15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021
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Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 Project overview This project falls under the Plus Fifteen Policy Implementation. A comprehensive, holistic, coherent wayfinding system makes it easier for Calgarians and visitors to access and navigate the Plus 15 Network. Its development is supported by over a decade of Centre City policy, including the 2007 Centre City Plan, 2009 Calgary Downtown Retail District Strategy, the 2015 Centre City Urban Design Guidelines, the 2017 Access Design Standards, and the 2019 Plus 15 Network Study. Engagement overview The City and its partners operate the Plus 15 network’s 86 bridges and more than 16 km of elevated walkways that connect office towers, protect pedestrians from the weather and provide connections between buildings so that users do not have to cross busy streets. The objective for this engagement was to provide the public with an opportunity to share their issues or concerns with, and opportunities for the network’s wayfinding maps and signs. The engagement took place between 2020 March 17 and 2020 April 8. Due to COVID-19-related conditions and uncertain access to the Plus 15 network, public engagement was done online using the Engage Portal. The Portal page for this project used an innovative interactive tool to collect location-based input from participants. Called “social mapping”, individuals dropped annotated pins on a map of the Plus 15 network and provided their input through comments directly on the map. Apart from comments that contained personal information or offensive language, all comments were visible to all visitors to the page, The opportunity to participate was promoted using social media advertising and local news coverage. A total of 1,284 individuals visited the Portal page for the project and 162 pins and comments were dropped on the map. What we asked The public was asked drop pins on a map of Calgary’s downtown commercial core, overlaid with a map of the Plus 15 network. The pins were colour coded for five different comment categories: 1. Don’t-miss destinations where you would take a visitor 2. Memorable landmarks 3. Places where there are navigation issues 4. Locations with accessibility barriers 5. Other locations they would like to comment on In the event that the Plus 15 was open to pedestrians during this engagement period, the page and map were optimized for use with mobile devices as well as computers. Colour contrast and fonts met Page 1 of 30 Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 accessibility standards and, as with other City pages, the map tool functioned with many, though not all, adaptive technologies. What we heard Participants’ input was overwhelmingly positive and reflected their appreciation for the Plus 15s as an amenity provided by building owners and The City. All verbatim comments are included at the end of this report. Map Categories Navigation Issues and Accessibility Barriers 2 made up a majority of comments. 3 Comments in the Other category identified 4 safety and nuisance behaviour in the Plus 15s, maintenance issues, design and missing links. 1 Destinations and Memorable Landmarks included public art, gardens, transit stops and stations, important buildings and movie 5 locations. Comment Clusters There were multiple clusters of pins where some sections of the Plus 15s attracted many more comments than others. As shown in the map below, the Bankers’ Hall-TD Square area received the most input, followed by the route through Centrium Place to 5th Avenue SW where there are a high number of bus stops. and 8th Avenue SW and 5th Street SW on routes to and from key parking lots. Page 2 of 30 Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 Wayfinding Themes Themes unrelated to wayfinding have not been included in this report. These include increasing security guards, expansion or redesign of the network, safety issues such as lighting, and special events. Those comments are included in the Verbatim section and have been read by the project team. Wayfinding Theme Comment Trip planning Heading westbound, it seems like this should • being able to plan your route all the way connect through to the corridor on the other side of through to an end destination 7th Street. You don't find out until two blocks in that • knowing to go outside or change levels it's a dead end, and the next corridor south is the one that connects. • knowing if an alternate way or doubling back will be needed to find an appropriate When different buildings close at different times, it ramp or elevator makes the system useless, and makes me feel trapped. Leaving The Westin at 8pm, heading NW, Shell Centre was open, but Centennial Place wasn't. I couldn't find street access in Devon Place. By the time I backtracked and got to out to the street, I made a mental note to never get caught in that maze after 6pm. At -20, I'll take my chances in the blizzard rather than get caught in a dead end & possibly mugged in a deserted building. Page 3 of 30 Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 Accessibility is poor in many areas. We tried to take my mother-in-law through our 'normal' route and had to go outside twice to get to an area that her scooter could access. Ramps need to be straight or have larger turn radius to accommodate scooters and larger strollers (one on west side of Calgary Place is too tight). Change of levels required. Anyone taking elevator is not redirected back to the cross through area Prominent and accurate entrances, exits I have concerns about safety in this particular area, The exit signage is not particularly clear What's the point of having this entrance when it's never open? It's essentially an indoor exit to the outside. Yet, according to the current map, this is considered an entrance. It's also an incredibly hidden entrance. Again, you need to make entrances so easily found, that even clueless tourists can find them. Street level exit through staircase- the door at +15 is exit only. Although at street level there is sign for +15 access, you can't get the door open from outside to get into +15. May people who park on surface lots on 9th avenue are forced to walk outside due to this. It is actually difficult to even find the entrance to this +15 from the CTrain station. There needs to be easier signage to find an appropriate, open +15 entrance that doesn't shut. So easy that lost tourists could find it. Don't make the +15 so inaccessible and exclusive, that regular folk can't find them. Hours and closure information Adding maps with closure indications for access during non-business hours (evenings & weekends) would be helpful for safety at all public parkade entrances because these are where people park to visit downtown businesses who aren’t regular downtown visitors. Page 4 of 30 Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 There's a door here to get into the +15 but sometimes it is locked without any explanation, even during the hours when the network is open. Also, the stairs are often slippery when it's raining/snowing. Opening/closing hours should be standardized. I avoid +15s in evenings for fear of navigating through a labrythine only to hit a dead end. Connectivity Missing link: it would be great to link the Westin and Jamieson place to close a big loop Cannot get from the hotel to the Plus 15 system in a wheelchair - very poor for tourism. Need more connectivity rather than having to walk longer to get to your final destination due to not having enough +15s Eg too few to get from 4 th Ave to 5 th Ave to 6 th Ave to 7 th Ave - perhaps 2 or three . Need perhaps a couple more both North to south as well as east to west in each of those avenues Getting into City Hall from the west (Macleod Trail) is relatively easy using the ramp however getting out on the eastern side (3rd Street SE) is impossible as there are only very steep stairs. A ramp should be mandatory so that citizens can have easy access to the crosswalk that leads to the Library and East Village. This is a critical need and should not have to wait any longer while access through the City hall building is debated. Thanks Safety ... the City should put emergency location markers along the +15 paths that can be referenced if someone needs to call 911 and give a location. There is a safety issue here for anyone trying to get from Plus 15 at this location (across from the +15 entrance to the Petroleum Club) to the street level on the south side of 5 Avenue, to catch the express buses running east along 5 Avenue. One is forced to exit into a stairwell that is completely enclosed in concrete, has blind corners / hiding places for would-be attackers, no windows, and no Page 5 of 30 Plus 15 Wayfinding Improvements Report Back: What We Heard May 2021 emergency help intercoms. This spot is just before a bright, open/windowed bridge across 5 Avenue. Why not put a door and a stairwell on the south side of his “bridge” that allows pedestrians to exit directly to the outside, in safety? Just know that I got lost leaving the Devonian gardens after a first date with a stranger.