Signage & Wayfinding in Grey County Opportunities, Challenges & How We Can Move Forward Together

Why Signage? Why Now? What we hope to introduce today… Signage: there’s more to it that we might think! What we could do with signage in Grey County (and the opportunities and challenges of change)… What signage in Grey County looks like right now… How do we develop a signage strategy? How do we reflect Grey County’s character as a family of unique communities?

Signage 101 Types of signs: –Regulatory (including Warning and Informational) –Municipal Identification/Community Development –Wayfinding/Tourism Destinations –Heritage –Private (advertising) Important to consider balance between the number of signs needed to provide information and the need to keep roads clean, clear and without clutter (to keep roadways safe & directions straightforward) Important to consider consistent look and feel

Community/Municipal Identification Hierarchy of settlement areas (*Official Plan) –Municipal: Identify the official municipal name at the boundary –Community Identify settlement communities within a municipality –Tourism & Heritage (not required, but have tourism/heritage benefits - Relate community to local context)

Key Considerations Consistency –Look and feel –Placement –Information on sign Road safety –Number of signs –Size –Location Clarity –Clear identification & purpose –Avoid/reduce duplication

Wayfinding Signage What is “wayfinding”? –The consistent use of signs, maps and other graphic methods to convey location and direction to visitors throughout a region. Challenge –Bruce Grey Simcoe has identified the lack of consistent, coherent wayfinding signage throughout the region Opportunity –Each municipality within Grey County offers a unique visitor experience and amenities/attractions, but tourists and visitors are seldom aware of community, county or regional borders

Types of Wayfinding signs Tourist-Oriented Directional Signs (TODS) along provincial roadways. Signage managed by the County Signage managed by municipalities Private signage created by local businesses to provide directional information to visitors.

RTO-7 Tourism Wayfinding & Signage Signage system developed specifically to address tourism-based wayfinding needs throughout Grey, Bruce and Simcoe Counties Designed to provide communities with cohesive, cost-effective promotional platform Designed to provide flexibility/opportunity to incorporate community-specific branding Caveat: Provides little direction on municipal identification signage hierarchy (eg. county/municipal/community)

Some Examples

Time for a Refresh Many road signs need replacing –Wear & Tear –Faded or damaged Opportunity to think strategically & regionally about a practical aspect of our County brand and local municipal brands –Incorporating new County brand & local municipal brands –Pair County and Municipal branding for a collaborative approach & image –Integrate regional place-making/destination development principles

What’s out there right now….

Signage Needs Safe & Functional –Signage needs to be functional, first and foremost –Need to have strong, reliable criteria for determining where signs are placed, what information they display, what they look like and how they are managed (i.e. consistent approach) Distinctive & Recognizable –Opportunity to pair municipal branding initiatives with new signage to demonstrate a rich tapestry of communities within Grey County family Identity & Reputation –Signage is often a “first impression” for visitors & residents –Opportunity to help identify Grey County & its communities as distinct, unique and welcoming

Opportunities, Challenges & Considerations Overall intent of a signage program is to balance the number of signs throughout Grey County & its municipalities to provide a clear, methodical sequence of directional elements to municipal and privately-owned destinations. A signage system of this nature can provide an efficient, cost effective solution. Establishing a signage hierarchy and a preliminary wayfinding approach.

An example of a signage strategy: Town of Innisfil Suggests Visual Identity Standards, a Signage System Hierarchy, looks at existing wayfinding locations/gaps Based on RTO7 wayfinding signage strategy and adds municipal identification signage Worked with form:media (same company as developed RTO7 wayfinding strategy) Uses a hierarchy of signage, including: –Tourist Oriented Directional Signs (TODS) –Signage managed by Simcoe County –Signage managed by the Town of Innisfil –Private signage

An example of a signage strategy: Town of Innisfil Overall intent is to “limit the number of signs throughout the Town while providing a clear, methodical sequence of directional elements to municipal and privately-owned destinations.” Effective, efficient and economical solution to signage - consistency & coherency Included public consultation Phased-in implementation, using signage hierarchy and assessment of current assets

Next steps… Initiate consideration of a strategic approach to signage in Grey County Looking at options for creating consistent, collaborative community signage guidelines Opportunities to partner Grey County brand and member municipality brands Potential for seeking consultant guidance Opportunity to create a working group to consider Tourism, Transportation, Branding, etc across signage needs

Moving Forward… Opportunity to develop a Grey County signage strategy Options for how we move forward: –Collaborative County approach (utilizing consultant) – full partnership in strategy development & implementation plan –County-led (utilizing consultant), with municipal input –County-led (no consultant), with municipal input –County-only