The Benefits of Investing in Site Furniture

The term “site furniture” is most often associated with benches. Although they make a great addition to properties and public spaces, and are the most popular piece of site furniture, there are so many other products that get overlooked. Various waste and recycling receptacles (including receptacles dedicated to ash and dog waste), bike racks, picnic tables and floral planters all fall into the site furniture category and all come with a variety of benefits.

We service a variety of different clientele including municipalities and BIAs as well as commercial and residential property managers and although their types of businesses may differ the use of site furniture benefits them in similar ways.

Keeping a property or street clean and aesthetically pleasing is extremely important. If we look at the example of a residential property like a condo, the exterior of the building and the property it sits on is what potential tenants and visitors base their first impressions on.  If they arrive to a property with litter scattered all over it, their first impression is not going to be great. It is also very much the same for municipalities, BIAs and retail properties.  You want to maintain a certain level of cleanliness to make those areas or shopping centres more attractive and appealing to consumers. Having proper waste and recycling receptacles located throughout the property or public space makes waste disposal the easy choice for users, helping to maintain that level of cleanliness without too much effort.

But it’s not just about having your basic garbage can here or there. Cigarette butts are often times the worst culprit for littering a property or public space, they are a pain to clean up and having them disposed in a regular garbage receptacle creates a fire hazard. To combat this problem, there are a variety of specially designed ash receptacles available to promote proper ash and cigarette butt disposal. There are smaller, more inconspicuous models that can be mounted to walls and larger free standing models that can be used in shared open spaces. Having a few ash receptacles located on a property, will not only encourage people to smoke in these specific areas but will also make clean up less of a hassle.

Increasing curb appeal is a huge benefit to site furniture however it also makes a space more user friendly. Having picnic tables in parks and benches on city streets is common sense but often times they tend to get overlooked on residential properties. If a property has a large shared space, whether it is a court yard, a BBQ area or a rooftop patio, having the proper site furniture for the area makes it much more usable. With more sustainable models manufactured with recycled materials becoming available due to their increasing popularity, they are maintenance free and last much longer than their traditional wooden counterparts. 

Another increasingly popular amenity, that makes a property more tenant friendly and BIAs and commercial properties more accessible are bike racks. With cycling becoming an increasingly popular mode of transportation, especially in large metropolitan areas, having the proper bike storage is imperative. On residential properties bike parking for tenants is often available in the parking garage or within the storage facilities; however bike parking for visitors is often overlooked. Having a smaller space for a bike rack located near the entrance of a condo not only allows secure parking for visitors that don’t have access to the parking garage, but for tenants who may be making a quick stop at home.  It’s equally as important to have secure bike parking located on commercial properties and within municipalities and BIAs because it makes those places more accessible to those that cycle. If there is not somewhere visible to lock a bike to, people may just cycle through your BIA as oppose to stopping and enjoying the amenities you have to offer.

Admittedly, well manufactured site furniture can be an investment, however with that investment you receive products that help maintain a clean appearance, decreasing time spent on ground maintenance and increasing your curb appeal as well as making your property, BIA or municipality more accessible. It’s an investment worth making. 

Increase Accessibility with Accessible Seating

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act was introduced in 2005 and lays the framework for the development of province-wide mandatory standards on accessibility. The act includes standards that are meant to assist those living with disabilities in their daily life and covers everything from customer service to transportation and the design of public spaces.

Currently the Accessibility Standard for the Design of Public Spaces only applies to new construction and major changes to existing features and it covers recreational trails/beach access routes, outdoor public eating areas, outdoor play spaces, outdoor paths of travel, accessible parking and service-related elements like service counters and waiting areas.

As it stands, the only accessible type of site furniture you are required to have is a minimum number of accessible tables and that is only mandatory in outdoor public eating areas like rest stops and picnic areas. However, with a push to increase accessibility in all public spaces and the potential for amendments to the regulations, we have designed a line of AODA compliant accessible benches to meet the future needs of our customers.

Our line consists of a variety of different styles of benches, all of which have added accessibility benefits:

Heritage

The Heritage is the most ergonomically correct bench in our line of accessible benches. It has a raised seat height of 19” and the curvature of the seat allows users to enter and exit the bench with ease. The built in lumbar support curves to the natural shape of the users back allowing for more support. For more stability when entering and exiting the Heritage, it features raised, molded arm rests for better grip and a centre arm is also available and recommended. Not only is the Heritage accessible but it is environmentally friendly, manufactured with 100% recycled plastic lumber and cast aluminum ends. The Heritage is also available as a straight model which features the 19” raised seat height as well as the molded arm rests.

Ergo

More modern compared to the Heritage bench, the Ergo is also ergonomically correct. It’s raised height of 20” at the centre and built in lumbar support make this bench easier on the knees and backs of the user. It’s raised, molded arm rests allow for better grip when entering and exiting the bench making it more accessible than the average bench in the park.

Accessible Riverside

Our standard Riverside is one of our most popular benches (and is also the specified bench for the City of Toronto) and can be found in a number of parks not only in Toronto but throughout the GTA. To make adding accessible benches that match existing benches in parks easy, we have modified the Standard Riverside to create the Accessible Riverside. We’ve raised the seat height to 19” and recommend taking advantage of the optional centre arm for increased accessibility. Much like the arm rests on the Heritage and the Ergo, they are molded to allow for better grip when entering and exiting the bench.  A straight model of the Accessible Riverside is also available.

Contour

The Contour is the only bench in our accessibility line that can not only be surface mounted but in-ground mounted as well. It features a raised seat height of 19” and raised arm rests to allow for easier entering and exiting of the bench. As with the majority of our accessibility models, the Contour has an optional centre arm that we recommend using. The Contour is available in a straight model that also features raised arm rests and both the straight and standard model are available in 6’ or 8’ lengths.

Although the OADA doesn’t currently require you to have a certain number of accessible benches in public spaces, when we were designing this line of benches we were looking to the future and we encourage our customers to do so as well. The Silver Tsunami is on its way, coupled with a large percentage of the population of people that have disabilities. Both demographics require modifications to public spaces so they can enjoy them as well, and if those modifications aren’t there that’s less people that will enjoy your park or commercial or retail property. Don’t wait for something to become mandatory;  begin making these changes now by replacing an old, worn out bench with an accessible bench or include a couple accessible models when planning a new public space. Making the changes gradually over a longer period of time will be a lot easier and more cost effective than making the changes all at once.

For more information on the AODA visit: http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/accessibility/understanding_accessibility/aoda.aspx

Let Us Do the Heavy Lifting

Since the beginning, our focus has always been on our customers and meeting their needs. It’s for that reason that although we started out in the Christmas décor business, as we grew, we expanded into different markets first introducing the flags & banners division and then the site furniture division. In doing so we were able to further meet the needs of our already loyal customers and create new relationships as well, essentially becoming a one stop shop for enhancement products.

As we continue to enhance our three divisions through the introduction of new products, we also want to further increase our offerings to our customers through a variety of services.  You’ve read about our maintenance and refurbishing services as well as our storage facility, however our most utilized service would be our installations which we offer throughout the GTA in all three of our divisions.

Holiday Displays

Installations are just one aspect of the turn key service we provide for our Holiday Displays, and it is the most popular. We manufacture a variety of holiday displays ranging from indoor, large scale Christmas trees to large LED roof mount and pole mount displays and we have the tools and capability to install all of it. Christmas installs begin in early October with general tree lighting taking place first with the large Christmas Display installations beginning after Halloween.

Our crew of well trained installers work through the night installing displays on light poles on town and city streets, in parking lots and on office buildings to bring a touch of the Holiday spirit to well traveled areas. The work takes place at night to ensure we aren’t impeding any major traffic with our trucks and workers. Interior Christmas installations also take place during off hours to avoid interrupting business and foot traffic in malls and office buildings. Our crew takes the utmost care when installing these large and often heavy displays and uses a variety of different techniques to ensure they are properly secured and will remain in place in whatever weather Mother Nature throws at us. 

Site Furniture

We understand that sometimes our customers don’t have the staff or time to install large pieces of site furniture that they order from us. That’s why we offer an installation service for our customers located within the GTA. We recommend that all site furniture be affixed to the ground to ensure your investment doesn’t disappear overnight and we use stainless steel hardware to avoid rusting and maintain an aesthetically pleasing look.

If you are replacing existing pieces we are happy to remove the existing site furniture and take it off of your hands or deliver it to where it needs to be. All we require for installation is a detailed map of the area to show us where all of the pieces are going and we will do the rest for you!

Flags & Banners

The installation of banners is also a very common request we receive and something we do regularly. We will not only install banners that we have manufactured for you but we will also install any existing banners you already have. We can do this on existing hardware or start from scratch and install new hardware that can be purchased with us.  Much like with the installation of site furniture all that is required is a map outlining the location of all the poles that will be receiving banners and which banner if you have multiple designs. Again we can do these installations later in the evening or early morning to ensure we are not affecting traffic.

For all of our installations, regardless of what division of products you are ordering from, we will do a site meeting with you where we can determine the location for all of the pieces. During the visit we will inspect the area to note what type of fixtures and materials we are affixing the enhancement products to so we have the proper hardware to do so. Let us do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to!

The Importance of Accessibility

When furnishing a public space such as a park, a city street or a shopping centre, it’s important to remember who uses these areas; Everyone.  And not everyone has the same capabilities. You may think you are doing everybody a service by providing them with a bench to take a break on or a picnic table to enjoy a nice meal outside and you are, however the majority of site furniture is not designed for people with disabilites or those that just need a bit more support.

Picnic tables are a great addition to any park or shared outdoor area and although they seem accessible to everyone, including those with wheelchairs, that is not the case. The open ends of picnic tables may seem like an easy enough solution for those in wheelchairs to wheel up to, however the design of most picnic tables has the legs too close to the end of the table.

There are picnic tables on the market that have been designed to better accommodate those with wheelchairs. Some of those designs include regular style picnic tables that only have seating on one side or have an extended table top to allow room for those with wheelchairs. Our own MODC table was designed for the March of Dimes Canada and is a square table with built in seating on two sides and open seating on the other two sides to allow for wheelchair access. 

There are a variety of bench styles available on the market and the majority are fairly accessible, however there is always room for improvement. Benches tend to be low to the ground and fairly deep, making it difficult for some users to enter and exit the bench, especially if the bench doesn’t have arms. Another issue with the average park bench is that the material to make benches is hard, there is no give and unfortunately does not conform to the shape of a person’s body in anyway. We took all of this into account when we began designing a line of ergonomically correct benches.

Our line of ergonomic benches, that includes the Ergo, Heritage and Contour bench, address all the flaws of the common park bench that are listed above. The seat height of the benches range from 18.5” to 20” and features curved seating to allow the user to roll on and off the bench with ease. Raised arm rests further aid the entry and exiting process. The Ergo and Heritage bench feature further ergonomics through built in lumbar support with a curved back which giving the user more comfort and support.

The ergonomically correct line of benches are the ideal solution for those with disabilities and seniors, as they are more accessible and user friendly and make a great addition to any public space. Not every piece of site furniture on a property is going to be accessible to everyone, however having a few wheelchair accessible tables to go along with your regular picnic tables, and some ergonomically correct benches along side your existing benches will ensure that anyone can find a suitable place to sit and enjoy the public space.  

Customization at Classic Displays

Housing three divisions of products at Classic Displays (Site Furniture, Holiday Displays, Flags & Banners), you can imagine how expansive our product lines are. Regardless of the number of products we have to offer, our customers don’t necessarily want stock items; they want something more personalized. It is for that reason that we offer a number of customization options in each of our divisions.

Site Furniture

At Classic Displays we understand that well manufactured, long lasting site furniture can be a large investment, which is why we want to make these piece multi functional for our customers. Why should a waste receptacle be used solely to collect garbage when it can also help further brand a company, city street or act as an advertisement for a local business?

Most of our waste receptacles can be customized simply through the addition of a logo, while others have more extensive options, like our Phoenix Unit. Our Phoenix has the space to do a logo on either side of the container but it also has an interchangeable community messaging centre as well as optional advertising panels. Great for communities, this unit helps keep the streets litter free while keeping local residents informed.

With site furniture, the customization doesn’t stop at waste receptacles. We do a number of different types of bench customizations including embossed ends, which is very popular on our Riverside benches and can be seen in the City of Toronto and on Sparks Street in Ottawa. Our new Heritage bench also has customizable ends through the optional logo and name plate. Plaques are also available for the majority of our benches.

Christmas Displays

We’ve been in the Christmas décor business since 1977 and we have done a number of custom jobs since then. The nice thing about the LED displays that we manufacture is that it’s easy for our customers to share their design concepts with us and we can turn around and make them a reality. And it doesn’t have to be just for Christmas.

We’ve manufactured a number of year round LED Displays based on Business Improvement Area’s (BIAs) logos. Examples of these can be seen on Sparks Street in Ottawa and in Danforth Village in Toronto. Another example of custom year round displays would be those manufactured for Gravenhurst. All of their displays had the same base but the tops were boats or loons.

Flags & Banners

Having customers request custom flags or banners, as opposed to purchasing the stock designs we carry, is fairly common. It’s an easy process.  The customer provides artwork that we then resize according to the banner size and then we have them printed and sewn, the process for custom flags being very much the same. What a number of people don’t realize is that the customization options don’t end there; we can also customize the banner arms.

Using laser cut steel, we can create custom banner and floral arms by cutting names and designs into them. It’s a great way to enhance a city street or BIA and examples of this can be found in the Islington BIA and Emery Village.

Offering a wide variety of customization options to our customers is something we think separates us from the rest. To increase our capabilities in this area we have a graphic designer on staff that can turn our customers ideas into working designs in the event our customers don’t have the capacity to do so themselves. We also have an in house engineer that has worked on a number of custom site furniture products, from designing new pieces that we’ve have not previously manufactured to making alterations to our existing products to better suit the needs of the customer.

Regardless of the scope of work for a customization project we work closely with our customers every step of the way to ensure they end up with a product that satisfies their needs!

New Products Debut at NFMT

It’s been a busy few months at Classic Displays as our waste and recycling product line continues to grow. Just over a week ago, we had the pleasure of exhibiting at the NFMT show in Baltimore and we brought with us our latest recycling solutions.

As mentioned in previous blogs, the prototype of the Griffin was unveiled in December of last year at the PM Expo, in Toronto. Once again the Griffin came with us to the NFMT show however this time instead of the prototype it was the proper base model of the unit, which again received quite a bit of positive feedback.

Another new unit that has now been at two trade shows but we haven’t said too much about is the Centry, a lower cost yet eye catching interior bin. Available as a single or multi stream unit, the Centry is equipped with standard graphics panels to ensure proper waste disposal and also has larger, optional graphics panels on the front and sides of the bin. A user friendly unit, the Centry can be emptied where it’s located or, thanks to its rear wheels, can be taken to the dumpster.

Something else we wanted to add to our interior recycling line was a more cost effective version of our popular Q Series. What resulted is what we call the K Series, a knock down, multi stream unit that features a narrow footprint which we unveiled for the first time in Baltimore.

Our customers are always working with fixed budgets, and shipping, especially across the continent can play a major role in turning a reasonably priced product into an over budget one. This was one of the deciding factors in creating a knock down unit. This easy to assemble unit can house up to four different streams of waste and recycling and it’s sack retention system lowers the cost of the unit further as recycled plastic liners are not required.

The new additions to our product line really helps round out what we currently offer and based on the solid feedback we’ve received, seems to fit the bill for meeting the needs of customer’s that want a high quality product at a more reasonable price!

Trade Show Season has Arrived

We are coming into trade show season here at Classic Displays and with so many new products to show off we are more excited than ever! Trade shows are an important part of our business model as it’s a great way to make new connections as well as get some face time with a number of our existing customers.

 The season officially kicks off this week in Baltimore at the National Facilities Management & Technology (NFMT) show, which will be a first for us. Along with our new Griffin (that we unveiled at last year’s PM Expo) we will have our new indoor waste container the Centry, the Classic Heritage bench which is the latest in older adult seating, as well the Phoenix, our best selling outdoor waste container. We will even be unveiling a new knockdown waste container, the K Series!

Throughout the year we like to ensure we are involved in as many trade shows as we can so that we can reach our diverse market. We already sell many of our products into the U.S., but because it’s such a huge market that we want to further expand in, NFMT is a perfect show to make new contacts and build new relationships.

From there the whirlwind of trade shows continues with a number of shows booked into the month of May. Those shows include:

• Springfest, April 10, Metro Toronto Convention Centre
• National BIA Conference, April 27-29, Hamilton Convention Centre
• OSUM Conference & Trade Show, April 30-May 1, Bobby Orr Community Centre, Parry Sound
• CSLA Congress Ottawa, May 31, Chateau Laurier Hotel

After that we get a bit of a break but will be exhibiting at a couple of trade shows in the fall that will be announced once they are confirmed.

If you are planning on attending any of these shows be sure to stop by and say hello to members of our sales staff and check out what we have to offer. With so many new and exciting products having been unveiled late last year and more coming, you’re bound to see something there that you haven’t seen before!