Wayfinding signs aim to boost pedestrian traffic downtown

Twenty-two new temporary signs posted onto poles in downtown Macon aim to direct pedestrians to public spaces and businesses they otherwise might have passed by.

Scattered between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Mercer Village, the signs direct people to destinations only minutes away by foot, including a historic ball field, cooking classes, a giant slide, a tiny public library and a bike shop among other points of interest.

The signs were placed by the Macon League of Creative Interventionists, a group supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The league, which formed in March 2014, is one of eight like it across the nation. It receives $100 per month to stage art-based "interventions" in public spaces, said the group's leader, Rachel Hollar.

"Every month we have a shared theme," Hollar said, adding that "Active" was the most recent theme for the leagues. "We meet, and we try to brainstorm an activity using creativity (and) using public art to try to build community and to try to break down social barriers."

To fit with the theme, Hollar said the league chose to use another Knight-funded civic startup called "Walk (Your City)."

The startup developed a website that allows people to create street signs to highlight the convenience of walking in a city's urban core. Each sign has a scannable QR code, a black and white square designed for use with smartphones. Once scanned, the code will open a website that includes directions to the wayfinding point.

"We just kind of had to come together and think of our favorite spaces and, where do we think people maybe don't know about in Macon," Hollar said. The league tried to choose places that were short distances away to "encourage people to walk there instead of driving there."

The signs are temporary and likely will stay fixed until the end of the year, Hollar said.

"We've had nothing but positive feedback," Hollar said.

At the corner of Cherry and Third streets Tuesday afternoon, 61-year-old Jerome Sneed read aloud two signs that said: "It is a 10 minute walk to a beautiful river side trail." and "It is a 3 minute walk to a visitor's center."

"I'm down here all the time, and it's my first time seeing them," Sneed said. "I think it's a good idea to show people the way to get different places."

Sneed could not scan the code with his basic cell phone, but he didn't need directions as he frequently walks downtown from his home on Telfair Street.

As for the estimated time, Sneed said it takes 15 and not 10 minutes to walk to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.

"I know because I used to walk it," he said.

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 11:00 PM with the headline "Wayfinding signs aim to boost pedestrian traffic downtown ."