CITY OF GLENDALE CALIFORNIA JOINT REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL! AGENCY April 13, 2010 AGENDA ITEM Update on Wayfinding and Parking Signs for downtown Glendale. (1)

Motion - Council/Agency direction on the design of wayfinding and parking signs.

COUNCIL ACTION Public Hearin~K] Ordinance [ ] Consent Calendar [] Aclion Ilem [X] Report Only [ ] Approved for

'L l?J. ?.n.O

calendar

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION Submitted

Stephen M. Zurn; Director of Public Works ... .........................~.. ~ .. ~ ...~..~~~~~~~~~E= Philip Lanzafame; Director of Development Services ...........7': ........ . Prepared

Michael Nilsson, Mobility Planner

.................................................. ~~~~

Approved

James E. Starbird, City Manager ..... ... ..............................................

4""'-+_+-+--'>->-__

Reviewed

Gillian van Muyden, City Attorney ..... ...................................... ... ... .. . Jano Baghdanian, Traffic and Transportation Administrator ............ . Alan Loomis , Principal Urban Designer ......................................;..;.. ~ ...;~~~~~~~~~:..: Emil Tatevosian , Deputy Director of Development Services ..:: ......... . George Balteria, Project Coordinator ........................................ .. ( .;::..~~~...;L:1~:2l~:....._

1

Apri113. 1010 Wayfinding and Parking Signs for Downtown Glendale Page 2014

RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Council and Agency provide direction and input on the design of wayfinding and parking signs. FISCAL IMPACT None at this time. The design services contract with Hunt Design was approved in October 2009. While the cost for sign fabrication and installation has not been determined , it is anticipated that funding for these costs will be provided by undesignated redevelopment funds and the Parking Fund. Detailed design drawings, including fabrication and installation costs will be submitted for Council/Agency consideration at a later date. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND A comprehensive wayfinding program , as recommended in the Mobility Study, reduces traffic congestion , improves vehicular and pedestrian navigation, visibility and use of parking , and safety for users of all modes. In addition , improved wayfinding contributes to economic development by enabling visitors and patrons to easily locate city attractions , allowing for longer stays at their respective destinations. In response to these recommendations , a Professional Services Agreement was awarded to Hunt Design in October 2009 to create the wayfinding and parking sign program and the environmental graphics handbook. Hunt Design and staff team have completed the following with the goal of installing updated wayfinding and parking signs in the downtown by late Fall

2010: Design Alternatives for Wayfinding and Parking Signs Hunt Design conducted an analysis of the existing citywide sign inventory . As shown in Exhibit 1, findings from the assessment concluded that the City suffers from inconsistent, confusing and poorly placed signs . Recommendations include removing repetitive , out-of-date signs and replacing them with a comprehensive sign program . Scheme A (Exhibit 2) is a conventional wayfinding strategy commonly used in municipalities. with this alternative focusing on color choice as the primary variable in the sign design. Hunt Design has selected green as the color for all vehicular wayfinding , orange for all pedestrian wayfinding and blue for parking wayfinding. The bold colors will be on the fronts and backs of the main sign panel , with a black header panel. The main architectural feature on the signs will be black 3-dimensional circular elements containing arrows outlining the wayfinding destinations on the fronts of the signs. Text outlining destinations on the sign are proposed to be in white to serve as a contrast with the colorful backgrounds of the signs. While Scheme A focuses on bold uses of color, Scheme B (Exhibit 3) focuses on highlighting destinations as the focal point of the sign . This concept consists of a simple and clean color palette . The front of the sign contains a dark grey main panel with a silver header. Visibility of the sign is enhanced by a strip of color on the left edge of the sign , with bright bold text listing destinations on the front panel. These vibrant elements will serve as a contrast to the

April 13, 2010 Wayfinding and Parking Signs for Downtown Glendale Page 3 of 4

monochromatic background Hunt Design is investigating the best color choice for the text and edges of the signs, with color options presented in Exhibit 3. When the Pay-by-Space meters we re insta lled downtown in November 2008, the meters were branded with a deep blue circle ~ P" logo with the insignia ~ Pay Here ~. Shown in detail in Exhibit 4, Hun! Design has proposed to apply this theme to parking identification signs on downtown public parking lots and structures through extracting large, individual circles for each letter of the word Apark". Each circle will be colored deep blue with white text , outlined by a silver frame . At this time, it is proposed that either Scheme A or B design aesthetics can be applied to this design.

Hunt Design also looked at a number of graphic options for the backs of the wayfinding signs (Ex hibit 5). This includes prese nting historical icons of Glendale such as the Alex Theatre , Brand Li brary and the Goode House. Other ideas incorporate the City Seal, the original Peacock logo, as well a simple blank color panel with the City's name on the bottom. In addition to producing an appealing and user-friendly sign program, establishing limited and appropriate locations where parking , vehicular and pedestrian signs are located is imperative in producing effective wayfinding. The amount of information that can be included on each sign is limited. Details on sign programming (quantity and placement) will be established in greater detail once a preferred deSign alternative is selected. Coordination w ith Citywide Marketi ng Effo rt The wayfinding and parking sign program is developed concurrently with the citywide marketing effort. The proposed design alternatives allow the incorporation of marketing brand ideas and elements from the marketing platform. The headers of the sign panels and the backs of the vehicular and parking wayfinding signs are intentionally designed to accept branding elements. Hunt Design will work with the marketing consultant to assess additional opportunities to incorporate effective uses of marketing and wayfinding throughout downtown, including the backs of newspaper racks , utility boxes, gateway signs , pedestrian kiosks and transit stops. Outreach with local Bus i nes s and Community Organizations The effort to create wayfinding signs is intended to be an inclusive outreach process and involve members of local business and community groups. Prior to arriving at the two design alternatives being presented to the Council/Agency, discussions were held with pertinent departments of the city organization. Staff from Information Services, Glendale Water and Power, Libraries , Parks and Public Works was invited to share their signage needs and thoughts regarding design alternatives. The focus of the city team was on the environmental graphics handbook which will be one of Hunt Design 's final deliverables. Input received from the City team was very constructive and informed the design direction for the wayfinding and parking sign prog ram. Also, representatives from the Downtown Merchants Association , Glendale Galleria, The Americana at Brand, Glendale Business Coordinating Council, Brand Boulevard of Cars , Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council, Glendale Chamber of Commerce and the th Glendale Transportation Management Association were invited to a meeting on AprilS , 201 0. Comments from the representatives in attendance will be considered in the design process and 1t1 the feedback from this meeting will be discussed at the April 13 presentation to the

Apri113, 2010 Wayfinding and Parking Signs for Downtown Glendale Page 4 of4

CouncHlAgency. Further meetings with these representatives will be held as design and programming is finalized. Timeline/Next Steps We anticipate two future Council/Agency meetings. Pending direction from Council/Agency, Hunt Design will develop a final design, incorporate programming aspects and detailed design drawings will be prepared with cost estimates for fabrication and installation. After a final design is approved, bid documents will be prepared with a consultant contract submitted to Council/ Agency for approval. Below is a time line that has been developed to achieve the installation of wayfinding and parking signs in the downtown by this holiday season: April-June 2010 June 2010 July 2010 AugusVNov 2010

Design Refinement, Programming and Outreach Council/Agency Approval of DeSign, Locations and Wording Council/Agency Fabrication/Installation Contract Procurement Fabrication and Installation

EXHIBITS Exhibit Exhibit Exhibit Exhibit Exhibit

1: 2: 3: 4: 5:

Draft City of Glendale Sign Assessment Document Design Scheme A -Wayfinding and Parking Signs Design Scheme B -Wayfinding and Parking Signs Public Parking Identity Signs Design Options for the back sides of Wayfinding Signs

MOT ION

Moved by Council Member seconded by Council Member

tha t in

connection with wayfinding and parking signs for Downtown Glendale , the Council hereby directs staff as follows :

Vote as follows : Ayes : Noes : Absent : Abstain:

vi>ROVED AS TO FORM

~Ha..

L

n encral Coun~r:p~bli~ Wo~

..

4'-

7-/
0

,, ~

!,

,

e•

•• :r:

Ii

-

EXHIBIT 3

, ~ ~

,

~

.

~

'