Wayfinding
Wayfinding has the function to inform people of the surroundings in the unfamiliar build environment, it is important to show information at strategic points to guide people into the right directions. Wayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.
Wayfinding is more than just a navigational aid. Rather it is a way to market an area’s resources, alter negative perceptions, evoke a sense of character and improve accessibility and public safety. Wayfinding is a complementary economic development activity, contributing to the character, mobility and attractiveness of our area as a viable business location. Uncoordinated or disorganized signs lead to visual clutter and potential confusion for residents and visitors alike.
Interpretation is more than facts or stories. Interpretation is information that builds connections between personal interests and a place, event, resource, or landscape. The result is a deeper sense of history and appreciation for the place, resource or landscape. A place so loved stands the test of time. Interpretation is the process of helping each trail user find an opportunity to personally connect with a place…. everyone can have an opportunity to explore how a trail or linear park is meaningful to them. Through interpretation comes understanding; through understanding comes appreciation; through appreciation comes stewardship.
The Ohio River Trail Council (ORTC) endorses the development of a wayfinding and Interpretive Signage signing along the Ohio River Trail corridor. The ORTC supports a program that is designed to serve residents and visitors whether they are traveling as motorists, cyclists, or pedestrians. This program will highlight the amenities of our region. It is the hope of the ORTC that a regional approach will be adopted providing a systematic network of directional signs to guide the local and traveling public to key civic, cultural, visitor, tourist, recreational, transportation and commercial destinations through a unified look, similar in nature to the interstate signs across the country.
