Master plan eyed for welcoming signage in city

Thursday, August 24, 2017

While the Stellar Project certainly helped the City of Greencastle find its way, planning is under way to make it easy for visitors to do likewise.

Greencastle is seeking to create and implement a Wayfinding Master Plan, the goal of which is to enhance the city’s brand, ease navigation issues and reinforce key destinations by aiding visitors in finding their way.

One of the key issues is fostering a connection from Interstate 70, considered the region’s most important artery, to Greencastle’s many assets.

The Redevelopment Commission Wednesday evening unanimously approved a $40,000 contract with RLR Associates (Rodney Reid) of Indianapolis to create the master plan suggesting welcome signage, direction to public spaces like parking lots and establishing that connection to the I-70 corridor.

“This is one of those things that didn’t get funded in Stellar,” City Planner Shannon Norman advised the commission, conducting its regular monthly meeting at City Hall, “so you see how long we’ve been working on this.”

It was noted that civic groups had investigated a similar wayfinding program over the years but were never able to follow through with funding.

The suggested system would have both pedestrian and vehicular elements to it, Norman noted.

What is sought is a cohesive, well-designed and aesthetically pleasing wayfinding system that would support pedestrians and cyclists in the downtown area finding their way to the city’s diverse and unique recreational opportunities. The system would also be designed to help motorists find public parking.

RLR was chosen over a handful of other firms, including some from out of state, because of proximity and price. The firm also has a history of working with communities like Brownsburg and Plainfield, where it tailored street signs in the area around their schools to stand out with a distinctive look or color.

The firm will provide consulting and design services to the city for a Wayfinding and Signage Master Plan to include key destinations, districts and parking.

The work will include design of identity and directional devices, as well as recommendations for placement of such devices.

RLR also will design and make recommendations for the “look” of wayfinding and identity signs. The concept and style of the signage system will give consideration to city branding and cultural themes, it was noted in RLR’s proposal.

The unique wayfinding sign “family” ultimately will contain a formatted, hierarchical series of signs that may include gateway or portal signs, welcome signs, boundary markers, directional/mileage signs (to points of interest), bike/trail path signs, historic and landmark identification, and celebratory/event banners.

Representative sign types will be shown in color with fonts, logos and graphics for selection by the city.

”This is just the design,” noted Redevelopment Commission Vice President Drew Brattain, who served on the selection committee. “What we do with this the next five, 10 years depends upon the money.”

The RLR contract was approved unanimously followed a motion by Gary Lemon and second by Gwen Morris.

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  • What a surprise....like hendricks county. Thats all greencastle ever does is copy hendricks county. Cant think of anything unique on your own. What about the whole county????

    -- Posted by canttakeitanymore on Fri, Aug 25, 2017, at 9:25 AM
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