MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS OAK LEAF TRAIL SIGN MANUAL August 2020 MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | OAK LEAF TRAIL SIGN MANUAL PREPARED BY City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building Information contained in this document is for planning 841 North Broadway, Room 501 purposes and should not be Milwaukee, WI 53202 used for final design of any project. All results, recommendations, concept drawings, cost opinions, and commentary contained herein are based on limited data and information and on existing Milwaukee County Parks conditions that are subject to change. Further analysis and 9420 West Watertown Plank Road engineering design are Wauwatosa, WI 53226 necessary prior to implementing any of the recommendations contained herein. Toole Design 122 West Washington Avenue Madison, WI 53703 1 INTRODUCTION i MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | OAK LEAF TRAIL SIGN MANUAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Stakeholder Advisory Committee members, agencies, and other individuals listed below deserve special thanks and acknowledgement for their contributions. Funding for this project was provided by the City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Parks, and a grant from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Stakeholder Advisory Committee City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works Kate Bartlett, Riverworks Jeff Polenske, Commissioner Sarah Bregant, Northwest Side Community Development Corporation Samir Amin, City Engineer Melissa Cook, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Rollin Bertran, Engineer in Charge James Davies, Bublr Bikes Mike Amsden, Multimodal Transportation Manager Joe Delmagori, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission James Hannig, Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator Jamie Ferschinger, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Marissa Meyer, Associate Transportation Planner Jerome Flogel, Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail Kate Riordan, Associate Transportation Planner (Project Manager) Caressa Givens, Wisconsin Bike Fed Kevin Antczak, Engineering Technician Steven Hunter, Red Bike Green Mike Chaneske, Traffic Sign and Machine Shop Supervisor Willie Karidis, Rails to Trails Conservancy Milwaukee County Parks Amelia Kegel, Milwaukee County Trails Council Noel Kegel, Wheel and Sprocket/The Kegel Foundation Guy Smith, Executive Director Julie Landry, Black Girls Do Bike Ramsey Radakovich, Interim Director of Operations & Skilled Trades Cassandra Leopold, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Ian Everett, Marketing & Communications Manager Patricia Luevano, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Therese Gripentrog, Landscape Architect Kelly Moore Brands, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Jessica Wineberg, Trails Coordinator (Project Manager) Jake Newborn, Wisconsin Bike Fed Cynthia Tellez, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers Other Staff and Volunteers Monica Wauck Smith, City of Milwaukee Department of Community Mike Bonk, Milwaukee County Office for Persons with Disabilities Development Tom Heydel, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Angela Vickio, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources RoseMary Oliveira, Milwaukee County Trails Council Chris Squires, Wisconsin Department of Transportation Other Committees or Agencies City of Milwaukee Department of City Development- Planning Milwaukee Trails Council 1 INTRODUCTION ii MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | OAK LEAF TRAIL SIGN MANUAL This page intentionally left blank 1 INTRODUCTION iii MILWAUKEE COUNTY PARKS | OAK LEAF TRAIL SIGN MANUAL Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 About this Manual ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Why Bike/Walk Signs Are Important ................................................................................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Technical Guidance on Bicycle Wayfinding and Trail Signage ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Core Wayfinding Principles .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 1.5 Theory .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8 2 SIGN TYPES AND PLACEMENT ................................................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Bike/Walk Wayfinding Sign Types for Milwaukee ............................................................................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Wayfinding Sign Placement Scenarios .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17 3 ROUTE IDENTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Route Selection Criteria ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 3.2 Test Routes for Bike/Walk Signs ................................................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Route Feasibility Analysis and Inventory of Existing Signs ........................................................................................................................................... 22 4 DESTINATION HIERARCHY, NAMING CONVENTIONS, ABBREVIATION .................................................................................................... 23 4.1 Destination Selection ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 4.2 Naming Conventions for Destinations ............................................................................................................................................................................ 26 4.3 Capitalization, Punctuation, and Abbreviation ............................................................................................................................................................... 27 4.4 Standards for Measuring Distance ................................................................................................................................................................................. 28 5 SIGN LAYOUT AND DESIGN ...................................................................................................................................................................... 29 5.1 Layout and Dimensions for Signs .................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 5.2 Color and Symbols ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38 6 FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 43 6.1 Sign Panel Fabrication ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 6.2 Post Types and Installation ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 44 6.3 Clearance Guidelines ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45 6.4 Cost Estimates ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47 1 INTRODUCTION iv 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 About this Manual The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County Parks are home to a world‐class network of off‐street trails and on‐street bikeways. Unfortunately, current trail and bike facility signage is inconsistent and incomplete, creating confusion for people using the trails and bikeways. This Manual provides a protocol and design for a seamless, coordinated wayfinding system that can be implemented across the City’s bicycle network and the County’s Oak Leaf Trail system. The Milwaukee County Parks Oak Leaf Trail