On June 28th and 29th, Ulster County Transportation Council, in close cooperation with the City of Kingston, will be conducting a series of focus group meetings to discuss the creation of a new, coordinated system of directional signage for the City of Kingston. We would like you and your colleagues to participate. The project is called “Connecting Kingston,” and the objective is to create a signage and wayfinding master plan that will serve the City and its distinct neighborhoods. The project will develop a new system of directional signage, kiosks and maps that will assist the public with navigating to specific locations and between neighborhoods. A wayfinding system will help people find their way and encourage visitors to discover local attractions and community assets. The signs themselves will be designed with a unique and creative format that is intended to compliment Kingston’s historic neighborhoods, vibrant commercial districts, and natural settings. To make this successful, we need your input.
The purpose of the focus group meetings is to meet with local stakeholders that are knowledgeable of the greater Kingston area to discuss key routes and destinations, and begin to discuss important design criteria that a signage system should incorporate. This is the first of a series of public outreach initiatives that will take place over the course of the next several months as project staff begin to develop basic themes and work with residents, business owners and other stakeholders to refine a final wayfinding master plan.
Funding for the Connecting Kingston Project is being provided by the Ulster County Transportation Council (UCTC). UCTC staff will direct the effort in cooperation with staff from the City of Kingston. The UCTC has hired MERJE, a nationally recognized design firm with specific expertise in Community Wayfinding, to lead this effort.
During the focus group sessions, local stakeholders will be asked to provide their insight regarding important destinations, travel considerations, design themes, common vernacular, and other basic topics to help us focus on what will work best in Kingston.
To sign up and arrange a space, please contact me by replying to this message or giving me a call. We have created several categories to help focus the discussion, but the sessions are flexible and the content discussed will largely be the same each time – so please attend as you are able.
The schedule and focus areas are shown below:
For this first series of focus groups, all sessions will be held at the Old Dutch Church in Uptown Kingston. Space is limited in each session – please contact me to reserve your space soon! Feel free to forward this invitation to other members of the Kingston community who may be interested or knowledgeable regarding Kingston’s commerce, history, neighborhoods, transportation or community development. We will also be hosting a public meeting at the Old Dutch Church on June 28th at 6:00pm to introduce the project to the community. More information on the project and the public meeting can be found on the project website, accessible here.
Contact Brian Slack bsla[at]co.ulster.ny[dot]us or (845) 334-5590 to arrange your space or for more information.
