The committee working to install wayfinding signs in Crawfordsville is asking the county to pitch in some money.
Crawfordsville Main Street partnered with the city’s Department of Planning & Community Development and the Montgomery County Visitors and Convention Bureau last year for the project.
Wayfinding allows pedestrians and drivers to “better navigate to the places that they wanted to go and also help them to discover places that they didn’t know they wanted to go to,” Main Street program manager Sue Lucas said.
The committee on Monday made its pitch to the Board of Commissioners for funding to help purchase the signs, which are being created by Michigan-based Corbin Design. The company has designed wayfinding signs in Lafayette and West Lafayette, South Bend and Bloomington.
Commissioners voted to support giving the committee $41,500. The funding needs approval from the County Council.
The total cost for the 60 signs is just under $300,000. Lucas acknowledged the committee may not be able to raise the rest of the money all at once.
“So we want to get what we can get to get it started and then our team can look for the remaining funds,” she said.
The committee is seeking a grant from the Montgomery County Community Foundation with funding from the city. Main Street has also contributed money. The team is looking at possible federal funding sources.
The Convention and Visitors Commission paid for the planning and design phase.
The signs would point residents and visitors to local museums, parks and other attractions. Lucas cited a study finding small communities that installed wayfinding signs saw an 18-25% increase in visitors coming and then returning to the town.
“We have stuff on our phones, but wayfinding has been demonstrated to improve the visitor’s experience and the resident’s experience quite a bit,” Lucas said.
