Toronto may commission another giant 3D sign to promote the city but staff are cautioning against using nicknames like “The 6” or “T Dot.”

A motion, tabled by Drake aficionado Coun. Norm Kelly, was tabled in the fall asking city staff to report back on the feasibility of creating three mobile 3D signs that would be similar to the “TORONTO” sign at Nathan Phillips Square but would read “The 6,” “T.O.” and “T Dot” instead.

In a report that will be considered by the Economic Development Committee next Tuesday, staff note that the “T Dot” moniker is now a “dated term” and warn against using “trendy terms that run the risk of becoming irrelevant,” such as “The 6.”

The report, however, does support the creation of a single “T.O” sign, which is says would be “sufficiently different from the current sign” as well as “cost-effective and mobile.”

According to the report, the sign would cost about $100,000 to purchase and would carry annual maintenance costs of about $100,000.

The maintenance costs would come with moving the sign around the city for extra promotion.

“A touring program could be implemented for the summer months, allowing the mobile T.O. sign to travel to dozens of festivals, events and destinations across the city,” the report notes.

The target date for the acquisition of the sign would be the summer of 2017, according to the staff report.

Signs shouldn’t be sponsored by corporations

The initial motion calling on staff to look into the feasibility of more Toronto signs suggested that they could be paid for with private sponsorship money; however the report recommends that council adopt a strict “no commercial designs” policy for the current sign at Nathan Phillips Square and any additional ones that are built.

“The existing 3D TORONTO Sign has become an iconic symbol of the city and the perception of it being ‘for sale’ could detrimentally impact its ability to generate positive public sentiment in the long-term,” the report says.

In addition to exploring the possibility of additional Toronto signs, the report also recommends that the General Manager of Economic Development and Culture report to council on the cost of installing a permanent “TORONTO” sign at Nathan Phillips Square.

The current sign, which was installed for last summer’s Pan American Games, only has a life-span of three-to-five years and will eventually need to be replaced.