Left: Existing regulatory signs. Right: New regulatory signs. Photos courtesy City of Winnipeg
New signage is being installed in the City of Winnipeg’s Exchange District as part of the second phase of a pilot project to help reduce confusion around on-street parking.
The second phase includes street-facing regulatory signs that have been redesigned with bolder colours and icons to help drivers identify available spaces from their vehicle. The new designs also consolidate multiple regulations into one sign where possible, according to a city press release.
“One of the things we strived for was having positive visual language,” said David Patman, the city’s manager of transportation. “If you aren’t able to understand all the rules on a sign, it can lead to a lot of uncertainty when parking. By focusing more on colours and iconography, we’re trying to more clearly communicate where you can and can’t park, rather than overwhelm drivers with rules.”
The second phase of the pilot also includes new parking guides, which face the sidewalk, and are intended to be viewed after parking your vehicle. Based on feedback from the first phase, the guides have been redesigned with clearer layouts, text, and graphics. Patterns were also added to red backgrounds to make the guides easier to read for someone who is colour blind.
The new parking design for phase two.
“It can often be difficult to figure out when all of the certain rules apply at a given space while you’re driving,” said Patman. “That’s where the parking guides help – once you’re parked, you can find the exact rules in place at a specific time of day, week, and season.”
The city is seeking feedback on the new signage through an online survey until March 22, 2022.
