Visitor Wayfining system: Guiding visitors into the greater downtown

One of the projects in our 2012 Program of Work the public will continue to hear more about is securing funding and implementing a Visitor Wayfinding System.

The completion of the new Neuse River Bridge in 1997 and removal of the old John Lawson Bridge in 2000, dramatically altered the dynamics of circulation and arrival downtown creating new gateways and traffic patterns. In 2007, a master plan was developed for the completion of the Riverwalk in preparation of the City’s 300^th Celebration in 2010. A component of the Plan was a Wayfinding Sign System, designed by Mortar&ink, Columbia, MD in 2008-2009, funded through a NC Department of Cultural Resources grant. Swiss Bear’s goal is to partner with the City and other tourism related organizations, obtain estimates and secure funding for the implementation of a comprehensive Visitor Wayfinding Sign System.

What is Visitor Wayfinding? A Visitor Wayfinding System performs many functions.

1. The system directs vehicular traffic along designated image corridors to visitor destinations and parking.
2. The system provides orientation information to pedestrians at parking facilities and along pedestrian corridors.
3. The system welcomes and assists visitors with clear, concise wording and thoughtfully crafted nomenclature.
4. The system presents a positive image of the community through a design that is unique, attractive and consistent.

A city-wide wayfinding sign system guides visitors into and around town. A sign system for identity and visitor wayfinding is unique to the community, picking up where highway signs end on the interstate and state roads, to guide visitors from the periphery to featured community destinations.

The system provides directions to, and visibility for, key visitor destinations, generally public venues, without private, retail or religious affiliation. Such a system is also an opportunity to strengthen the city’s image as a unique, vibrant and welcoming community.

Why a Visitor Wayfinding System?

Visitors are a key component in any community’s economic development plan for two reasons: Visitors come to spend money and visitors come back to stay and to invest.

The revitalization of downtown was based on restructuring the downtown economy to attract visitors which is a now a major industry. Domestic visitors spent $108.3 million in 2010 in Craven County.

Susan Moffat Thomas

Executive Director