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Signage on Kansas Cities Parks & Boulevards

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This map shows the relative locations of different kinds of signage that line the parks and boulevards system in Kansas City.

PRECEDENTS OF SIGNAGE ON PARKS & BOULEVARDS

There are a wide array of different kinds of signs in KC. I took as many examples that are representative of the different aspects of this design element.
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IMPLEMENTATION

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When diagraming the intersection of two famous boulevards in KC I noticed the importance of the crossing. As Broadway and Southwest Boulevard meet, there is an opportunity for a walkable route that could connect people throughout the crossroads.  Currently, the billboards create a very impersonal scale for the pedestrian and also are an inherent negative externality to the passerby.

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By implementing vegetation along the streets and restoring the streets to exemplify their namesake,  the intersection takes upon an entirely different feeling. I also envisioned having a elevated garden green area where the billboard platform currently resides.

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By increasing the brightness and adding a reflective material to new boulevard street signs, the information becomes much more readable.

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One of the things that I noticed through analysis and study of the Parks system is the lack of a design language. There also is a surprising lack of information and history that is shared in the public physical realm.  I, in turn, envisioned a coherent and consistent park sign that could carry information, context, and history of the parks and boulevard system. People want to know about Kessler, and how the parkways and boulevards follow the topography, interconnecting the park “knuckles” dispersed around the city.

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Design in the Urban Landscape: Kansas City

Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to California for several weeks. My sister and I spent time driving up and down the coast of central California exploring the landscape and more than anything — attempting to feel the environment. We decided that we would like to go to San Francisco for a couple of days before we had to return to home, so we booked an AirBnB in a reasonable part of town and took a bus out to the city. My family and I had traveled to San Francisco twice before and both times were entertaining, yet this time was different.

In the past we had drove to each landmark in the city and done the pre ordained activity. Yet on this trip we skipped the Pier, Chinatown, and the stone fortress island of Alcatraz and focused on what it meant to be an active member of the city. Our host at our room share informed us of activities and areas to check out that you wont find in any tour guide pamphlet and my sister and I set out on our journey. As we walked the city, we began to notice that this was not the same San Francisco that we had been to twice before. Everywhere we turned there was something different, yet something the same. The streets were the destination.

"Are we having fun yet?"
“Are we having fun yet?” Fishermans Wharf (Source: Google Image)

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