COURTESY THE INTERTWINE
Signs like this one, planned for the Fanno Creek Trail near Tigard, will help trail users find their way to area destinations.
Signs, signs — everywhere — signs. Showin' trails ‘n’ greenery, makin’ up your mind. Go this way, that way. Can you read the signs?
Last week, Metro posted 10 demonstration signs along Fanno Creek Greenway Trail, near downtown Tigard. Mayer/Reed, a Portland design firm, created the grey-and-green prototype – the beta version of signage Metro plans to post along The Intertwine, the regional network of trails, parks and natural areas.
"Metro is creating a uniform look for the signage to generate awareness of The Intertwine through branding and to create continuity between the off-street and on-street networks of bike/ped facilities," explained Robert Spurlock, a trails planner with the regional government.
But first, Metro wants to know: Can you read the signs?
Joggers, cyclists and other Fanno Creek Greenway Trail users may fill out an online survey or mail in a paper one that is posted along the pathway.
“We want to know what the general impression is of the sign – whether it’s legible and has the right information,” Spurlock said. “Does it raise awareness of The Intertwine?”
Spurlock and his colleagues will use the survey responses, as well as comments from a stakeholder committee, to publish sign design guidelines for all regional trails. The type of sign may change slightly, depending whether it's for a bike trail or pedestrian-only trail or whether it's for an off-street trail or on-street connector trail, explained Spurlock, who said Metro invested $30,000 in the sign designs and guidelines manual.
New signs would share the color family and feature The Intertwine logo, according to the draft guidelines, to be published next month. The guidelines also show how to integrate the five-petal logo into local governments' existing signs.
"It's not meant to diminish the visibility of the local entity; it's meant to increase awareness of the regional trail network," said Metro Sustainability Center Director Jim Desmond, who serves on the board of directors of The Intertwine Alliance, a coalition of public- and private-sector leaders.
Metro launched The Intertwine brand less than three years ago, using park-and-trail networks and nonprofits from Chicago, Minneapolis and St. Louis as models. The non-profit Intertwine Alliance seeks investments in the Portland region's network of green spaces and promotes it online, at theintertwine.org. The site's interactive map features hiking, paddling, biking and other outdoor activities throughout the region, including Clark County, Wash.
There are more than 250 miles of designated trails on both sides of the Columbia River today, and Metro is using a 2006 bond measure to close trail gaps and acquire natural areas. The agency's long-term vision for the region includes 950 miles of trails that link 32 cities, six counties and two states.
"Peoples' lives don't stop at the river; more importantly, the wildlife doesn't either," Desmond said.
Metro is a finalist for a $262,000 Oregon Department of Transportation grant to install 600 more signs along three trails in the region - the Fanno Creek Greenway and Rock Creek trails in Washington County, and the Trolley Trail in Clackamas County. The regional government hopes to install the signs in mid-2013.
The Intertwine Alliance and Metro would seek private donations and federal transportation dollars jointly to install additional signs throughout the region. Metro hasn't estimated the cost of the broader effort.
"We'll try to identify places that are particularly high-visibility," Desmond said.