Mapping system will help you find your way

The bustling labyrinth that is New York City is about to become easier to traverse for pedestrians and tourists.
New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) to institute an expansive mapping system on sidewalks in key New York neighborhoods.
The new system will implement a synchronized pedestrian information network, known as “wayfinding,” which will help travelers of all kinds move more easily about the city and guide them to local destinations, landmarks and mass transit stops.
“As our streets become safer, more inviting places, it’s even more important that a common language unite these spaces and open them up in new and exciting ways,” said Sadik-Khan. “An information system that points the way to key destinations knits together neighborhoods and makes local businesses even more accessible to all New Yorkers.”
The RFP calls for the system to be put into operation in four districts: Chinatown and other parts of Midtown Manhattan; Prospect Heights, Brooklyn; Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Long Island City. According to DOT spokesperson Nicole Garcia, these four districts were chosen because they signify a mix of residential, cultural, industrial and commercial uses.
“Long Island City is in the midst of major transformation,” said Gayle Baron, the president of Long Island City Partnership. “The neighborhood is home to thousands of additional residents, 16 new hotels and expanded restaurant and retail offerings. It is an ideal time to help residents, visitors and employees navigate our often-confusing street grid through improved pedestrian signage.”
Based on a DOT intercept survey of over 500 pedestrians conducted in central Harlem, the Fashion District, Chinatown, Coney Island and Long Island City, 27 percent of visitors admitted to getting lost the previous week. Twenty-seven percent of visitors were also unable to name the borough they were in at the time they were surveyed.
However, confusion was not limited to tourists. Nine percent of New York residents confessed to getting lost in the previous week as well. When questioned about the locations of nearby bus stops, subway stations and landmarks, many pedestrians who maintained they had knowledge of the area were unable to provide directions.
“I definitely don’t always know where I’m going, even in my own neighborhood,” said Dia Flossos, a 26-year-old resident of Long Island City. “I think signs and maps would really help cut down transportation times and make us all feel more comfortable walking. I don’t know why this system wasn’t in place a long time ago.”
According to the DOT, 31 percent of trips made in New York City are by foot, and with 22 percent of all car trips being less than one mile, the department believes that wayfinding will endorse walking as an easy form of exercise, as well as relieve congestion on mass transit. By promoting traveling by foot, the signage system also has the potential to improve profits for local businesses.
“I think it’s a terrific initiative,” said Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents Long Island City, along with the rest of District 26. “I support DOT’s effort to make our neighborhoods more walkable, and to make them walkable in such a way that it increases traffic for our local small businesses, our cultural offerings and our historical sites. This wayfinding initiative will make it easier for people to navigate our neighborhoods, and make it less daunting for people who are not from the neighborhood but would like to explore it.”
Van Bramer hopes that wayfinding will expand throughout his district, as well as across the entirety of Queens. He also plans to communicate his ideas on how to improve the information network to the DOT, and encourages residents of Long Island City to do the same.
The signage is expected to be installed between 2012 and 2013. If wayfinding is deemed effective in the four pilot neighborhoods, it will be expanded to any other areas that opt to institute the system.