Wayshowing
Articles
Wayshowing: Introduction To Wayshowing Concepts
What is the difference between wayfinding and wayshowing?
The difference between wayfinding and wayshowing depends on which end of a pointing finger you are.
Wayfinding is the job of travelers. They look for clues to reassure them they are where they planned to be, and they look for information and amenities to make their experience pleasant and enjoyable.
Wayshowing is the job of byway providers and includes preparing travel information, designing maps and travel brochures, planning or installing signs, or providing other navigational help in person or by electronic means. Wayshowing requires a variety of skills such as writing, speaking, teaching, or drawing as well as planning, project management, graphic design, site planning and traffic engineering that help meet travelers’ wayfinding needs.
How does Wayshowing affect my byway?
For decades, many travelers found their way along the roads that now make up your byway with little difficulty: those motorists likely were local residents or they had other more practical reasons to often travel your roads. But as soon as those roads became a designated byway, new travelers arrived and their wayfinding needs and expectations were fundamentally different. Your newer byway travelers naturally don’t have the local knowledge of your area enjoyed by many other travelers. Byway travelers need and expect byway-specific tools (e.g., signs, brochures, and maps) that help them navigate, learn about, and enjoy the byway.
What parts of Wayshowing are important to know?
One of the most important tasks for byway providers is to see their byway through the visitor’s eye. Although this may seem obvious, it can be difficult and challenging to do. Visitors experience emotions as they travel. Byway providers should understand the relationship of essential wayshowing tools to visitor perceptions.
It is important to understand that travelers all have basic wayfinding needs. Travelers need to:
- Know where the byway begins and ends;
- Create, refresh, and expand their mental maps of a byway corridor;
- Establish and strengthen their orientation to the byway;
- Follow a reliable and easily recognizable sequence of visual clues to follow when travelling along a byway; and
- Locate and safely travel to planned stops and special places to fulfill their desired byway experience.
It is also important to understand that the byway experience occurs in stages; the Pre-Visit, the Visit and the Post-Visit. Wayshowing components and clues should be provided in each of these three stages.
Where do I turn for help?
Introduction to Byway Wayshowing Webcast:
http://www.bywaysresourcecenter.org/topics/visitor-experience/wayshowing/tools/1573/
Identifying Traveler Needs: Taking a Visitor’s Eye Webcast:
http://www.bywaysresourcecenter.org/topics/visitor-experience/wayshowing/tools/1611/
