool thing to start downtown and see if we can get four or five up," he says.
The signs or kiosks can serve a number of functions, including advertising, providing real-time transit feeds, a local business directory, an emergency calling system, available job postings, and even games.
Agostino says these digital kiosks can serve so many purposes.
"Not only can they tell you how many people are on the bus that's coming or if the bus is running late, but they can also help people, for example, if you're looking for a shelter that has capacity," he says. "We can tie into our system to where the shelters will say, "Hey, there's an empty bed at the women's shelter or at the mission, for example."
Agostino says the signs are just like a "street corner ambassador."
"In the future, you could even equip them with safety cameras and emergency wifi access for people who need it the most," he says. "They can be more than just billboards or marketing tools; what they can be is an ambassador to help people who need help or find directions."
Agostino says the signs wouldn't cost the taxpayer anything because the companies are responsible for installing them and the city would receive some revenue sharing through the marketing and advertising, along with some space on the kiosks.
He adds that he'd love to see the signs on every corner in every business improvement association area in the city.