Comments on Arlington trail signs improve wayfinding, mostly - Greater Greater Washington

Comment by AWalkerInTheCity

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:53:01 EDT

the problem with the ballston sign is that there is no sign at the actual turn off to Ballston, so the sign .6 of a mile before is somewhat puzzling. I assume a sign for Ballston will be added in the next phase.

All the signage for the connections between the Custis, 4 mile run and W&OD trails, and side trails near the EFC metro and the new development, are puzzling to someone coming through for the first time (like me). Some of that I think is in City of Falls Church. What would really help would be an oocassional trailside map, that also shows connections. The map at Gateway Park in City of Fairfax off the Accotink trail is pretty good, IIRC.

Comment by onjulic

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:38:23 EDT

Define "Washington, DC." From the parking lot at Theodore Roosevelt Island, the Navy and Marine Memorial, and Gravelly Point, Washington, DC is a stone's throw away. If you're going to note distances, you've got to pick a spot. Ballston is a few square blocks, so you can pick a spot in the middle of Ballston and you'd only be off a couple of blocks. You can't really do that with DC.

Comment by Arlington County Department of Environmental Services

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:06:58 EDT

The first five of 250 new wayfinding signs for trails were installed last week as part of a test installation to evaluate the signs' overall readability and appearance. This is Arlington's first venture into detailed wayfinding and with all new programs we plan to review and assess with each step.

County staff announced the wayfinding project in 2011, and provided presentations to Arlington's Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and area civic associations. Residents are invited to visit our project webpage (visit www.arlingtonva.us; search "Wayfinding") for more information. Updates will continue to be provided to the BAC and on the project webpage.

Once the test phase is completed and feedback has been reviewed, the remaining planned 250 signs will be installed in phases throughout the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. The County will explore locations for future wayfinding signage along bicycle and pedestrian routes in other areas of the County. We welcome feedback and suggestions for future locations. Please visit the project webpage and click on the "Feedback" button.

Wayfinding Signs: http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/EnvironmentalServices/dot/page83327.aspx

Comment by futurist

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:18:36 EDT

Pretty unhelpful for those of use who have stopped waiting and converted to the Metric system on our bike computers.

Comment by Richard Layman

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 13:29:57 EDT

There's more to wayfinding signage for bicycling than strictly directional signage.

1. http://bikewaysignage.org/index.php?/ongoing/introduction/

2. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2343/2233775856_4e8966cc59_o.jpg

Comment by JP

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:56:12 EDT

A lot of students walk or bike the trails to school. While locals know the routes, the sign is informative to new students, and others that may live away from the trail but could benefit from it. Arlington has always listed schools on its bike trail signs, as it helps to identify the trail's route for those unfamiliar with it.

Also W-L has become much more than a school since the new building was constructed. As a community and recreation center, it's bike racks are filled not just during school hours. It is a landmark and a destination and serves many civic functions.

Comment by Arl Fan

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:17:20 EDT

Agree that "Thru" is both confusing and useless. It would actually be better to have "Rosslyn 3.5" than "Rosslyn Thru 3.5," in the event that there's some reason a straight arrow doesn't work.

Disagree about "Washington, DC" as a destination, however. Part of it is a question of the philosophy of who these signs are designed to help: the overwhelming majority of trail users in Ballston headed all the way to DC are probably regular users (if not commuters) who aren't in particular need of assistance from wayfinding signs. In this regard, Washington-Lee HS is a good choice for the sign because: 1) a fair number of casual users are likely to be going there for events, activities, maybe to use the public swimming pool, etc.; and 2) the wayfinder is helping those users to know that the better way to go at this junction is to keep following the trail. Without the sign, at least some casual users would end up exiting the trail at this point and following a route through Ballston rather than sticking to the trail. In contrast, not many people will be confused at this point about whether to stay on the trail or to exit to get to "Washington, DC." (I wonder if "Clarendon" was considered and rejected because of ambivalence over whether it would be better to exit or stay on the trail to get there).

Also, providing distances to "Washington, DC" won't be particularly helpful on wayfinders. Would that measure the distance to the border? To the "zero mile" marker at the Ellipse? The Capitol? And how would you know?

A distance to the border isn't very useful for these signs in Arlington, because it really isn't much different than a distance to Rosslyn, and it's not really anyone's destination. And a distance given to any particular location inside the city will suffer from the same problem as the distance to Washington-Lee HS -- not many people will be going there, or even going past there.

Comment by WFY

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:11:58 EDT

A great step in the right direction, hopefully the W&OD and MV trails will do this as well.

Comment by Joey

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:51:38 EDT

Also, why all caps? The new FHWA guidelines call for mixed case, as they're SO much easier to read.