KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As J. R. R. Tolkien wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Planners in Kansas City, Missouri, are applying the mindset from that line of the poem “All that is gold does not glitter” to a new wayfinding project in the region.
The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) has launched its “Connecting our Region” program. It’s asking for your help in an online survey to build a network of signs helping people navigate destinations in the nine counties and nearly 115 cities that make up the Kansas City metropolitan area.
“The fun part is almost getting lost and rediscovering your path and finding things that are off the beaten path and that might be how wayfinding helps people get to those things,” said Alex Rotenberry, a complete and green streets planner for MARC who is working on the project.
Wayfinding is basically a system, most often using signs, which guides people through an environment. Most cities in the metropolitan area already have a series of signs specific to their city. MARC wants to create a regional system that connects cities to cities.
“I think it's really helpful especially for people who are new to the area or kind of have an eagerness to explore, as opposed to looking to get from A to B,” Rotenberry said.
Project leaders hope to have a plan for the system by summer 2020.
Click here for information on the survey. It should be live until the middle of October.
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