Pedestrian Wayfinding Plan for the City of Chicago
By: Alireza Karduni Final Project for Masters of Urban Planning and Policy Adviser: Charles J. Hoch
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs Department of Urban Planning and Policy
Table of Contents Conceptual Stage
Current Situations
• What is a pedestrian wayfinding system?
• Who walks in Chicago? and how that affects wayfinding.
• Benefits of a wayfinding system
- Population, race, ethnicity, and language - Age and persons with disabilities - Tourists - Different neighborhoods
• What does a pedestrian wayfinding system offer? • Why does Chicago need a pedestrian wayfinding system? • What needs to be studied? • What goes into a wayfinding system? • How does this plan go through ?
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• Pedestrian flow and Decision points • Existing Chicago wayfinding and signage systems - Major regional and citywide wayfinding elements - cta - Divvy - Metra and Pace -RTA - Other local wayfinding elements - Remarks on Chicago’s existing wayfinding situation
Planning Stage • Wayfinding Goals • Wayfinding Objectives • Wayfinding Strategies • Priorities
Design Stage Design Stage • Flow of information • Signage elements
- Identifier section
- Location section - Directional information - Neighborhood map - Area map - Legend and information • Signage design • Users’ experience • Other design challenges • Remarks on maintance and management • Appendix
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Executive Summary Pedestrian wayfinding systems are designed information elements, such as signs and maps, with the goal of providing the information pedestrians need at locations they need it the most. City of Chicago is a world-class destination for tourism, and also is home to a diverse and vibrant population. with the city’s current emphasis on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, improving the information infrastructure of the city becomes crucial. A pedestrian wayfinding system for Chicago can benefit the city in numerous ways besides improving the pedestrian experience. By having a better knowledge of the city, tourists and residents are encouraged to explore different parts of the city and take advantage of Chicago’s full potential. Economic prosperity , healthier lifestyles, and less traffic congestion, are only few of the benefits of having a robust wayfinding system. • The goal of this document is to provide a guideline and framework for future wayfinding and signage projects in the city of Chicago.
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this plan goes through by first explaining some basic concepts about wayfinding and what current chicago policies support wayfinding. Then a planning process is designed by researching current chicago policies, other wayfinding plans from cities of simillar scale to chicago in the world, and wayfinding literature. After creating a conceptual framework for this document, a study of the current situations in Chicago that support wayfinding is done. This part provides some key findings : • Tourists, senior citizens, students, and persons with disabilities are some of the major populations in need of wayfinding. • Some neighborhoods in Chicago might need wayfinding with a second language besindes English. • There is no wayfinding system currently in place that focuses on varying needs of pedestrains. • The Transit Friendly Development study done by City of Chicago provides guidance on different characteristics of Chicago neighborhoods. • Some areas in Chicago have special wayinding needs such as university campuses and the Loop.
Based on the findings of current situations study, and best practices from various wayfinding plans throughout the world. A set of Goals, Objectives, and Strategies are identified. Some of the main wayfinding goals are: • Encourage walking as opposed to driving • Create and promote options for a healthier lifestyle for residents • Encourage exploration of all of Chicago’s assets • Increase public transit ridership • Emphasize on different characteristics of Chicago’s neighborhoods Objectives and Strategies are guidelines to help future wayfinding projects achieve the defined goals. Three levels of priorities are then defined for different neighborhoods in Chicago based on how much they need wayfinding. • High priority for neighborhoods that need immediate wayfinding plans • Medium priority for neighborhoods that will need need wayfinding with future developments. • Low priority for neighborhoods that are mainly residential and do not create a lot of pedestrian traffic
At the next stage, a Schematic flow of information diagram is designed, To help designers create wayfinding signage that can achieve all the goals in this plan. Based on the diagram, Two prototype signs for UIC and Loop are designed to demonstrate how information can be designs based on the flow of information. The signs include different elements: • Unique branding for the signage • Information about the user’s current location • directional information to major destinations in the area • Information on the wherabouts of different neighborhoods around the user • A 15 minute walk neighborhood map with information about some of the major destinations • A 5 minute walk area map that shows details about destinaions, transit choices, and streets. • Sources for more information
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Concep Stage
ptual
Conceptual stage What is a Pedestrian Wayfinding System?
What are the Benefits of a Wayfinding System?
City of Chicago is trying to promote walking as an important mode of transportation. In order to achieve this goal, various factors such as safety and accessibility need to be considered. One of most important but underlooked factors for improving the pedestrian experience is information. How people can find out where to go and how to get there. Pedestrians use various elements in the environment to get the information needed to make the trip. A pedestrian wayfinding system is a purposeful and planned set of elements in the environment, that helps pedestrians orient themselves, and to know where they are, how they can move around, how to get to their destinations, and which mode is suitable for their trip.
A wayfinding system does more than just connect to different points in the city. It orients pedestrians and improves their walking experience. It helps to identify and connect places. It simulates economic growth with increasing number of people walking by businesses. It encourages exploration and discovery. It promotes walking and can impact the public health of residents. It can reduce reliance on automobiles and promote using public transit and walking. A wayfinding system is more than just answering questions. A well-designed sign can seamlessly transfer information to the pedestrian and by connecting people to place; it can create a sense of place. By introducing unknown places and areas to users; signs become a great addition to users’ sources of information such as smart phones and physical maps of the area. By locating information where the user needs it and easily transferring it, the user gains more time to pay attention to all the elements in the environment.
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?
What Does a Pedestrian Wayfinding System Offer? A wayfinding system offers information about the surrounding area, important destinations, best routes, Transit stations, Travel time; it’s a unified system of elements that will answer most of questions a pedestrian might ask during a trip. These questions can be asked in through different stages of a way finding process. This process can be categorized in three groups: -Decision making:
-Wayfinding: Wayfinding is the process of getting to the desired destination(s). Travel mode is also decided at this stage. The quality of this step has major effects on a pedestrian’s walking experience. -Locating the destination: This is the conclusion of a pedestrian trip and where the pedestrian successfully locates the destination. This step plays a major role in a pedestrian’s experience and satisfaction.
Decision making is the beginning of a trip, where a pedestrian decides to do an activity or go to a certain destination
Figure 1 Simple wayfinding questions
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Conceptual stage Table 1 Different steps in a wayfinding process
What can the proposed system do?
Wayfinding step
Show major destinations in the area Decision making Show major activities in the area
Show approximate time to get to the destination
Show the best route to the destination
Wayfinding
Show available modes of travel
Show the Naming of major urban spaces Finding the destination Show the Important landmarks
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Why Does Chicago need a Wayfinding Plan? City of Chicago is one of the major destinations in the United States. Chicago already has a great transit system and a great number of world famous attractions. Chicago already has a set of plans in place that emphasize the importance of increasing the pedestrian share. Chicago Pedestrian Plan, Chicago Cultural Plan, And GoTo 2040 all include sections that focus on connectivity, place making, public health, and improving pedestrian access to transit. A unified wayfinidng system; other than offering all those benefits can help City of Chicago utilize all of it tourism assets.
Wayfinding in
Chicago
Chicago Pedestrian Plan
Create Accesibile Pedestrian Signs
Eliminate Gaps and Barriers in the Network
Establish Policies that Prioritize Pedestrian Access
Improve Pedestrian Connection to Transit
Access for Persons with Disabilities
Coordinate with the RTA’s Interagency Signage Program
Improve Digital Waynding
Inegrate Art into Pedestrian Spaces
Improve pedestrian share in City of Chciago
Chicago Cultural Plan
Some Chicago Policies that are Related with Waynding Link Neighborhoods to Each other
Develop a Comprehensive Cultural Tourism Plan
Figure 2 Wayfinding Policies in Chicago Sources : Chicago Pedestrian Plan , Chicago Cultural Plan Page 11
Conceptual stage What Goes into a Wayfinding System? After identifying the benefits of a wayfinding system and the current status of Chicago. Different signage elements, their purpose, and the wayto create them can be determined. Signage with maps and directions, handout maps, information booths, mobile apps are some of the possible elements of a wayfinding system. Different Categories of Signage Most wayfinding systems can be categorized into several groups of signage: -Identification Signs: This type often provides the name and function of a place, and acts as the means to show entrance and/or transition to a new location. -Directional Signs: This type helps to circulate and direct the users towards their destination, It gives them the necessary information to get to major destination in any interior or exterior space that needs it. Orientation Signs: This type helps to user to better understand a complicated space and its contents. Diagrams, Maps, and directories are the most common elements used in oriPage 12
entation signs. -Regulatory Signs: Describes the regulations that a place has in order to function better, such as “no smoking” and “no cars allowed”1. 1 Wayfinding Handbook : Information Design for Public Places Gibson, David , Princeton Architectural press, 2009
How Does this Plan go through ? The wayfinding plan for Chicago tries to create a unified wayfinding system for Chicago. In order to achieve this goal, three cases of successful wayfinding plans have been studied. These three plans are Legible London, Toronto 360, and downtown Austin wayfinding plan. In order to create a robust planning process, different actions and steps taken by each plan has been identified and categorized into four stages. Then by comparing those actions with Chicago’s existing policies and plans, an optimized planning process that fits the context of Chicago has been created. The four main stages of this plan are: Conceptual stage, understanding current situations, planning stage, design stage, and implementation. Figure (3) Shows the details of the current plan’s process.
Figure 3 Plan process
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Understa Current Situation
anding
ns
Current Situations Who Walks in Chicago ? and How that affects wayfinding. A successful wayfinding system should pay attention to the users. Users are the audience of a wayfinding system who might have different needs and goals and different cognitive abilities. To create an effective system, it is of outmost importance to pay attention to cultural diversities, disabilities, age, ,tourism, and special activities. Population, Race, Ethnicitiy, and Language Chicago is one of United States’ largest cities with an estimated population of 2.7 million. The diverse population of Chicago consists of 45 percent white, 32 percent African American, and 28 percent Hispanic or Latino. • It’s important to create a wayfinding system that can connect to all major cultures in Chicago Spanish is the second most spoken language in Chicago, 24% of the population speak Spanish. 43 percent of Spanish speaking population speaks English less than very well. Overall, 16 percent of the Chicago population speaks English less than very well1. • As a wayfinding system needs to connect to the majority of the population, it’s important to consider the areas that Spanish language is spoken in majority. 1
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ACS 5 year estimates 2012 - Chicago quick facts
Wayfinding
FOR EVERYONE
Race Majority
Majority more than 50 percent African American Asian Hispanic Other White
ÂŻ
Source: Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, and the GIS User Community
American Community Survey 5 year estimates 2011
Figure 4 Race and Ethnicity majority in Chicago
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Current Situations Age and Age Disabilities and Disabilities
Tourism
Chicago has an estimate of 288,000 persons of 65 years and older. 11 percent of the Chicago population is considered to be persons with disabilities. out of the 5 years and older population , 9.5 percent have visions or ambulatory difficulties1. • It is important to create a wayfinding system that can be used by all population • Accessibility for the aging population and persons with disabilities should be a priority 1
ACS 5 year estimates 2012 - Chicago quick facts
Chicago is a major tourist attraction in the United States. In 2012, an estimate of 46 million people has visited Chicago . Helping tourists by showing the paths they can take to their desired destinations, and other tourist attractions in the area can give them a much better experience of the city and it can lead to an increase in visitors1. • It is important to emphasize on the places that attract tourists throughout the year and promote exploration and walking towards Chicago’s great assets and tourism attractions.
1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/ chicago-tourism-numbers_n_3880514.html
Table 2 Disabilities by age in Chicago Source : ACS 5 year estimates 2012 - Disabilities by age
5 to 17
18 to 64
420,714 1,793,318
Ambulatory
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65 and older
Total
288,212
2,502,244
3,816
30,914
29,433
64,163
4,719
85,022
88,245
177,986
35 East Wacker Building
Chicago Theater Steuben Club Building
Harris and Selwyn Theaters
City Hall-County Building
Marshall Field and Company Building
Daley Center
Pittsfield Building
Reliance Building
One North LaSalle Building
Heyworth Building
Roanoke Building and Tower
Jewelers Building
Inland Steel Building
New York Life Building
Gage Group
Carson Pirie Scott & Company Building
Palmer House Hotel Field Building
300 West Adams Street Office Building
Continental And Commercial National Bank Building
Brooks Building
Marquette Building Chapin and Gore Building
Rookery Building
Chicago Board of Trade Building
Fisher Building
Old Colony Building
Landmarks
Leiter II Building
Auditorium
Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, Š OpenStreetMap contributors, and the Building GIS user community
Figure 5 Landmarks in Chicago Data source : http://Data.cityofchicago.org Page 19
Current Situations Special service areas City of Chicago has a public transportation system that operate in neighborhoods with various characteristics. City of Chicago’s transit friendly development (TFD) study, has studied activities and land uses around all CTA rail stations and created a typology for each station, these typologies (As defined by the TFD study) can be used to determine types and priorities for Chicago’s wayfinding : -Downtown Core: Station areas in the Loop and the other highest desnsity areas of Chicago’s central business district. This type encompasses the primary cultural center as well as the highest intensity of employment areas of the metropolitan area. Major Activity Center: Station areas servicing a relatively wide range of densities, urban forms, and land uses. These areas are outside Chicago’s downtown core and provide high levels of employment, especially in the retail sector, and can include special uses like university campuses and mixed-use centers. -Local Activity Center: Station areas that exist in the centers of identifiable neighborhoods. Page 20
These centers have a mixture of higher intensity land uses and are noticeably denser than the neighborhoods that surround them providing a mix of employment in retail, service, and other sectors. Some of these centers will have civic and community uses, but this is not a defining characteristic of these areas. -Dense Urban Neighborhood: Station areas that are primarily residential in character but will have some limited neighborhood supporting retail uses in scale with the surrounding area and clustered near the station. These areas are generally at higher densities with primarily multifamily buildings and high-rise buildings. -Urban Neighborhood: Station areas in well-established, primarily residential neighborhoods where retail development exists primarily to support the immediate area. The urban neighborhoods are often a mix of multifamily buildings -Service Employment District: Areas around stations in the service employment district are dominated by large employers in multistory office buildings, as well as hospitals and university facilities. Retail and residential uses may be located nearby but activity is driven by service employment.
EDISON PARK
OHARE
NORWOOD PARK
DUNNING
ROGERS PARK
WEST RIDGE
FOREST GLEN NORTH EDGEWATER PARK LINCOLN JEFFERSON SQUARE PARK ALBANY UPTOWN PARK IRVING PORTAGE PARK NORTH PARK LAKE CENTER
VIEW
AVONDALE
BELMONT CRAGIN
LOGAN SQUARE
HERMOSA
WEST GARFIELD PARK
NEAR NORTH SIDE
WEST TOWN
HUMBOLDT PARK
AUSTIN
LINCOLN PARK
EAST GARFIELD PARK
LOOP
NEAR WEST SIDE
NORTH LAWNDALE
LOWER WEST SIDE BRIDGEPORT
SOUTH LAWNDALE
MCKINLEY PARK
ARCHER HEIGHTS
GARFIELD RIDGE
WEST ELSDON
CLEARING WEST LAWN
CTA RailStations
GRAND BOULEVARD
NEW CITY
KENWOOD
GAGE PARK
WASHINGTON PARK
HYDE PARK
ENGLEWOOD
CHICAGO LAWN
ASHBURN
WOODLAWN
WEST ENGLEWOOD
GREATER GRAND CROSSING
AUBURN GRESHAM
BEVERLY
Downtown Core MOUNT GREENWOOD
AVALON
Manufacturing District Special District
SOUTH CHICAGO
CALUMET HEIGHTS PULLMAN
EAST SIDE
ROSELAND
SOUTH DEERING
MORGAN PARK
Major Center
SOUTH SHORE
CHATHAM PARK
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS
Not in Chicago
Local Center
DOUGLAS
BRIGHTON PARK
Station Typology
Dense Neighborhood
NEAR SOUTH SIDE
WEST PULLMAN
RIVERDALE
HEGEWISCH
Urban Neighborhood Source : City of Chicago Transit Friendly Development Plan
Copyright: ©2014 Esri, DeLorme, HERE
Figure 6 Station typology as defined by Chicago TFD study Page 21
Current Situations Pedestrian Flow and Decision Points Various methods can be used to understand pedestrian flows and behaviors in urban areas. Pedestrian count, Space syntax, Agent based models, business density, and public transit ridership data are few of the methods used to determine these behaviors. Flows studies can be done with very fine details or can be general and at larger scales. Decision points are locations where pedestrians are more likely to make a decision to choose a path or change a path towards a destination. Decision points can also be identified through various methods, but are mostly at the street level and are needed when locating the exact locations for signage. In this document, CTA ridership data, Divvy ridership data, and business densities have been used to study pedestrian flows and decision points at different neighborhoods in Chicago. -CTA ridership: CTA ridership counts show the flow of pedestrians into rail stations. This, as well as the CTA typology study, can be used to determine the areas that are most in need of wayfinding.
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-Divvy ridesrship: Divvy is a bike sharing system in Chicago. ridership data available from Divvy shows flow of bike riders to and from divvy stations. This can be used to determine the intensity of pedestrian flow with a finer detail. -Business density: by using business licenses data from city of Chicago, routes with a higher density of businesses that create pedestrian traffic have been mapped. This can be used to determine what routes from entry points such as CTA stations to businesses are more likely to have pedestrian traffic. Figures (7), (8), and (9) show the results of these studies. These studies show general behaviors of pedestrians in Chicago. Every wayfinding project needs to have a better understanding of flows and decision points.
Figure 7 CTA average monthly ridership in 2012 data Source : http://Data.cityofChicago.org Page 23
Current Situations
Total Traffic By Station
35000
Millennium park
Streeter Dr & Illinois St
Lake shore Dr & Monroe St
Clinton St & Washington Blvd Michigan Ave & Oak St
Top 5 Neighborhoods ( Trips per SqMile ) Loop : 198268 Near North Side : 128674 Lincoln Park : 57529 Near South Side : 43837 Near West Side : 40624
66 South Lawndale
Edgewater Lincoln Square
Bridgeport Lower West Side
North Center
Lake View
Near South Side
Figure 8 Divvy ridership intensity in Chicago neighborhoods data Source : https://www.divvybikes.com/datachallenge
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W 59th St
W 47th St
W Cermak Rd
Loop
W Roosevelt Rd
W Grand Ave
W North Ave
Near North Side W Diversey Pky
W Berwyn Ave
W Irving Park Rd
Lincoln Park
Total Traffic Per Square mile by Neighborhood
Hyde Park
West Town Near West Side
198000
Washington Park
Douglas
Logan Square
UpTown
Grand Boulevard
Kenwood Armour Square
W 35th Ave
128
Normalized Business Density 0.000000 0.000001 - 1.047619 1.047620 - 1.158730 1.158731 - 1.380952 1.380953 - 2.000000
Copyright: Š2014 Esri, DeLorme, HERE, Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, Š OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community
Figure 9 Normalized business density in Chicago Loop data source : http://data.cityofchicago.org Page 25
Current Situations Existing wayfinding and signage systems in Chicago Studying the current wayfinding elements in the city helps to undersands the gaps and problems in Chicago’s wayfinding and design an optimized system that takes advantage of every existing asset. The existing wayfidning elements in City of Chicago can be categorized in two groups, Major city wide and regional wayfinding systems, and local interior and exterior wayfinding. In this section these different elements will be analyzed and some gaps and problems will be identified. 1 1 Credit of all the pictures at this section goes to RTA, Pictures are taken by Alireza Karduni.
Major wayfinding systems in Chicago region There are several agencies that include wayfinding elements as parts of their service throughout the Chicago region. Each of these agencies have different purposes and are applied in different areas. Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, Pace, Divvy, and Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) each have their own wayfinding system. -CTA The Chicago Transit Authority operates buses and trains in the city of
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Chicago, it offers a consistent system of wayfinding signage throughout its operating area. There are different types of information available inside CTA bus stops and train stations, as well as the interior of trains and buses. The CTA signage acts as an identifier for CTA elements, it also offers information regarding the operating hours and area of each certain bus or train. CTA also installs maps of the whole CTA system in Chicago in most bus stops and train stations. Also, diagrams showing each bus route and train are installed mostly inside CTA Stations and bus stops. Analysis: CTA signage is mainly installed inside or at immediate surroundings of CTA stations and bus stops. It offers a consistent stream of information regarding routes and services of CTA. It uses standardized color that makes the signage identifiable. On the other hand, there is very a very minimal effort to introduce the surrounding areas to pedestrians. Also there is very little effort made for transfer passengers that have to transfer from one mode to another through the streets. -Metra and Pace Metra and pace are two different organizations managing regional train and bus services in the Chicago
Figure 10 CTA bus stop sign at congress and Financial pl
metropolitan area. Metra offers timetables and directional signs inside its platforms and boarding areas. Pace offers signage at pace bus stops that offer similar information to CTA bus stops. Due to the complexity of pace routes, most of the signs do not offer diagrams of the routes.
Figure 11 CTA station entrance at Harold washington Library
Figure 12 Metra signage at Oakpark station, Village of Oak Park
Analysis: Metra and Pace offer standard directional signs and identification signs in their locations but the sign locations and the information offered is less consistent and useful than CTA’s. There is also very little signage provided for transfer passengers between different modes.
Figure 13 Pace signage at Harlem and Lake, Village of Oak park
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Current Situations -Divvy bikes Divvy is Chicago’s new bike sharing system. It has more than 200 locations though out city of Chicago with an automated system for renting and returning bicycles. As part of their system, they offer wayfinding signage at each of their bike docks. The signs consist of information about the location of the station, Divvy usage costs and regulations , and also two different maps showing locations of other divvy bike stations, in a 5 minute walk and a 20 minute biking radius. Information about Bike lanes, locations of other modes of public transit, and some destination information are offered in Divvy’s signage system. Analysis: Divvy’s signage is a consistent unified system that offers a range of information in a singular format. It is designed to help bike users to get around easier by showing the street layout and some information about the surrounding environment. A downside to Divvy’s signage system is that all the signs face the bike docking stations and are blocked by bikes. The other side is used as space for advertising and the locations are not very accessible to pedestrian traffic. Figure 14 Divvy station at Racine Ave and Congreess Pkwy
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-RTA’s Interagency Transfer Passenger Information Design RTA acts as a managing organization for Metropolitan Chicago’s bus and rail systems and works with Metra, Pace, and CTA to offer a better overall regional transit system to passengers in Chicago region. As part of their goal of offering a better public transit system for current users and improving the ridership of Chicago’s transit system, RTA, created a wayfinding system specifically for passengers transferring from one mode to another and from one agency to another. Through stages of programming, design, implementation, and maintenance, As to date 4 transfer locations have been designed and 20 more locations are in planning and implementation process. ITPID is the only major wayfinding project in currently being implemented in Chicago. General Principles of ITPID: -Simplicity and Clarity of messages -usage of international standard symbols -providing information at key decision points -provide information along the accessible path -avoid placement of signage and dangerous or confusing signage. ITPID uses standardized colors, fonts,
and symbols in order to have a unified and consistent system at all transfer locations in the chicacgo transit system. Types of Signs ITPID uses a trip process through start, transform and end of the trip to create signage information and sign types. Identification signs, Boarding signs, Time signage, Route diagram signage, directional signs, and identity maps and downtown maps are the different signage elements used in ITPID. These different sign types are also categorized by the way they are installed. Examples are wall mounted or free standing. Analysis: ITPID tries to give clear and useful information to users of Chicago’s public transit system. The signage system is installed in the areas in Chicago region where there is mode and agency transfer. The signage is regularly updated and it offers a vast range of information on directional signs, maps, identifiers, diagrams, and timetables. ITPID has a very specific audience and may not be as useful to pedestrians that move around with different purposes. Sign locations are based on analysis of decision points for transfer passengers. RTA’s system map that is used by CTA and Metra too is a representation of every bus and rail route that goes through Chicago and takes Page 29
Current Situations a long time to study and learn about the environment. The directional signs guide the users to other transit locations and there are maps designed for each location to show some of the activities around a transit location.
Figure 15 ITPID directional Signage at Vanburen Metra Station
Figure 16 ITPID diagrams and orientational signage at vanburen metra station
Local Signage in Chicago Throughout the city, numerous places such as Millennium Park, museum campus, University of Illinois at Chicago, and University of Chicago, use signage and wayfinding elements. Majority of signage of this type is directional while some offer maps and orientation signage. As they are Page 30
mostly not sophisticated wayfinding programs the information could be out of date and not very useful.
Remarks on Chicago’s wayfinding systems City of Chicago has a few major agencies that create wayfinding elements for the city, and based on what’s needed numerous places and organization create and offer their own wayfinding elements. This creates an inconsistent system of signage that might not be trusted as a useful source of information. Chicago is a major world class tourist destination. It is a home to various esteemed universities. It is a hub to numerous industries, and it is a home to a diverse population. A consistent and clear wayfinding system throughout the city can help pedestrians with very different purposes move around and bring many benefits such as economic growth, less congestion, and healthier lives for chicago’s residents.
Figure 18 Directional sign at Village of Oak Park
Figure 17 Orientation sign at Museum Campus
Table 3 Summary of wayfinding services in Chicago Signage
Types of Signs
Users
Usage area
source CTA
al, Regulatory,
METRA and
Regulatory,
CTA users
Metra and Pace users
Pace DIVVY
DIVVY users regulatory
RTA
Public transit users
agencies Other
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Plann Sta
ning age
Planning Stage Current Policy trends in Chicago and other cities of similar scale in the world such as Toronto, New York, and London show that improving the pedestrian experience should be highly prioritized. Creating urban environments that are legible and easy to navigate with should be at the center of these trends. Wayfinding systems are one of the methods to help pedestrians experience the full potential of cities like Chicago. Creating a planning and design process that streamlines designing a functional wayfinding system is at the core of this document. At this stage; goals, objectives, and strategies needed to create Chicago’s wayfinding system are identified through studying and comparing best practices that are being implemented throughout major cities in the world. Goals, objectives, and strategies mentioned in this document are gathered through studying wayfinding plans from London, Toronto, and Austin. Each of the planning documents have been broken down into different categories and then compared to Chicago’s situations and existing policies (see appendix 1). At the end of this section, Chicago’s neighborhoods are broken down into three priority areas. These prioriPage 34
ties are a result of the studies done in the current situation’s section. It is important to mention that this plan document does not aim to design a complete wayfinding system for the city of Chicago. The main goal of this document is to create a baseline and guide for further projects in the city and emphasize on the importance of wayfinding systems. Each new project should be designed based on the needs and detail situations of the stakeholders of the area. However, in order to have a consistent city wide wayfinding system, further projects should base their planning process on policies created through this document.
Wayfinding Goals Encourage Walking
Improve Tourists’ Experience of Chicago
Create and promote options for a healthier lifestyle
Improve pedestrian access to Chicago’s Businesses
Encourage exploration of all of Chicago’s assets
promote usage of public transit
Reduce car dependency and congestion
help to activate chicago’s minorities and Persons with disabilities
Emphasize on diversities of different communities in Chicago
Emphasize on users’ local wayfinding needs
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Planning Stage
Wayfinding objectives Create a unified and recognizable wayfinding system
Highlight key attractions and major destinations
Orient users towards public transit locations
Highlight characteristics of different communities
Integrate a range of navigation tools
Highlight the benefits of walking
take advantage of existing wayfinding elements
Use second language for neighborhoods with non-english speaker population
Incorporate accessiblity methods for persons with disabilities
Emphasize on users local wayfinding needs
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Wayfinding strategies Create unified branding wayfinding elements in Chicago should use a single branding to help users trust and know their source for information throughout the city.
Identifiy Major destinations and tourist attractions Identify different tourist attractions in downtown and emphasize on other tourist attractions that are underutilized. If there is a special service such as a university or a hospital, direct users towards major and important destinations of that activity
Introduce Chicago’s different communities to the users Signage elements should include maps that show the immediate surroundings of the user and also maps that show other neighborhoods and activities in a bigger scale
Design the flow of information for each project For each wayfinding project, design a hierarchy of information that fits the needs of the area and the pedestrians walking there. This means that each neighborhood can have varying types and flows of information.
Create a sense of travel time and scale Signage should include walking time in different scales so the users can decide their preferred travel mode with confidence. This can be integrated into the orientation maps
Prioritize wayfinding for places that lack it the most Start wayfinding projects for areas that either don’t have a useful wayfinding system, or have one that is not very functional.
Integrate different wayfinding elements into the system Each urban space has different wayfinding needs, Based on the physical attributes of the space, the type of information, and the type and size of signage should be decided
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Planning Stage Priorities It is important to note that it is very difficult to implement a citywide wayfinding system due to costs of planning, design, and implementation. The best way to implement a wayfinding system for Chicago is by prioritizing different areas based on different attributes such as density, tourist attractions, TFD studies, etc. Three levels of priority have been identified for Chicago’s neighborhoods as a guideline for further wayfinding projects. Each wayfinding project needs a separate feasibility study and design process in order to guarantee usefulness and efficiency of the system. -High Priority Areas identified as high priority are majorly around important and dense nodes in the city, are well served by public transit, and create higher pedestrian traffic. -Medium Priority Areas identified as medium priority are around major activity nodes and create high pedestrian traffic.
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-Low Priority The majority of these areas have a dominant residential use and do not create much pedestrian traffic. The different priorities are based on Chicago Neighborhoods. It is possible for certain places inside low priority zones to have a high need for a pedestrian wayfinding system. Identifying those areas is a complicated task and needs a seprate study process. These priority zones do not imply that every location inside a high priority zone needs wayfinding elements. Further projects for each locations needs to identify smaller areas that are have a higher need for signage.
West Ridge
Edison Park
Sauganash,
O'Hare
Forest Norwood Glen Park Jefferson
Edgewater North Park Lincoln
Park
Belmont Cragin
Galewood
Square
Albany Park
Portage Dunning Park Montclare
Rogers Park
Irving Park
Uptown
North Center
Avondale Logan Square
Lake View
Lincoln Park
Bucktown
Hermosa
Old Town
Wicker Park
Humboldt River North Park West Town Austin Loop Garfield United West Center Loop Park Little Italy, Ukrainian East Village Village
North Lawndale
Little Village
UIC
Lower West Side Bridgeport Mckinley Park
Brighton Archer Park
Heights
Garfield Ridge Clearing
West Elsdon
Gage Park
Near South Side
Douglas Oakland
New City
Grand Boulevard Kenw ood Washington Park
Hyde Park
Woodlawn
West Chicago Englewood Lawn Lawn Grand Ashburn
South Shore
Crossing Auburn Chatham Avalon Gresham Park Washington Heights
Beverly Mount Greenwood
Jackson Park
Burnside
South Chicago
Calumet Heights
Pullman
Roseland
Morgan Park West
South Deering
East Side
Pullman
ÂŻ
High Priority
Riverdale
Hegewisch
Medium Priority Low Priority
Figure 18 priority map for city of Chicago
Page 39
Des Stag
sign ge
Design Stage The planning stage of this document is a guide for designing a system that incorporates various elements such as directional information and maps into a powerful pedestrian wayfinding system for Chicago. This stage creates guidelines and prototypes for designing signage that follow the wayfinding strategies identified in this document. The design stage consists of three steps : -Flow of information: at this step, a schematic flow of information to the users of the wayfinding system is designed that will be used to create effective signage. -Sign design prototypes: at this step, two demonstration locations for signage are identified with different major users. One sign is designed for UIC with major attention to student users, and one sign is designed for Chicago Loop with tourists as a major audience. These two locations are used to demonstrate how the information flow can be put into signage and how different audiences effect the information presented in a sign. Other design chalngs not included in this document are mentioned at the end of this step. -Remarks on maintenance and implementation:
Page 42
At this step, important implementation factors for creating a successful wayfinding system will be introduced. Details on maintenance and implementations are to be put into each individual project that is derived from this document.
Flow of information Information flow in Chicago’s wayfinding system should follow these rules. • Elements should include answers to typical questions asked a pedestrian trip: -Where am I? - Where is my destination? -What is around me? -I need more information. • They should also be identifiable and clearly show the purpose of the sign. • The information should be presented to the users based on their needs and have more details as users get closer to signage • information should be designed in a way that is readable for various groups of people. • Due to limited space, not all available information can be presented The following diagram shows a schematic diagram for flow of information in Chicago’s wayfinding system.
Flow of information
Purpose
Chicago’s wayfinding system branding
What is this?
Neighborhood’s Name
Locations name or address
Direction arrows to major destinations (Number based on the size of sign)
15 minute walk map
5 minute walk map
Info
Where am I? Where is my destination?
What is around me? I want to know more
Walking message Figure 19 Information flow
Page 43
Design Stage Sign Design
Location section
Each sign consists of different elements that are designed based on the schematic information flow diagram. At this section, each element is broken down and each element’s usage and purpose is explained. At the end of this section, two prototype designs for UIC and Downtown Chicago will be shown.
The location section is designed below the identifier section and shows the neighborhood of the sign and also a more detailed location of the sign. The information is designed in a way to be easily readable for people with good vision from 12 feet away and for partially sighted persons from 2 feet away.
Identifier Section The identifier section is located at the top of a sign. A light blue color is used that is similar to other City of Chicago projects and Chicago’s flag. Also, a logo has been designed that is easily identifiable and shows the purpose of the sign from approximately 40 feet away for people with good vision. The logo design used design elements similar to other projects managed by the city such as Divvy and Ventra. This helps to give a sense of familiarity and attraction to the sign.
UIC-East Campus School of Architecture
Figure 21 Location section
Directional Section The directional section guides the users to the most important destinations UIC-East Campus around the sign. The directions are deSchool of on Architecture cided based the proximity and also Student Center East the importance of a destination. This information also readable from StudentisResidence 12 feetand andCommons 2 feet for persons east with good vision and partially sighted persons. Jane Addams
Hull-house Museum
Student Center East
University Hall
Student Residence and CommonsJ.east UIC-Richard Daley
Library Jane Addams Hull-house BehavioralMuseum Sciences
Figure 20 Identifier section
Page 44
University Hall
UIC-Richard J. Daley Library Neighborhood Map Ashland-Lake
Morgan
LA K E
5 minute walk
NBL
School of Architecture
Building
Figure 21 Directional section
JUSTINE
UIC-East Campus
Clinton-Lake
Clark/Lake C O U C H
State/Lake
Neighborhood Map
KENNEDY KENNEDYWASHING MADISON TONBL ST
MADISON ST
F R A N K L IN
W A C K E R
FE D E R A L
P LY M O U T H
S A LLE LA
C LA R K
W E L LS
K R PA C H IC A G O R IV E R
EM E R ALD
Figure 22 Neighborhood Map for UIC
14TH
CIRCLE
UIC Medical Center
C L IN T O N
JE FF E R S O N U N IO N
N E W B E R R Y
D N LA IS E
L IB E R T Y
B
LU
M A X W E LL
South Campus
ANO DEL
West Campus
H A S T IN G S
R U B LE
13TH
UIC Foroum
11 T H
R
W A S H B U R N E
DEKOVEN
E
R O O S E V E LT
9TH
B
G R E N S H A W
Near South Side
M
F IL L M O R E
F IN A N C IA L
D E S P L A IN E S
H A LS T E D
East Campus
TAY L O R
P O LK
LaSalle
U
L A F L IN
Student Center East
LaSalle/Van Library Buren
L
Little Italy University Village
Clinton-Congress
SHIELDS
BL
A C A D E M Y
P E O R IA
M O R G A N M IL L E R
C A B R IN I
UIC Library
R A C IN E
L E X IN G T O N
LY T L E
L O O M IS
A S H LA N D
V E R N O N PA R K
Q U IN C Y
Jackson/Dearborn
R R IV E
University Hall
FLO U R N O Y
Quincy/Wells
R G O E IC A C H W H LO C N A R
H A R R IS O N
Monroe/State Monroe/Dearborn M A R B LE
B
UIC-Halsted
Loop
A R C A D E
S
Racine
Student Services Pavillion Building
C O N G R E S S
C A N A L
UIC Medical Center
West Loop
VA N B U R E N
EISENHOWER ASHLAN D AV
Washington/Dearborn Washington/State
Washington/Wells
X P Y E IS E N H O W E R E A N D A N R Y
West Campus
C O U R T
Greek Town JA C K S O N
Lake/State
R A N D O LP H
G LA D Y S
M AY
M A R S H F IE L D
A D A M S
State/Lake
C O U C H
E R W A C K
C O T TA G E
Clark/Lake
Clinton-Lake
S ID E R IV E R
A B E R D E E N
TH R O O P
R U N D E LL
G R E E N
W A S H IN G T O N
S A N G A M O N
D G O
B IS H O P
E
N
UIC Medical Center W A R R E N
C A R P E N TE R
W IL L A R D
A D A
E L IZ A B E T H
West town
LA K E
15 minute walk
K E N N E D Y
Morgan
Ashland-Lake
KENNEDY JACKSON
JUSTINE
Neighborhood map gives a general view of the area to the user. It’s goal is to show the neighborhood structure of the surroundings, some of the most important destinations, and major transit stations. A 15 minute walking radius give’s a sense of scale to the user and helps him decide what type of mode he wants to use to get to his destination.
Page 45
Design Stage Area Map
Legend and information
The area map gives details about the immediate surroundings of the user. It shows most of the major destinations in the area, immediate transit options, and biking options. A 5 minute walking radius helps the user to plan his trip and explore the area.
The legend section of the signage helps the users take full advantage of the neighborhood and area map. This part is crucial to understanding the elements in the map and is designed to easily utilize the wayfinding maps. The information section shows the user options to get more details about the area.
WABA SH LOW ER
5 minute walk
WACKER
COUCH
Page Brothers Building
Chicago Theater
Oliver Building
Steuben Club Building
RANDOLPH
City Hall-County Building LA SALLE
Delaware Building
Marshall Field and Company Building
Daley Center
Washington/State
WASHINGTON
Reliance Building
Washington/Dearborn
Washington/Wells
CALHOUN One North LaSalle Building Roanoke Building and Tower
Inland Steel Building
Majestic Building and Theater
MONROE
Monroe/Dearborn
MARBLE Field Building Continental And Commercial National Bank Building
Rookery Building
Marquette Building ADAMS
Figure 23 Area map for Downtown (Loop) Page 46
RANDOLPH LOWER
Millennium Park The bean
Chicago Public Library/Cultural Center
Pittsfield Building
The art Institute of Chicago
Madison/Wabash
Chicago Building
MADISON
ARCADE New York Life Building
RANDOLPH SUB
Randolph/Wabash
STATE
Washington Block
BENTON
Lake/State
MICHIGAN
FRANKLIN
COURT
300 West Adams Street Office Building
State/Lake
LAKE
BEAUBIEN
Clark/Lake
Lake-Franklin Group Site of the Sauganash Hotel/Wigwam
SOUTH WATER
Old Dearborn Bank Building
HOLDEN
POST
W
HADDOCK Trustees System Service Building
Chicago Motor Club Building Carbide and Carbon Building
35 East Wacker Building
GARLAND
MP
WABASH
RA
EANS
ORL
ER
K AC
Heyworth Building
Jewelers Building
Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings
Gage Group
Carson Pirie Scott & Company Building
Monroe/State
Palmer House Hotel
Adams/Wabash
Chapin and Gore Building
Grant Park
Sign Dimensions 15.57 in 7.87 in
1.30 in
4.41 in
Sign Identifier ( Branding) Downtown (Loop)
UIC-East Campus
Location Identifier
Washington and Dearborn
School of Architecture
24.39 in
Chicago River
Student Center East
Richard J. Daley Center
Student Residence and Commons east
Millennium Park
Jane Addams Hull-house Museum
Directional Arrows
Michigan Avenue Grant Park
University Hall
City Hall
UIC-Richard J. Daley Library
Willis Tower
Behavioral Sciences Building
KENNEDYWASHING MADISON TONBL ST
MADISON ST
CARPENTER
MILLER
MAY
7.15 in
ARTHINGTON
LIB
SEO
Automobile path
CTA Bus Stop
Tourism Information www.cityofchicago.org www.choosechicago.com/
W A C K E R
F R A N K L IN
P LY M O U T H
W E L LS
F IN A N C IA L
FE D E R A L
S A LLE LA
SHIELDS
C L IN T O N
JE FF E R S O N
K R
R OB
LCA LCF
THE QUAD
LCE
SRF LCC SCE LCD
TH BH AH SELW
SELE
ED
Y OB
S
GH DH
LCB
NN
BU
EIS
IB EISENH OWER OB DAN RYAN
KE
CT A
EN
HO
WE
B
LEXINGTON
CABRINI
HLPS
Legend CTA Train Station (Color Corresponds with Line)
Transit Services: CTA Train Tracker App www.goroo.com
C LA R K
D E S P L A IN E S
H A LS T E D
U N IO N
N E W B E R R Y
CIRCLE
EM E R ALD
GREEN
B O
SRCN SRCS
Pedestrian Path or Sidewalk
More Information:
O
EISENHOWER EXPY
POLK
Legend
Y
SRCC
ADS SH
Legend
Multiple CTA lines
ED
JEFFERSON
JH
SRCW
LH
CTA line (Color Corresponds with Line)
NN
DESPLAINES
UH
BSB VERNON PARK
Neighborhoods close to you
C H IC A G O R IV E R
M IL L E R
R A C IN E
LY T L E
MORGAN
Chapin and Gore Building
Important Destination
PA
KENNEDY
A C A D E M Y
G R E E N
P E O R IA
M O R G A N
KENNEDY JACKSONBL
W IL L A R D
E L IZ A B E T H
C A R P E N TE R
TH R O O P A S H LA N D
UIC Medical Center
L O O M IS
West Campus M A R S H F IE L D
D N LA IS E LU B
PEORIA
BEAUBIEN
GARLAND
K E N N E D Y
JUSTINE N
E D G O
B IS H O P
HARBOR
BREAKWATER ACCESS
FAIRBANKS
ST CLAIR
PARK
CITYFRONT PLAZA
LAKE SHORE
WABASH
S A N G A M O N
PESHTIGO
RUSH
MCCLURG
MIES VAN DER ROHE
BEAUBIEN
CONGRESS PLAZA
HOLDEN
L A F L IN
SHIELDS
LA SALLE
ABERDEEN
LA SALLE
FEDERAL
FINANCIAL
FIELD
MAC CHES NEY
MICHIGAN LOWER
GARVEY
CLARK
GARLAND
MICHIGAN
WABASH
STETSON LOWER
LA SALLE LOWER
POST FRANKLIN
CARPENTER
WEST WATER
ST
DESPLAINES
WACKER RAMP
CLINTON
JEFFERSON
MADISON ST
MORGAN
GREEN ACADEMY HALSTED
PEORIA
SANGAMON
Y MADISO N KENNED
MILLER
POST FRANKLIN
STATE
SANGAMON
KE
HARRISON
HH
Adams/Wabash
Divvy Station
NO DELA
UICT
CTA Bus Stop
R
VAN BUREN
EISENHOWER
UIC-Halsted
ETMSW
PAV
Palmer House Hotel
Your Location (Arow shows your facing direction)
E
Grant Park
Monroe/State
CTA Train Station (Color Corresponds with Line)
B
ADAMS
5 minute walk
AEH CUPPAH
HALSTED
Rookery Building
JACKSON
GLADYS
TILDEN
Y
Continental And Commercial National Bank Building
Marquette Building
Gage Group
Carson Pirie Scott & Company Building
Area Map
Area Map
R WE
Field Building
Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings
14TH
1
HO
MARBLE 300 West Adams Street Office Building
The art Institute of Chicago
L IB E R T Y
EN
Monroe/Dearborn
Jewelers Building
UIC Medical Center
11 T H
UIC Foroum
KENNED
Majestic Building and Theater
MONROE
Heyworth Building
M A X W E LL
South Campus
EIS
Inland Steel Building
ARCADE New York Life Building
Pittsfield Building
Madison/Wabash
Chicago Building
MADISON
R O O S E V E LT
13TH
H A S T IN G S
M
Reliance Building
Washington/Dearborn
CALHOUN One North LaSalle Building
RANDOLPH LOWER
Millennium Park The bean
Chicago Public Library/Cultural Center
G R E N S H A W
W A S H B U R N E
West Campus
University of Illinois at Chicago
Near South Side 9TH
DEKOVEN
U
Washington/State
WASHINGTON
Washington/Wells
Roanoke Building and Tower
RANDOLPH SUB
Randolph/Wabash
Marshall Field and Company Building
MICHIGAN
Washington Block
BENTON
Lake/State
Delaware Building
Daley Center
F IL L M O R E
2
P O LK
LaSalle
R R IV E
RANDOLPH
City Hall-County Building
East Campus
R U B LE
Chicago Theater
Oliver Building
Steuben Club Building
COURT
Student Center East
UIC Library
LaSalle/Van Library Buren
L
Page Brothers Building
University Hall
TAY L O R
R G O E IC A C H W H LO C N A R
COUCH
SOUTH WATER
State/Lake
LAKE
C A B R IN I
Jackson/Dearborn
B
Site of the Sauganash Hotel/Wigwam
Chicago Motor Club Building Carbide and Carbon Building
35 East Wacker Building
Old Dearborn Bank Building
Clark/Lake
H A R R IS O N
V E R N O N PA R K L E X IN G T O N
Little Italy University Village
M A R B LE
Quincy/Wells
Q U IN C Y
S
HADDOCK Trustees System Service Building
Lake-Franklin Group
FLO U R N O Y
Monroe/State Monroe/Dearborn
Clinton-Congress
X P Y E IS E N H O W E R E A N D A N R Y
5 minute walk
WACKER
KER
UIC-Halsted
M AY
WABASH LOW ER
P
ORLEANS
RAM WAC
JA C K S O N
Washington/Dearborn Washington/State
Loop
A R C A D E
E R W A C K
BALBO
Museum Campus
8TH
CABRINI
A D A M S
Greek Town
Racine
Student Services Pavillion Building
Lake/State
C O U R T
Washington/Wells
VA N B U R E N
AV
C O N G R E S S
State/Lake
C O U C H
R A N D O LP H
G LA D Y S
EISENHOWER ASHLAND
Clark/Lake
Clinton-Lake
West Loop
C A N A L
Harrison
3
Area Map
1
C O T TA G E
Grant Park
98.23 in
IVER GO R HICA
POLK
Neighborhood Map
Lake Michigan
Jackson/State Library
CONGRESS
LA K E
15 minute walk
W A S H IN G T O N
R U N D E LL
S ID E R IV E R
HC
ER LOW
LEXINGTON
Adams/Wabash
West town
UIC Medical Center W A R R E N
Jackson/Dearborn
LaSalle
Morgan
Ashland-Lake
4
A B E R D E E N
KER WAC
NC RA SB
HARRISON EISENHOWER EXPY
UIC
VERNON PARK
Neighborhood Map
ER
RA
Monroe/State
MARBLE QUINCY
JACKSON
D PH LS OL ND ST
Millinneum Park
Navy Pier
EET
A D A
E
EISENHOWER RACINE AV
DAN RYAN
24.61 in
Clinton-Congress
BENTON
RANDOLPH LOWER
Madison/Wabash Monroe/Dearborn
Quincy/Wells
LaSalle/Van Buren
VAN BUREN TILDEN
UIC-Halsted
WATERSIDE WESTSHORE
Marshal Field and Company
RIVER RIVERW ALK WACK ER SUB
SOUTH WATER LOWER
LSD WACKER DR
City Hall
LOWER
LAKE SHORE DR RAMP
RIVERSID
Willis Tower
Washington/State
CALHOUN
WATER
NEW
Lake/State
COURT Washington/Wells
CANAL
ADAMS
ER
MADISON
Greek Town
State/Lake
Clark/Lake
COUCH RANDOLPH
West Loop
GLADYS
2
H LOW
LAKE
NORTH
A CT STR
Streeterville
WABAS
Clinton-Lake
WACKER HADDOCK
HOLDEN
RY
ARCADE
FULTON
WALNUT
KENNEDY
Morgan
UNION
FULTON MARKET
MERCHANDISE MART
LAKE SHORE LOWER
ORLEANS
BU
KINZIE
CARROLL WAYMAN
Grand/State
GRAND
ILLINOIS
HUBBARD
Merchandise Mart
BUS
OHIO CAMPBELL
River North
West Town
3
Magnificent Mile
ute walk 15 min ERIE
GS
E
Grand/Milwaukee
LAKEFRONT
HURON
ONTARIO OHIO FEEDER
KIN
Y MI NED LW K EN I O AU OH R KE DE FEE
LSD ND GRA AV
ANCONA
4
SEDGWICK
LARRABEE
Neighborhood Map
Your Location (Arow shows your facing direction) Neighborhood
Neighborhoods close to you
Divvy Station
CTA line (Color Corresponds with Line)
Important Destination
Multiple CTA lines
Pedestrian Path or Sidewalk
Additional Information
Automobile path
More Information: Transit Services: CTA Train Tracker App www.goroo.com UIC Information: www.uic.edu
Figure 24 Sign dimensions
Figure 25 UIC sign Page 47
Design Stage
Users’ Experience
What is this ? Where can I get better information?
Information process: Identification Chicago Wayfinding Branding
Where am i? Where is my destination?
Sign Location Directional information
Average reading distance Good Vision
40 feet
16 feet
Partially sighted
N/A
2 feet
Figure 26 Users’ experience Page 48
Washington and Dearborn
Chicago River Richard J. Daely Center Millennium Park Michigan Avenue Grant Park City Hall Willis Tower
GARLAND
MICHIGAN
PESHTIGO
FAIRBANKS
MCCLURG
FIELD
BREAKWATER ACCESS
HARBOR
PARK
Navy Pier
ER
LAKE SHORE
Adams/Wabash
Lake Michigan
Jackson/Dearborn
LaSalle
Jackson/State
Grant Park
Library
FEDERAL
FINANCIAL
PH LSD DOL ST
RAN
CONGRESS PLAZA
QUINCY
JACKSON
WATERSIDE
BENTON
LAKEFRONT
RUSH
MIES VAN DER ROHE
MICHIGAN LOWER
STETSON LOWER
MAC CHESNEY
MARBLE
Quincy/Wells
CTA STREET
RIVER RIVERWALK WACKER SUB
SOUTH WATER LOWER
BEAUBIEN
ORLEANS
LA SALLE LOWER
GARVEY
POST
CARPENTER
WEST WATER
POLK
LOWER
RANDOLPH LOWER
Monroe/State
CONGRESS
Harrison
SHIELDS
LEXINGTON
LA SALLE
HARRISON EISENHOWER EXPY
DAN RYAN
IVER GO R HICA
MILLER
HC
LOWER
Clinton-Congress
WACKER
NC RA SB
VAN BUREN TILDEN
UIC-Halsted
UIC
WABASH
CLARK
FRANKLIN
WACKER RAMP
Willis Tower
LaSalle/Van Buren
GLADYS
VERNON PARK
WATER
Millinneum Park
Madison/Wabash Monroe/Dearborn
HOLDEN
MADISON ST
ST
MORGAN
GREEN ACADEMY HALSTED
PEORIA
SANGAMON
DESPLAINES
Y MADISO N KENNED
CLINTON
JEFFERSON
CALHOUN
WESTSHORE
Lake/State Marshal Field and Company
LSD WACKER DR
RIVERSIDE
ADAMS
CANAL
Greek Town
Washington/Wells
NORTH
State/Lake
Clark/Lake
Washington/State
City Hall
COURT
EISENHOWER RACINE AV
2
LOWER
West Loop
MADISON
WACKER HADDOCK
COUCH
RANDOLPH
LAKE SHORE DR RAMP
LAKE
NEW
KENNEDY
Clinton-Lake
Streeterville
WABASH
FULTON
WALNUT
LAKE SHORE LOWER
MERCHANDISE MART
UNION
ARCADE
Grand/State
GRAND
ILLINOIS
HUBBARD
Merchandise Mart
KINZIE
FULTON MARKET Morgan
BUS
OHIO CAMPBELL
River North
West Town CARROLL WAYMAN
3
Magnificent Mile
ute walk 15 min ERIE
ST CLAIR
SEDGWICK
HURON
ONTARIO OHIO FEEDER EE
Grand/Milwaukee
LSD GRAND AV
ANCONA
Y MILW NED K EN I O AUK OH R DE FEE
CITYFRONT PLAZA
LARRABEE
Neighborhood Map
4
RY SBU KING
BALBO
8TH
CABRINI
Area Map 5 minute walk
WACKER
RAMP
Chicago Theater
LA SALLE
WASHINGTON
Reliance Building
STATE
Washington/Dearborn
Inland Steel Building
New York Life Building
Majestic Building and Theater
MONROE
Monroe/Dearborn
MARBLE Field Building Rookery Building
RANDOLPH LOWER
Millennium Park The bean
Chicago Public Library/Cultural Center
Pittsfield Building
The art Institute of Chicago
Madison/Wabash
Chicago Building
MADISON
ARCADE
Continental And Commercial National Bank Building
RANDOLPH SUB
Randolph/Wabash
CALHOUN One North LaSalle Building Roanoke Building and Tower
BENTON
Marshall Field and Company Building Washington/State
Washington/Wells
300 West Adams Street Office Building
GARLAND
Page Brothers Building
Lake/State
Delaware Building
Daley Center
MICHIGAN
FRANKLIN
State/Lake
LAKE
Oliver Building
RANDOLPH
City Hall-County Building
Washington Block
SOUTH WATER
Old Dearborn Bank Building
Clark/Lake
Steuben Club Building
COURT
BEAUBIEN
COUCH
HOLDEN
POST
HADDOCK Trustees System Service Building
Lake-Franklin Group Site of the Sauganash Hotel/Wigwam
Chicago Motor Club Building Carbide and Carbon Building
35 East Wacker Building
WACKE
1
WABASH
R
WABASH LOW ER
ORLEANS
n
Downtown (Loop)
Marquette Building
Heyworth Building
Jewelers Building
Haskell-Barker-Atwater Buildings
Gage Group
Carson Pirie Scott & Company Building
Grant Park
Monroe/State
Palmer House Hotel
Adams/Wabash
Chapin and Gore Building
ADAMS
Legend CTA Train Station (Color Corresponds with Line) CTA Bus Stop
Your Location (Arow shows your facing direction) Neighborhood
Neighborhoods close to you
Divvy Station
CTA line (Color Corresponds with Line)
Important Destination
Multiple CTA lines
Pedestrian Path or Sidewalk Automobile path
More Information: Transit Services: CTA Train Tracker App www.goroo.com
0.90 m
Tourism Information www.cityofchicago.org www.choosechicago.com/
What is around me? Where can I get to closest transit?
What is around me? I want to know more.
What is around me? I want to know more
Neighborhood Map Area Map Legend More info
4 feet 0.5 feet
2 feet 0.25 feet
Average distances source: Legible London System Architecture
Page 49
Design Stage
Figure 27 Sign context in Downtown
Figure 28 Sign context in UIC
Page 50
Further Design Challenges
Implementation and maintenence
Designing a succesful wayfinding system is a difficult task. It starts by understanding the purpose of the product. User’s of Chicago’s wayfinding system have diverse needs. Different areas in Chicago might have physical limitations and design needs.
Chicago has a highly complex political system, each neighborhood could be part of one or multiple wards and Chicago Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation, Chicago Park Districts, City of Chicago and other agencies might be in charge of areas in need of wayfinding.
• It is important to pay attention to these different aspects and design a flexible system that can be attached to various different environments. • Chicago has a harsh climate, a seprate study needs to be done on what material can be durable for Chicago • Information can become obsolete rapidly and a wayfinding system needs to be as up to date as possible. Methods of having a flexible sign design have been used by different organization throughout the world and should be a subjet of further studies. • Studies done for phyiscial signage can be incorporated into a useful mobile application that can help pedestrians have a etter pedestrian experience. • It is important to have a robust participation process for stakeholders of each project into the information design and location plan in order to increase the usefulness of the system.
political complexity makes implementing a city-wide wayfinding plan difficult and in need of participation between all the different stakeholders. In order for this plan to be succesful , further phasing planning needs to be done. A group of planners and designers with diverse backgrounds should be in charge of studying further implementation challenges. Maintenence is also a highly important task. Different problems might occur to the signage such as vandalism, wearing off or dicolorization. The planning team should incorporate maintence maintenance strategies in further plans.
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Appe
endix
Page 54 takeholder analysis
Designing he system
Understanding
Conceptual
Stage
Re uest orms
ign Design
Exact placement
Route Hierarchy
Plan and policy tudy
takeholder analysis
Understanding
Clear oundaries tatement uildings treet ame Corridors
Arrival Points Conceptual Pedestrian low Assets Important
Plan and Policy tudy
takeholder analysis
o als and
Conceptual
e wyork ogota Legible London Walk Philadelphia takeholder Interview
What type of needs do they have ?
Who walks in oronto?
What users look for ?
type of signage already Conceptual exists ? What is wrong with the current system ?
e ighborhoods treetscaope and
signs
Land use
a ming of Places
Case study areas in toronto ome possible areas to kickstart the pro ect
mapping gathered
ourism oost
usiness boost Where uture Developments are happening
places
Consistency
Understanding
neighborhods
Healthier lifestyle
policies in place of the city treets
Plan and Policy tudy
trust to walk tudying other plans
Pedestrian low a thering nodes
ehicular
highway signage study
What steps should we intervene? Create a hierarchy
Pro ect Approval Process
unding oures
afety Consensus through public input Public utreach
upport
Enhance accesibility
tools
Conensus hrough Public input eamless variety
erms
Enhance Urban Design Implementable
ools Reinforce Community
Integrate a Range
Reinforce Links
Improve Mobility
Highlight Key
places
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Texas Emphasize Downtown As a
Enhance User Experience
o als and
Stage
and discovery simulate economic growth
system
Toronto
reduce reliance on cars
o als and
Stage
the sign Points of
Designing Principles and rules for the system How Does the system Work What elements go on the sign? Create a hierarchy
Legible London
Appendix 1 Summary of plan comparison study
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and phasing
o als and
takeholder Workshop
takeholder analysis
trategies
Developing Key themes from interviews
e wyork ogota Legible London Walk Philadelphia takeholder Interview
Plan and policy tudy
they have ?
and phasing
Desiging he ystem
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ustainability Accesibility Management and Maintence ign Inventory Phasing Plan Measurements
irers for design
Criteria for Inclusion
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etween
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afety Issues Areas of Auto and icycle
idewalk availability a ps in idewalk infrastructure
elow grade trail access
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Appendix 2 UIC Area Map
SRCW
SRCC SRCN SRCS
VERNON PARK
SH
GH DH
MILLER
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LIB
SEO
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LEXINGTON
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ER
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PARK
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ET
R LAKE SHORE
Adams/Wabash
Lake Michigan
Jackson/State
Grant Park
CONGRESS
Harrison
CONGRESS PLAZA
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FINANCIAL
LaSalle
HARBOR
STETSON LOWER
BEAUBIEN
FIELD
H
D P LS OL D AN ST
Quincy/Wells
QUINCY Jackson/Dearborn JACKSON
PESHTIGO
MCCLURG
FAIRBANKS
ST CLAIR
MIES VAN DER ROHE
RUSH MICHIGAN
CH
GARLAND
WABASH
CLARK
FRANKLIN
WACKER RAMP SHIELDS
MILLER
POLK
IVER GO R HICA
LEXINGTON
R
EISENHOWER EXPY
UIC
DAN RYAN
VERNON PARK
HARRISON
HC
Clinton-Congress
EISENHOWER RACINE AV
WE LO ER CK WA
TILDEN
UIC-Halsted
NC RA SB
VAN BUREN
BENTON
Millinneum Park
Monroe/State
MARBLE
WATERSIDE
RANDOLPH LOWER
Madison/Wabash Monroe/Dearborn
LaSalle/Van Buren
GLADYS
MA C ES NE Y
LA SALLE LOWER
GARVEY
POST
WEST WATE R
CLINTON
DE
JEFFERSON
DESPLAINES
MADISON ST
ST
Y MADISO N
KENNED
GREEN ACADEMY HALSTED
PEORIA
CARPENTER
MORGAN
SANGAMON
CALHOUN
RIVER
LSD WACKER DR
RIVERSI
Willis Tower
Marshal Field and Company
SOUTH WATER LOWER
RE
LAKE SHORE DR RAMP
City Hall
COURT
Washington/State
RIVER WALK WACK ER SU B
WESTSHORE
Lake/State
RANDOLPH
Washington/Wells
CANAL
Greek Town
ADAMS
State/Lake
Clark/Lake
COUCH
West Loop
MADISON
WACKER HADDOCK
ER
W ER LO
H WAT
NORT
NEW
LAKE
ER
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E
LO W
FULTON
WALNUT
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ARCADE
UNION
Morgan
ME RC HAN DIS MA RT
Streeterville
WABAS H
Merchandise Mart
A CT ST
LAKE SHORE LOWER
Y UR
ORLEANS
SB
ILLINOIS
HUBBARD
KINZIE
FULTON MARKET
GRAND
River North
West Town
Grand/State
MICHIGAN LOWER
NG
OHIO CAMPBELL
BUS
KI
OHIO FEEDER
Grand/Milwaukee
CARROLL WAYMAN
Magnificent Mile
ONTARIO
Y M NED IL W K EN I O AU OH R E KE D FEE E
CITYFRO NT PLAZA
ute walk 15 min ERIE
LSD D AN GR V A
ANCONA
HURON
SEDGWICK
LARRABEE
Downtown Neighborhood Map
BALBO 8TH
Museum Campus
CABRINI
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Appendix 3 References • Downton Austin Wayfinding Masterplan , City of Austin Texas, 2013
• Chicago Cultural Plan, City of Chicago, 2012
• Legible London - Full Guidance, Transport for London
• Chicago Pedestrian Plan, City of Chicago, 2012
• Legible London - system architecture, Transport for London
• Transit Friendly development GuideStation Area Typology study, City of Chicago and CTA
• Legible London - The Yellow Book, Transport for London • Tronoto 360 Wayfinding final report • Inter-agency Transfer passenger Information Design - Standards manual, Regional Transportation Authority, 2014
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• GoTo 2040 comprehensive regional plan , CMAP, 2010
• The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places -David Gibson , 2009 • Signage and Wayfinding Design: A Complete Guide to Creating Environmental Graphic Design SystemsChris Calori , 2007
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2014 Alireza Karduni