Downtown Pedestrian Wayfinding System

 

Purpose, Description and Criteria

 

 

San Antonio was once a small understandable city, where citizens lived in town, and walked to most of their destinations along familiar routes. Citizens knew most of their fellow residents, and asking directions if one was unsure of one’s way was accepted.

 

Today, many of the changes that the city has undergone in becoming a large metropolis have brought people into the downtown who are either strangers to our city, or who feel like strangers in their own town. Tourism is an important industry. Travelers come to the city for business and pleasure, and urbanites have become suburbanites.

 

Within the urban core visitors are also subjected to an overwhelming number of messages- regulatory signs, traffic control signals, billboards, street signs, shop signs, posters, and advertisements all compete with one another for the viewer’s attention. Too frequently, information that is important to the visitor is missing or buried by other messages.

 

A comprehensive wayfinding system is clearly needed.

 

Purpose:

 

The Downtown Pedestrian Wayfinding System is intended to provide visitors with directional information to major civic destinations and public points of interest within the Downtown core of San Antonio.

 

The system should serve as an adjunct to other, more detailed, public and private information systems offered to visitors (e.g. maps and brochures). The system of signs is one part of an integrated public information system.

Description:

 

Elements of the System

 

The elements of the system include 2 fundamental parts:

1.      Maps

2.      Directional signs

 

Maps have been designed to provide visitors with an orientation to their current location within the Downtown area- a quick knowledge of “You Are Here”- and the locations of major areas of the Downtown.

The Downtown map is divided into Districts, with the District boundary based on a recognizable and distinct character. Each District is identified by name, based on the most prominent or identifiable landmark within the District. Each District may contain many points of interest, but only one name is given to the overall District.

 

The coverage area of the map is circular. The map is always positioned so that it is oriented to the world. That is, if the viewer is looking North, North is at the top of the map, but if the viewer is looking East the map is oriented so that East is at the top of the map. The points of the compass are plainly identified around the perimeter of the map.

 

Each map shows the user’s position, and a circle representing a Ten-minute Walk” (one-half mile radius) surrounding it. This allows users to guage the relative distance of various points of interest.

 

Maps provide information relating to major streets, the River, and major points of interest.Information on the map is provided in greater detail within the current District of the user. Within the current District all street names are provided, and points of interest are called out.

 

 

The system has incorporated the following goals and objectives into the strategy for design:

Pedestrian Scale-       The elements of the system Include signs sized and set at a height and scale that is oriented to the pedestrian.

Simplicity of Information-        The information on the signs is intended to be utilized by those with the least familiarity to San Antonio’s downtown area. Both graphic information in the form of simple maps and text are used to help bridge language barriers.

Consistency-   The elements of the system are consistent in shape, color and material, and are always found at the same relative locations, directional signing at street corners and maps at mid-block. The orientation of the viewer is always the same as the orientation of the map.

Color Reinforcement- Each District is identified, not only by name, but also by color. The District color is distinctive, and distinguishes each District from its neighbor. The District color is used to identify the extents of each District on the map, and is used on the border of each sign within the District. Signs pointing to destinations within neighboring Districts use that District’s color.

Distinctive design-      The silhouette of the signs are a conspicuous shape, utilizing a Spanish-Colonial “quatrefoil” motif. This serves to make signs identifiable, but also reflects the heritage of the city.