Nottingham City gets Streetwise for wayfinding system
Edinburgh-based Streetwise has won the tender to develop a pedestrian navigation system for Nottingham City Council, one part of its ParkSmart initiative.
ParkSmart is an integrated scheme to help visitors select the right car park, connect easily with the city’s integrated public transport system and explore the city on foot.
Streetwise is developing a wayfinding system involving a network of mapping and information points, both on street and in car parks across the city centre.
There will be 29 on-street information points on-street and 31 in car parks. The winning proposal from Streetwise, adopted by the Council, includes two sided on-street units that will integrate fully with the City’s existing finger post system which is also being upgraded.
One side will present a full City Centre map with points of interest list, supplemented by walking time and distance information to a range of key points in the city. This side will also feature a separate Cycling Route Map.
The other side will promote the attractions in each of the five ParkSmart zones including a second map giving greater detail on the immediate area. This side will also feature an Events Calendar, promoting the many events that Nottingham city centre plays host to throughout the year.
“The key to developing these systems is to think like a visitor and understand their real needs and mindset when visiting somewhere, especially for the first time,” said Peter McGrail, director of Streetwise.”
In developing the system for Nottingham we considered fully the objectives stated by the client, the character of the City and how to engage with its visitors. The headings used are set as if asked by the user ‘Where can I find’ is set above the list of points of interest, for example. It is vital to quickly make the user trust the system, presenting a wide range of information in an easily digestible form is therefore key."