UM Today UM Today University of Manitoba UM Today UM Today UM Today

CBC: Wayfinding signs could help downtown Winnipeg become more vibrant, experts say

July 5, 2019 — 

As CBC reports:

Winnipeg is known as a car city, but a series of wayfinding signs of mysterious origin are encouraging people to ditch the gas guzzlers and use their own two feet to stroll through the city instead.

“They’re a form of guerilla wayfinding…. It encourages people to gather their cars and to walk and to cycle,” said Ryan Segal, community planner with Urban Systems.

If you’re walking around downtown Winnipeg, the Exchange District or The Forks you’ll see the signs perched on poles. They display the closest distance to nearby landmarks such as Portage and Main or other tourist hotspots.

The signs are believed to have been designed and created from the website Walk Your City, which is focused on helping cities become more walkable. Anyone can sign up for an account and then begin to create signs of their own, but it’s unclear who is responsible for posting them across Winnipeg.

Segal’s thesis during his masters at the University of Manitoba studied the benefits of wayfinding systems for children in the Exchange District.

“It helps to make a city legible, [helps] people navigate it. I mean, there’s people in Winnipeg who might not be comfortable downtown.”

He said signs like these can be important for tourism and showcasing the city.

Read the full story here.

 

,

© University of Manitoba • Winnipeg, Manitoba • Canada • R3T 2N2

Emergency: 204-474-9341