(From the City of Joplin)
The City of Joplin and the Joplin Convention & Visitors Bureau will host a media event to unveil the City’s new Wayfinder signage system. Officials with the CVB and the City will join representatives of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 19, at 423 Range Line Road, near the front of Books-A-Million to uncover the new look for these directional signs.
A Wayfinder system provides directional signage for motorists to locate a specific district within a community. While in a designated district, some Wayfinder information may be more specific to a destination.
The original efforts for Joplin to have a Wayfinding system dates back to 2007 with input from a tourism-related citizen’s committee. With an initial task to identify specific districts the signs could direct motorists to visit, the group named four distinct districts. These include: Downtown Historic; Hotel; Range Line Retail; and Sports. Installation of the current signage was completed in 2009, with the existing signs being manufactured by the City of Joplin.
Due the changes in the Federal Highway Standards, specifically related to new safety features and their reflective appearance, this system is non-compliant. The cost in replacing 37 signs in the Wayfinder system is $53,000.
In addition, a smaller version of the design is being installed to direct motorists along Joplin’s portion of the original Route 66. The tradition blue Historic By-Way signs will be placed in a bracket system similar to the style used in the primary Wayfinder signs. Not only will this enhance the image of Route 66 within the Joplin city limits, it will also provide continuity with the large system. The cost for this portion of the project is $30,000.
Funding for this project is provided through Joplin’s 4% lodging tax. The upgrade brings Joplin’s Wayfinder System into compliance with Federal and MoDOT Highway Standards.
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