Visiting Toronto's city hall? Brace yourself for beefed-up security, metal detectors

Planning to visit Toronto's city hall? Prepare yourself for beefed-up security measures when you enter the building.

Starting on Feb. 18, visitors can expect a new screening process to access the main atrium, customer service counters, and both the council chamber and committee rooms — which will include going through a metal detector.

The heightened security stems from a report adopted by council on Jan. 29, marking yet another round of changes in recent years following several council votes and public consultations.

In the latest 18-2 decision, councillors backed recommendations to install walk-through metal detectors, physical security barriers, and turnstiles allowing access-card holders to bypass the screening process.

"What we want to do is give anyone who visits city hall the impression that we're taking security seriously," said Coun. Stephen Holyday, who supported the changes.

Concern security will be a 'barrier' to access city hall

But the shift has prompted concern over accessibility.

Coun. Gord Perks, one of only two members who voted against the recommendations, said he doesn't want any barriers between the public and "the building that they own."

"You can take your grievance down to city hall and get a hearing and maybe nudge us toward a better way to run the city," he said. "Every time we put a barrier in, we undermine that remarkable local democracy."

Holyday doesn't buy the fears. "The flip side of the coin is, people who may feel unsafe may not visit city hall," he said.

And, he added, security provisions aren't a strange sight in other government buildings or sporting venues.

Here's what the changes mean for visitors entering city hall:

• As of Feb. 18, visitor access will be only through the front doors facing Nathan Phillips Square and the parking garage and PATH entrance.
• Screening won't be required to access the main information desk, library, washrooms, or city hall café.
• Anyone hoping to enter beyond those points will pass through screening, which will include bag inspection, declarations of prohibited items — including guns, knives, explosives, and noisemakers like megaphones and air horns — and a metal detector.