A group of planning graduates from the University of Guelph has just completed their study called Wayfinding, about travelling around Huron East.
Masters graduate Meighan Luis explains their study focuses on but is not limited to newcomers to the municipality, and what they looked at was how easy it was to get from point A to point B in search of a particular attraction.
Luis explains they looked at two types of signage. Indicational signs identify the attraction once you're there and they found there was a lot of that. Directional signs helped you get there, and they found there could be more of that. They also found that on-line sources like Google were the first choice for directions and printed maps are definitely a last resort.
Luis adds another problem they ran into was attractions in a private home, or open occasionally or by appointment only. She says if they got to one and it didn't look as it if was open, and they weren't aware of the limited hours they didn't attempt to go in. So they feel that should be stated clearly. Overall Luis says they enjoyed their discovery of Huron East very much.
Luis adds any attraction or event hoping to increase the number of visitors has to be online in today's market. She says Google maps are not always up to date, but a web site can provide information on the attraction, how to get there and when they're open, and the internet is the first place people look for information. Luis points out one thing they found was that Huron East has a lot of attractions, and when they couldn't find them people were very anxious to help them.
