Presenters from Guide Studios share what future wayfinding signs could look like when the city of Lima installs them.
Jacob Espinosa
LIMA — Representatives from Guide Studio shared their designs for new signs to be planted around the city of Lima for the purposes of wayfinding to a group consisting of members of the Design Review Committee and the Planning Commission gathered at the Lima Municipal Building Wednesday night.
Residents should be able to look for new signs and other features around the city showing visitors how to get to landmarks like the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center sometime in 2024 if all goes according to plan.
“We are hoping that we will start seeing those signs come to fruition next year,” Amber Martin, Workforce and Small Business Development Coordinator for Lima, said following the presentation. “By the end of this year, we will have the full plan and we will have to go into what our phases will be and who can fabricate the signs.”
The city met with Guide Studio at the beginning of this year to develop plans and has made it 60 percent of the way through the process, Martin added.
Guide Studio, after responding to a request for proposal, reviewed materials, held meetings and took a tour through the city before selecting the concept and designing details for the signs that will help identify key locations and pathways in Lima.
“I am excited about where the city is going and appreciative that they included us in this meeting,” Robert Nelson, a member of the design review committee and owner of The Met, said. “I’m also grateful that we’re putting these signs in highly trafficked areas that allow people from out of town to know exactly where to go. Because when you’re traversing into Lima, coming from many counties away, being able to describe where hospitals or the civic center are gives someone a sense of calm and makes the drive a lot easier.”
Committee members had a few questions about things like where exactly the signs would point to — private businesses will not be included — and if they might affect the football state champions marker, which they will not, but the representatives were happy to see them engaged and invested.
“I think we got some good feedback and some good questions,” Jamie Wilhelm, one of the presenters, said. “Because we try to think of a lot of things during the process, but there are always certain things that come up that aren’t as at the forefront. But they brought some good points up that might help inform the final product.”
Martin said that the city should be looking forward to seeing that end product.
“I think it will beautify our city and it makes us a very welcoming city and will encourage people to visit and provide them confidence as they move throughout and eat and dine and do whatever fun things we have here,” she said. “I think it’s just going to be fun to see that finishing touch on our city. It was encouraging to hear that feedback from everyone.”
For more information on the project or to share thoughts, Martin said that residents are free to call her at 419-223-7281.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
