Andrew Kelly outlines Bristol?s novel approach to issues of access.
Bristol has been transformed over the past 15 years, with new housing and office developments, a greater emphasis on cultural development, and better use of the harbour. Despite this, getting around continued to be as difficult as ever. There were too many confusing and contradictory street signs, with no maps on the streets and poor public information. Bristol Legible City (BLC) ? a partnership between Adshel and Bristol City Council ? has pioneered a new approach: a city that is easy to get around. Signage and maps unique to the city provide consistent information at every part of the journey ? from the website to the street signs.
Traditional methods of pedestrian wayfinding ? black fingerpost signs with maps saying ?you are here?, making the user find their way around the map as well as to the destination ? made most cities difficult to navigate. BLC is unique in that it uses design and art works in the public realm to aid wayfinding and strengthen local distinctiveness. A multi-sector group, including artists, planners, geographers and urban designers, provided initial thinking about the city. Existing users identified what was wrong with current signage. Lessons were learned from other cities.
People generally navigate by landmarks. One hundred and fifty landmarks in Bristol city centre were identified. Key arrival and destination points in the city centre ? Temple Meads station, Harbourside (the home of new leisure and cultural facilities), West End and Broadmead shopping ? were linked in the ?blue route?, which formed the basis of the first mapping and sign system. Experienced international design teams worked on the signs and maps. The result was a unique range of street furniture (street signs, fingerposts, printed and on-street maps), deep blue in colour (reflecting the water in the city and its maritime past) with lettering in Bristol Transit, a unique font with a clear and confident modern design.
Bristol city centre was the first priority. Each sign has no more than six direction points (research showed that users can take in no more than six) and is positioned at a strategic point along the journey, so that the user is able to make the right directional decision at the right time. Leaving Temple Meads Station to go to Arnolfini arts centre in the city docks, for example, means following signs for Harbourside from the station. Only when the user is nearer the docks do individual signs for Arnolfini appear. This avoids too much information being given in one go (a sign at the bus station would need over 100 fingerposts if all key destinations were to be listed).
The maps are ?heads up?, rather than ?north facing?, with each individual map relating to its individual location ? what you see on the map is what is in front of you. Talking signs for visually impaired people followed, as did new gateway signs to Bristol. A new, folded walking map was published, linked to the signage and on-street maps. Since then the system has been extended to neighbourhoods of the city, a process that is still ongoing.
The impact has been huge: the system has been welcomed in surveys and focus groups; nearly one million maps have been distributed, and there are fewer people reporting themselves lost at the tourist office. Clutter is reduced, as there are fewer signs on the streets. Many organisations have benefited, with cultural attractions having signage for the first time. BLC won the Royal Town Planning Institute Award for Innovation in 2002.
The benefits for arts organisations are clear too. Good signage is essential to get people to you. And the lessons are transferable: buildings ? and all forms of information ? should be legible in that they are distinctive and easy to read and understand.
Andrew Kelly is Director of Creative Bristol and Brunel 200. He has been involved in the Bristol Legible City project for seven years.
e: andrew.kelly@businesswest.co.uk;
w: http://www.creativebristol.com; http://www.bristollegiblecity.info