The city's holding its first public meeting on the subject of wayfinding.
Defined as the comprehensive way people—both residents and visitors—find their way around, wayfinding includes signs, maps, lighting, street furniture and new media possibilities. The March 28 public open house emerges from a 2010
proposal to figure out ways to improve the existing situation. "The growth in visitor numbers, and the 2015 Pan Am Games makes this a timely opportunity to take the initial steps towards delivery of this goal," states the info sheet.
The most prominent aspect of the city's current wayfinding system at the moment is
PATH, the often confusing series of signs and maps meant to help people find their way through the tunnels, lobbies, food courts and other indoor routes in the financial district between Union Station and Eaton Centre.
Current problems for visitor wayfinding include overly modest street- and subway-level indications of major tourist attractions, such as the AGO, the Hockey Hall of Fame and Casa Loma.
Steve Johnston, the city's senior communications coordinator, says the first meeting is intended to discuss the first phase of the wayfinding project, which is to "establish principles and an implementation strategy, identify potential funding sources and define the parameters of a pilot project that will be presented to Toronto City Council."
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Steve Johnston
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