Friday, February 5, 2010

City Streets Just Got Smarter

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Have you noticed the new Council signs about town? A handful of new “interpretation” and “directional” signs were rolled out in various locations through out the city centre a couple of months ago (November).

The white “interpretation” signs, located in City Mall, communicate pieces of interest to the space in which they are placed, such as ornamental features on surrounding heritage buildings, the title and meaning of a nearby public art piece, or the purpose or manner in which the space was regularly used by residents of a by-gone era. Council planning for these signs included consultation with local heritage experts, signage experts, and even a study in which locals and tourists were given clipboards and cameras and asked to identify aspects of the space that interested them.

The red “directional” signs can found in locations such as Cathedral Square, the Canterbury Museum, the Arts Gallery, and the Library. These signs are replacements to the old bollard type directional signs that were put up in the city in the eighties. The new locations and information communicated on these signs were chosen by Council after doing pedestrian surveys and by monitoring pedestrian movement in order to understand the most trafficked routes and therefore the most effective positions for the new signs.

Keep your eyes peeled for more of Council’s new signs to pop up in the coming year, including another interpretation sign on the block of High Street between Lichfield and Cashel Streets and directional signs that will direct pedestrian traffic from the city centre towards AMI Stadium (in anticipation of the Rugby Cup).

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