Wayfinding signs will find their way to LIC in March 2013

Image source: NY Observer

The NY Observer reports that new “wayfinding” signs – big laser-etched glass maps – will be installed in four neighborhoods in NYC, Long Island City being one of them. The other three neighborhoods are Midtown, Chinatown, and Prospect Heights/Western Crown Heights. A total of 150 signs will be installed in these neighborhoods starting in March 2013. Hopefully this will help both tourists and locals figure out where they are/where they are going – DOT estimates 1 in 10 of us get lost each week, 1 in 3 New Yorkers can’t tell in which direction they’re facing, and 1 in 4 visitors did not know what borough they were in when queried.

In each neighborhood, the signs will be installed in high-traffic areas and include, “major local landmarks and destination, all streets and estimated walking times, since the focus is on helping pedestrians get around town.” The maps will be oriented in a “heads-up” way, meaning they will show things in the direction in which the person is looking at the map.

So how much did this all cost? $6 million to develop  – 80% from the federal DOT and the rest from the local BIDs in the different neighborhoods. Part of the deal is that they install and maintain the new signs.

The city hopes these signs will have a postive impact on the local neighborhood economies. Transportation Commissioner Jeanette Sadik-Khan says, “Studies have shown people have a four-block mental map and this will help expand them. That’s good for business, that’s good for communities, that’s good for everybody. People will start to mix it up, exploring new neighborhoods and even new blocks in their old neighborhoods.”

Lost City of New York: New Sleek DOT Signs Help Pedestrians Find Their Way [NY Observer]