FEATURE
Sue Bell, Principal Urban Designer, BMCC; Warren Potter, President, Wentworth Falls Chamber of Commerce; Chris Van der Kley, Ward 2 Councillor; and Phil Pinyon, General Manager, BMCC.
Finding your Way in Wentworth Falls
23 October 2009
Finding your way around Wentworth Falls and all that it has to offer will be much easier for residents and tourists alike, with the installation of the first pedestrian wayfinding sign at Wentworth Falls.
Blue Mountains City Council launched the pilot Wayfinding project last week and a further roll out of pedestrian wayfinding signs across eight towns in the City is expected over the next two years.
Mayor, Cr Adam Searle described wayfinding as, "All of the ways in which people orient themselves in a given space, such as a town, a tourist precinct or nature reserve, and how people navigate from place to place."
"Pedestrian wayfinding will allow people who are on foot, or arriving by bus, rail or car, to access a diverse array of local facilities, destinations and attractions more easily."
The wayfinding sign is designed to be robust and durable with two replaceable maps on the plinth - a regional map showing visitors the wider context of the area and the relationship with Sydney and the central west, and a town map, showing local facilities and points of interest.
In addition to the sign, tear-off maps will be available to residents and visitors from local shops, to help with people with general directions and the location of places of interest.
"Council has undertaken a considerable range of consultation and research in the design and development of the pedestrian wayfinding project to ensure that the signage is an important addition to the local tourism industry.
The wayfinding project will be an important foundation for the possible development of a range of information products in the future, such as themed art and heritage walks, tear-off maps for those locations without a visitor information centre, and integration with walking track signs", concluded Mayor Searle.
The Wentworth Falls Chamber of Commerce has embraced Council's Wayfinding project, with Warren Potter, President of the Chamber saying, "We are thrilled that Wentworth Falls was selected to trial the Wayfinding project. The local business community is keen to monitor the response to the signs along with the new tear-off maps that are available in local shops."