Carbondale approves community wayfinding contract to coordinate downtown signage and pedestrian routing

Carbondale trustees unanimously authorized a contract to develop a coordinated community wayfinding plan intended to make signage, pedestrian routing and placemaking more legible and consistent across downtown.

Speaker 7 introduced the project as a way to pull together scattered plans (comprehensive plan, multimodal mobility, Carbondale Arts goals) and invited Michael (Speaker 9) and Brian Golden, a local architect, to present the design framework. Michael described the approach as centering on a visitor journey "from automobile to destination and then getting people out of their vehicles and onto the pedestrian network" and said the team has identified potential sign locations and messaging for trails and street corridors.

Brian Golden, who identified himself as a local architect, said the goal is to build consensus, produce a design framework that can be implemented in phases and allow for future expansion. "That design framework, that consistency, and what we're all gonna hopefully start to implement," he said, noting that full implementation may exceed the initial budget and should be phased.

Trustee Colin moved to approve the contract; Trustee Chris seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Staff said the contract will fund a design framework, sign type definitions for a visitor journey (vehicular to pedestrian), and stakeholder engagement; implementation funding and timelines will be phased and may rely on grants and partner contributions.

Next steps: staff and the consultant team will proceed with stakeholder outreach, design work, and return to the board with materials (maps, sign types and a prioritized implementation plan) for future approvals.