Wayfinding Program Guides Drivers, Pedestrians

The City of Los Angeles recently began installing one of the countrys largest civic wayfinding programs. Known as Downtown LA Walks, the project will help Angelinos and tourists alike better navigate the citys streets and sidewalks, and will unify the citys downtown core through a system of naming, branding and symbology presented on boundary and district markers, and pedestrian and vehicular signs.

“It is in our cities that we celebrate the diversity of this nation,” said Jeffry Corbin, founder of Corbin Design. “Wayfinding is one of the most effective ways to increase visitors’ sense of security and increase their willingness to explore the many opportunities that our nation’s downtowns have to offer.”

Currently being installed throughout the citys downtown, Downtown LA Walks encompasses 350 city blocks, 50 streets, over 300 intersections, 30 freeway off ramps, eight Metro stations and hundreds of MTA bus stops. Hunt Design of Pasadena, CA, a leading graphic designer for buildings, spaces and places, teamed with Corbin Design of Traverse City, Michigan, providers of wayfinding and environmental graphic design, to create the comprehensive wayfinding system. More than 1,300 individual elements make up the system, including 545 vehicular directional signs, 471 pedestrian signs and 285 neighborhood maps.

The wayfinding system identifies thirteen unique districts that comprise Downtown Los Angeles, and directs visitors first to these districts and to major destinations like the Staples Center before directing them to smaller destinations within each district. Designed to promote walking, the system points drivers to appropriate parking for their destination. When they leave their cars, the system offers more detailed information in the form of pedestrian directional signs to their destinations and neighborhood maps at every other corner that provide a visual overview of the immediate area. The sequence is this: greet arriving drivers; direct them to districts and major destinations; direct them to other destinations; get people parked; get them walking within a district to their destination; keep them walking by showing other opportunities on block-by-block maps; and support the use of the Metro and MTA buses on signs and maps.

In designing Downtown LA Walks, Hunt and Corbin worked closely with the non-profit Confederation of Downtown Associations, the alliance of nine business improvement districts dedicated to improving access to public transportation and reducing traffic congestion that is spearheaded the project. The Confederations implementation funding comes from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Community Redevelopment Agency and the nine business improvement districts.

It used to be difficult for people to find their way around downtown Los Angeles, explained Darryl Holter, confederation chairman. With the launch of L A Walks, we have just made it easier for drivers and pedestrians to find their way around the numerous destinations downtown Los Angeles has to offer.

Los Angeles is one of many major U.S. cities that have called on Corbin and Hunt for wayfinding assistance. Corbin Design has designed programs for Atlanta, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Kansas City, Missouri; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Hunt Design has recently completed wayfinding programs for cities including Juneau, Alaska; Wichita, Kansas; and Pasadena, Oxnard and Sacramento, CA.

The Downtown LA Walks project is currently being installed throughout downtown Los Angeles and is scheduled for completion later this year.

For information on Hunt Design, visit: http://www.huntdesign.com

For information on Corbin, visit: http://www.corbindesign.com