It’s a New Way to Explore L.A.: Just Follow the Signs

Must be a sign of the times. Must be that enough people have commented on how confusing it is to get from one district in downtown L.A. to the next. Problem solved, or at least it soon will be. Starting this fall, between 300 and 400 street signs will begin to be posted throughout a 350-square-block area downtown. The idea is to delineate and define separate districts as well as help pedestrians find their way within one district and visit another one.

The “Downtown L.A. Walks Wayfinding Program,” has been a couple of years in the making. “All of the downtown business associations and business improvement districts got together to form the Confederation of Downtown Assn.,” explained Steve Gibson, the project’s manager whose own consulting firm, Main Street Group, is based in Long Beach. The Confederation has partnered with the city of L.A.’s Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The results will be three types of signs. One will be 5-foot-by-6-foot signs at freeway ramps to signal appropriate districts, as well as signs indicating where to park. A second type, roughly 3 feet by 4 feet, will distinguish each of the 13 districts with its own icon--a diamond for the Jewelry District, a silhouette of a woman with a hat on and carrying a purse for the Fashion District, and so on. Signs with arrows will point to the direction of other districts, too.

Finally, there will be small maps (about 18 inches by 36 inches) near eye level (60 inches above the ground) mounted on existing posts. “Pedestrians are more likely to go to multiple destinations if they have a comfort level as where things are and how to get to them,” pointed out Wayne Hunt, whose Hunt Design Associates in Pasadena is designing the signs with Michigan-based Corbin. Hunt’s company has done similar work for Disney and the L.A. Zoo.

“Part of the problem is overcoming our perception that things are too far away in L.A. They really aren’t in downtown.”

Corbin head Jeffry Corbin added that the new maps will break out small three-square-block sections of downtown and will include details on buildings and addresses that pedestrians will want. “Then, as they walk, the map will move with them, so to speak.”

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Candace A. Wedlan can be reached at candace.wedlan@latimes.com.