To avoid missing any such errors, the installers took a digital photo of each sign, which then could be checked against the plans.
“We spent the next day comparing these photos against the designs on our computers to verify all of the messaging was correct,” says Entro’s Gratton. “It worked really well.”
As mentioned, the change is seamless for most passengers, who continue to check their gate numbers upon arrival and follow the signs accordingly.
Installers from Zip Signs and Sign Fix changed out all of the signs overnight on January 30, 2012. Photo courtesy GTAA
“The most likely to complain at first are the frequently fliers, who are used to the old gate numbers,” says Gratton, “but they’ll also appreciate this is an easier system for people to understand and use.”
Further improvements
While the gate renumbering has entailed GTAA’s largest sign project in years, the process of wayfinding improvement is not finished yet.
“We have a strategy team now that works to help people get through the airport more easily and to make their stay more pleasurable,” says Wiszniewski. “We’re working on a new system for passengers connecting to flights to the U.S., who currently have to pick up their bags and recheck them. Through discussions with U.S. Customs, we hope to instead have those bags screened separately, so passengers can connect more conveniently, i.e. without having to pick up and recheck their bags. This program is in the works and Entro is already designing new signs for it.”
This will be followed in 2013 with a new program to help make wayfinding clearer for passengers walking from T1’s parking garage—one of the biggest in the world—to the arrivals and departures areas.
With files from GTAA and Entro. For more information, visit www.gtaa.com, www.torontopearson.com and www.entro.com.
