As an integral part of the Bloomington community, Indiana University has a large stake in the issues affecting the city’s progress, its future, and of course its citizens. By working together, IU Bloomington and the City of Bloomington will meet the challenges of the 21st century and provide a model of the cooperative relationship that needs to exist between universities and the cities they call home.

Wayfinder System Installed in Bloomington

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Bloomington, IN -- Installation of the Wayfinder project began throughout the city last week. The project provides directional signage for major attractions and destinations in the Bloomington area.

"Wayfinder will make Bloomington a friendlier and more attractive community," said Mayor John Fernandez. "This is a cultural tourism project which means this is an economic development initiative."

The program came about as the result of a visioning process in 1998 with participation from the City of Bloomington, Monroe County Government, Indiana University, Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), the Downtown Bloomington Commission (DBC) and the Convention and Visitors Bureau. That process identified the need to develop a consistent destination signage program throughout the community. These parties contributed a total of $50,000 to the hiring of a consultant to design a signage package.

(Specific breakdown of the contributions to this pool: IU Athletics, IU President's Office, Monroe County and the City of Bloomington: $10,000 each Convention and Visitors Bureau, $5,000, Downtown Bloomington Commission and the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, $2,500 each.)

The Wayfinder design system was created by Corbin Design Group, headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan. Corbin Design Group has provided Wayfinding expertise to several communities throughout the country including Madison, Wisconsin; Holland, Michigan; Columbus and Indianapolis, Indiana as well as several universities in the U.S.

The Wayfinder system begins with five color-coded districts. Westside (orange), Eastside (purple), Downtown (green), Indiana University (crimson) and the Visitors Centers (blue). Symbols and colors direct people to specific areas of town where attractions, parking and public buildings are also identified. There are four sign types and 130 signs currently in the program.

Fernandez said that removing older, duplicative signs is also part of the project. "One of our goals is to consolidate and co-locate destination signage," Fernandez said. "Reducing the total visual clutter is an important objective for us."

The total cost of the initial implementation is estimated at $250,000 which was funded by the City of Bloomington. The Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has provided project staff and in-kind assistance. Additional money has been set aside for maintenance and sign additions.

"Wayfinder is a work-in-progress now and will be an ongoing program into the future," said CVB Executive Director Valerie Pena. "Based on an initial evaluation we'll be modifying some sign faces and locations. And we want to stay flexible as the community changes."

The final phase of the initial Wayfinder implementation will be the installation of ten informational kiosks on Kirkwood Avenue. The kiosks will provide downtown maps and event information. The kiosks should be in place before mid-November.

<< Back to Top

Support for the Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service

The IU Bloomington campus depends on the Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service to provide emergency medical services and transportation. For many years, through mutual agreement, the campus has contributed $25,000 annually to the hospital to support the service. Recent cuts in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements to the hospital for ambulance service have caused budgetary shortfalls for the service.

Campus administrators are meeting with hospital leaders to discuss new funding options that reflect campus usage. IU Bloomington administrators are committed to assuring that the current level of high-quality service is continued.

<< Back to Top