Black finger post signs and totem signs guide pedestrians from the Tampere railway station and Central Square to the Ratina Stadium. New signs are part of pedestrian guidance concept created for the Tampere city centre aiming to increase walking and cycling by, for example, making wayfinding easier and developing guidance in various ways. Key locations have area signs, which show nearby destinations on map. First signs appear on the streets for the IAAF World U20 Championships and will remain in place during the construction of the tramway.
The new signs are part of a guidance pilot implementing the city’s pedestrian signage concept. The guidance pilot continues until the work on Hämeenkatu is finished and permanent guidance can be implemented. More locations and routes with guidance will be added later. By answering the questionnaire, you can have a say over the content and appearance of the signs in the future. You are welcome to leave feedback about the signs here.
Pedestrian guidance from the Railway station to the events in Ratina is enhanced by a web based AR application developed by Visumo Oy, which illustrates the route from the Railway station to Ratina as well as the service points in the stadium. The application is being developed further, but ready for use.
There is a number of guidable destinations in Tampere, therefore criteria for being shown on the map has been set to 15,000 visitors per year. In addition, the location must be open at least five days a week all year round.
The guided locations can be divided into five main groups: guided destinations, transport destinations, cultural destinations, activities and sights. The locations should have an indoor area with year-round access. Exceptions include destinations that are not buildings nor assumed to be located indoors, such as market squares, amusement parks, zoos, overlooks, harbours, outdoor pools and beaches.
The signage concept divides the city centre into four blocks with different colour codes. The blocks are limited by Hämeenkatu and Tammerkoski rapids. The colour codes make it easier to navigate between city districts.
The maps and signs of the guidance system are illustrated with pictograms and silhouettes. The pictograms are nationally defined and familiar from traffic signs. The pilot uses pictograms to guide pedestrians to the bus and railway stations. The silhouettes are line drawings of the most important buildings in Tampere. Silhouettes are drawn for iconic and architecturally unique buildings. The use of the location silhouettes is meant to facilitate the identification of the locations.
The guidance pilot is being carried out as part of City of Tampere’s Smart Tampere programme project Six Cities City Guidance Ecosystem that develops guidance in a variety of ways and enables quick pilots and tests. The project just launched the Tampere Events App and has another ongoing guidance test where Bluetooth beacons share information about the tramway construction to the surroundings.
