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A committee is recommending Youngstown board hire a firm for design work on wayfinding signs
YOUNGSTOWN
A committee of local business leaders and government officials is recommending the city’s board of control hire a Cleveland firm for design work on “wayfinding” signs to help people better navigate primarily through downtown and surrounding areas.
The board is expected to vote next month to select Studio Graphique and pay the firm $26,000 for the work, said Law Director Martin Hume, a member of the wayfinding committee and board of control.
The signs, and possibly kiosks with maps, will let people know how to get to points of interest — including the Covelli Centre, Mill Creek MetroParks, city hall, Youngstown State University — and parking lots, he said.
“This is a positive step in the development of downtown Youngs-town,” Hume said. “We want to make the city as accessible to people as possible, and wayfinding signs would be a great benefit.”
Studio Graphique was among five companies to submit proposals for the design work and among three that gave presentations Oct. 15 at a public meeting.
“The committee’s strong consensus was to select Studio Graphique as the best option because of its location and its familiarity with the city,” Hume said.
The company has done wayfinding signs in Ohio for Lakewood, Kent, Xenia and Cleveland’s University Circle and Tremont neighborhoods.
Once hired, Studio Graphique would take about 16 weeks for the design work, determine the locations of the signs and what would be on the signs, Hume said.
The work doesn’t include the construction or installation of the signs, which would be much more expensive, with those decisions made by the city, Hume said.
Others on the wayfinding committee include: Dominic C. Marchionda, director of operations and strategic planning for the NYO Property Group, which owns numerous downtown buildings; architect Paul Hagman; Sarah Lown, senior economic-development manager for the Western Reserve Port Authority; and Sharon Letson, executive director of Youngstown CityScape.