Estes Park Downtown Wayfinding Signage Program
Project Overview
The Town of Estes Park, CO contracted e Holdings, Inc. to assist in designing and planning wayfinding for the town’s downtown area. As a popular tourist destination, Estes Park is visited by up to 4.5 million people every year. The town plans on installing pedestrian directional and informational kiosks in and around the downtown area to best capture this audience, promote the town’s amenities and businesses, and direct visitors and residents to assets. E. Holdings, Inc. worked with the town to design and plan a new complete wayfinding system that will allow the town to utilize the signs in the best way possible to ensure adequate breadcrumb paths without the signage being overwhelming or over-placed.
Core Services Performed:
- Signage Design
- Wayfinding Planning
- GIS Mapping
- Condition Assessment, Documentation, & Mapping
- Construction & Implementation Planning
Client: Town of Estes Park, Colorado
Timeline: May 2022 – January 2023
Review & Engagement
The team worked with the town to review and incorporate previous Town efforts and recommendations, including the 2018 Downtown Plan, the 2019 Preliminary Downtown Wayfinding Plan, and the 2021 Parking Pilot Project. Building on these plans we also conducted 2 rounds of public engagement which included public meetings, online surveys, and input gathering at local events throughout the summer of 2022. In the first round of input articipants told us that the signs should:
- Fit into the natural setting of the town
- Be clear and east to understand
- Be easily maintained
- Incorporate quality workmanship and materials
- Incorporate artistic elements
This input was this synthesized and incorporated into the final design options. These options were then presented to the town Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) and Town Board for comments as well as to the public as part of the second round of public engagement. In this round we asked participants to vote on the design options and provide input about design and material preferences. This input was combined and used to create a final full design family which was again presented to the TAB, Town Board, and the public. In the final round of public engagement the final design was presented and participants were asked to provide input on sign locations and preference on implementation and phasing.
Signage Design and Wayfinding
The final design family includes pedestrian directional signage, pedestrian kiosks, destination signage, and auto directional signage. The cohesive design incorporates the Town’s brand colors and materials such as locally sourced sandstone, and wood features that blend into the town’s location as the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. The design features a layered look that brings visual appeal to the signs while allowing for easy removal of blades if/when messaging needs to be updated. We also conducted a full location review of existing and planned sign placement, as well as plans for upcoming roadway changes, and incorporated this data into a final location plan for each sign type. The final plan includes sign designs, final location plans, messaging, a construction and bid package, and implementation plans.
Construction and installation of Phase 1 of the downtown signs occurred in July 2022. See below for photos of the complete signage.
You can visit the project website at https://estespark.colorado.gov/wayfinding
