Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2014 10 08

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Statement of Intent (SOI) OVERVIEW & OBJECTIVES: TRAIL + WAYFINDING EXPERTS Wayfinding is the art of easily navigating through urban and suburban settings, parks, open spaces, and country trails. The designer's challenge is to facilitate moving from point A to point B efficiently and comfortably using design, behavioral psychology, and other elements such as signage to minimize the stress of navigating a location. The end goal is to create and support a population of happy and confident trail users that know how to get where they want to go efficiently. Make no mistake, the stress of disorientation when lost or unsure of a destination location is a very real concern with physical consequences; the urban planner Kevin Lynch, who coined the term "wayfinding" writes that "the sense of anxiety and even terror that accompanies it reveals how closely it is linked to our sense of balance and well- being:' An October 2013 American Journal of Preventative Medicine article cited that recent research found that enhanced signage and outreach increased trail use by as much as 7 -12 %. Certainly, even the slightest improvement to awareness about getting from point A to point B is conducive to enjoying a park, town or city's amenities, shops, or recreation. This Louisville Open Space & Trails Wayfinding Project will require early recognition of Opportunities and Constraints that, if missed, will cost the project time, money, and a diminished visitor experience. As individual companies, we offer a well- seasoned and cohesive team that is knowledgeable of Louisville's vision for its overall trail system, and we understand how signage and trail legibility fits into that big picture. Our team can hit the ground running with little to no learning curve to catch up with, therefore preserving Louisville's investment and adding value to the bottom line. ■ Project Goal: The goal of this project is to enhance the trail users' experience and ability to navigate through the trail system. We view the grand vision of this effort to include increasing trail use and communicating a legible system that can be used to access all of Louisville and beyond without a vehicle. We are committed to accomplishing this while abiding by Open Space values and goals and minimizing sign clutter, maintenance and costs. Task: Site Analysis & Identification of Issues • While Louisville citizen surveys indicate that trails are the top Open Space and Parks amenity, comments reflect that trail users have difficulty navigating the system. • Existing signing and naming convention is not effective in directing users through the system though the system is widespread and usable as both a recreational amenity and multimodal transportation system. • The system that exists is made up of numerous short sections of seemingly unconnected trails • The City of Louisville is approximately 4.3 miles at its widest diameter, a distances both friendly and manageable for the largest potential bicycle - user community who are classified as the "interested but concerned: This user group are made up of those who are interested in riding and do so where the infrastructure exists, but are reluctant to in places where safety concerns exist (https: / /www.portlandoregon.gov /transportation / article /237507). In Portland, this group makes up 60% of the population.