DOWNTOWN wayfinding signs first conceived in 2003 are finally finding their way downtown.
The city will install 101 new directional signs at 84 locations in and around downtown next week to complete the second phase of a long-delayed project designed to make the heart of the city easier to navigate.
Russ Wyatt displays outdoor street signs to be erected in 84 locations in and around downtown for the benefit of both drivers and pedestrians.
The first phase of the project saw directional signs erected last year inside downtown's weather-protected walkways. The new outdoor signs -- which are aimed at both drivers and pedestrians -- will feature the same design elements.
Winnipeg is among the first cities in North America to integrate the design of interior and exterior wayfinding signs, said Coun. Russ Wyatt, who chairs council's downtown development committee.
"We as Winnipeggers take for granted we know where city landmarks are. But visitors to our city don't," said Wyatt, praising the dark blue, aqua and gold-coloured aluminum signs conceived by Pittsburgh designer Bob Firth.
The city began working on the wayfinding signs in 2003, when a council led by then-mayor Glen Murray approved $250,000 for the project.
Prototype signs were supposed to be erected the following year. But the project was delayed due to a complex process of consultation involving private property owners, the city and non-profit organizations responsible for downtown, said John Kiernan, community initiatives co-ordinator for the city's planning department.
"We found the process very challenging," said Kiernan, adding it took the city two years to design, test and plan for every phase of the project, whose total cost now stands at $943,000.
"It wasn't as if we could just go and put up signs. There was a lot of consultation involved."
Coun. Wyatt, however, called the four-year delay in erecting the outdoor signs "completely unacceptable" and blamed city administrators for the holdup.
"I was quoted at one time as saying this shouldn't be called wayfinding, but 'way-losing,' " he said. "The bureaucracy always has an excuse. They talk about complexity."
The third and final phase of the wayfinding project will see information kiosks with maps erected at both indoor and outdoor downtown locations. The kiosks will resemble prototypes already set up around MTS Centre.
"The simpler it is to get around downtown and find your destination -- whether it's a parking lot or tourist attraction -- the easier and better the experience," said Downtown Winnipeg BIZ director Stefano Grande.
"That's critical for downtown. Some of the best downtowns in the world are the ones where you don't need a map. You hit the street and there's a wayfinding system."
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
Signs, signs...
Downtown Winnipeg's $943,000 wayfinding system, first conceived in 2003, will finally be finished this year. The signs are going up in three steps:
Phase One (2006): Directional signs inside the weather-protected walkway system, better known as downtown's skywalks and tunnels.
Phase Two (next week): Outdoor directional signs at 84 locations in and around downtown.
Phase Three (by the end of 2007): Information kiosks with maps and directions, set up at both indoor and outdoor locations downtown. Prototypes already exist around MTS Centre.
PREVIOUS
