Wayfinding Sign Project

Feb. 16, 2017 - Planning and design consultant Sasaki Associates, Inc. is poised to present its final recommendations for a Village-wide wayfinding sign program.

The recommendations will be presented to the Community Design Commission at its next regular meeting, tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m., Wed., Feb. 22 at Village Hall 123 Madison St.

Click here to see the recommendations

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Dec. 1, 2016 - Representatives of Sasaki Associates, Inc. presented three wayfinding design concepts at the Community Design Commission's regular meeting on Nov. 30 at Village Hall.

The concepts were based on input provided through community stakeholder meetings, surveys and public meetings held throughout the fall. 

Residents are invited the review the latest Sasaki presentation or stop by Village Hall, 123 Madison St., where mock-ups of the three concepts are on display. Written comments may be left by the display at Village Hall or via email to business@oak-park.us.

Click here to see the presentation

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Aug. 24, 2016 - Oak Park residents and stakeholders joined members of the Community Deisgn and other citizen advisory commissions at a public meeting tonight at Village Hall for a hands-on discussion of the preliminary findings of a study that will help create a new comprehensive wayfinding sign program for the community.

Representatives of Sasaki Associates, Inc., the planning and design firm leading the effort, presented their findings and initial recommendations, and encouraged input from meeting attendees. The presentation offered an overview of the project as well as summaries of the current sign inventory and information gathered via an online survey and meetings with a wide range of stakeholders, including residnets, visitors and business operators.

Nine mood boards also were presented to show sample wayfinding signage systems that could respond to the needs identified in the study to date. Participants'comments on the boards will be used to further refine the a new wayfinding sign system for Oak Park.

Click here to see the presentation

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July 22, 2016 - The public is invited to comment on the preliminary findings for a new comprehensive wayfinding sign program that will be presented to the Community Design Commission at 7:30 p.m., Wed., Aug. 24, at Village Hall, 123 Madison St.

Representatives of Sasaki Associates, Inc., the planning and design firm chosen to lead the effort, has mapped the current signs, interviewed stakeholders and analyzed the results of a survey. The presentation will be the first look at their findings and initial recommendations.

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July 14, 2016 - Representatives of Sasaki Associates, Inc., the planning and design firm leading the effort to updte the Village's wayfinding sign system, will be engaging attendees at the July 21 Thursday Night Out dining event downtown and the July 23 Oak Park Farmers’ Market.

By simply taking a brief survey on electronic tablets, willing individuals will have a quick and entertaining way to help the Sasaki team gain insights into the attitudes, views and demographics of those participating in these two very different, but popular Village activities.

The goal of the process, Sasaki officials say, is to give people the vocabulary and technology to contribute their insights to the design process.

Gathering public input is just one phase of the steps necessary to design a comprehensive wayfinding sign strategy, the first such far-reaching undertaking in Oak Park in more than a decade. Other steps include inventorying current signs, reviewing comparable markets, documenting typical travel patterns and key community destinations, and gathering input from stakeholders such as local business operators and tourism officials.

Sasaki Associates, Inc., was selected to lead the project after 19 companies responded to a request for proposals issued in February 2016. Based in Watertown, Massachusetts, Sasaki project team members have extensive experience in municipal and public wayfinding signage programs, including projects for the Chicago Riverwalk and Northwestern University at Evanston. Other Sasaki wayfinding projects include Washington, DC, Cincinnati, Baton Rouge, La., and Walnut Creek, Calif. in the San Francisco area.

The project is being managed administratively through the Development Customer Services Department.

Information gathered through public outreach, observation and other research will allow Sasaki staff to establish clear objectives and create options for a new signage strategy, including graphic design standards, concepts and messages that will be uniform and consistent across the community. Potential sign locations also will be identified.

Additional community input into the initial concepts will lead to a final design approach and implementation plan that will include sign prototypes for market testing, as well as budgeting, production and maintenance plans.

The project – from needs analysis and recommendations to the final design and implementation plan – is expected to take about four months. The time line for manufacturing and installing new signs will be determined as part of a later phase.

The project is being managed through the Village’s Community Design Commission, with input from the Public Art, Historic Preservation and Transportation commissions.

A comprehensive review and update to the system is important now, Village officials say, because of the significant increase in residential development that is bringing new residents and visitors to the community, particularly in the downtown business districts.

The Village last updated its wayfinding sign system in 2003. The system has since grown to more than 300 free-standing signs, light pole signs and maps. The Village also has many regulatory signs that are not considered part of the wayfinding system. However, officials say a new wayfinding approach also may help guide changes in these signs as well.