BATTLEFORD — According to information presented to the Battleford town council Jan. 9, the Battlefords River Valley Committee has been working on developing a wayfinding system.
“Wayfinding is the practice of developing a tool or suite of tools to help people navigate their physical environments and orientate their location in a given space,” reads the report to the council.
The committee hired the consulting firm Fathom Studios to develop a family of signs, including major and minor trailhead markers, regulatory signs, parking signs and potential interpretive signs in the future, to help users travel through its different areas.
“Prior to designing the family of signs, Fathom Studios completed an inventory of signs currently in place, created a sign location plan and consulted with user groups and local First Nation elders to receive input on the project,” reads the report.
Blackflag Projects out of St. Albert, Alta. was awarded the contract.
Blackflag Projects and the committee were aiming to have the project completed in the fall of 2022, but final edits to the design and engineering approval of shop drawings took longer than expected.
After the signs are fabricated during the winter, installations are scheduled for after the snow melts and the conditions are appropriate. Installation is expected to take two weeks.
Ninety signs are expected to be installed at the cost of $120,000, including taxes, and will be paid out of the Battlefords River Valley account, to which both the town of Battleford and the city of North Battleford contribute funding.
Council was excited after being presented with the mock-ups, noting the aluminum signs are cost-effective in the event of damage from weather or vandalism.
“I like the signs. They look fantastic. I look forward to seeing them put in,” Councillor Doug Laing said.
Councillor David George said he was hopeful that the signs would prevent people from getting lost in some areas, potentially allowing people to return to safety.
“I think they look fantastic. I’m excited for people to see them,” Councillor Alexis Christensen said.
