John Williamson: The science and art of wayfinding

Northland road signs aren't always as clear as they could be.

ON THE ROAD

Auckland's Waterview Tunnel has been opened more than two years now and there is no doubt it has been a huge success. With around half-million vehicles using the tunnel every week, the alternative routes have that many fewer vehicles on them - yet road congestion is still Auckland's number one transport problem.

As someone who wants to get through Auckland as quickly as possible, I tend to pick the driving time when I won't be gridlocked. But not everyone has that choice. For a visiting driver getting off a 12-hour flight at Auckland Airport, picking up a rental car and trying to find their way to booked accommodation in Whangārei, can be a pretty harrowing experience.

You would think that with modern in-car navigation, previously studied maps and clear explanatory road signs, finding your way around New Zealand roads should be simple. But having a nationally consistent, clear wayfinding approach is often the Cinderella of our approach to roading infrastructure.

We are not alone. I recall a self-drive trip to Ireland around 10 years ago. We were visiting the family of my grandfather who had emigrated from Ballysteen, County Limerick, some 100 years previously. We chatted on the phone to my cousins and asked directions from Dublin Airport. "What signs do we follow?" we asked. The lovely, lilting Irish reply was "There's no sign - you just follow the road and ask someone."

So it turned out. No signs, but the recently acquired TomTom navigation device led us right to the small country village at 11am on Sunday morning, where my cousin caught us as they were leaving the church. We would never have found our way without the TomTom.

In-vehicle navigation systems have come a long way in the last decade or so. They, both visually and narratively, describe the identified route, any roading landmarks that should be followed, notify speed limit changes, and tell you to turn around if you go the wrong way.

Roadside signs are our traditional means of telling us where to go. While there are internationally recognised warning signs, it is the directional signs which often present us with a challenge.

Wayfinding is both a science and an art, seated in the way ancient civilisations navigated their way around the world without instruments. There are some established principles developed about optimising our discovery experiences in museums by the use of landmarks, sightlines, pathways, decision points and maps. It is not clear about how these principles are implemented on our roading network.

It is encouraging, therefore, that Northland's Twin Coast Discovery Route has been the subject of a "Wayfinding Implementation Plan" as a business case funded through the Provincial Growth Fund. The expectation of the study was "To improve the quality of visitor experiences by making it easier and more comfortable to navigate to Northland's attractions promoted within the Northland Journeys package."

The study, released in June, acknowledges that many Northland road signs are somewhat tired and dated. There are many examples of multiple signs at intersections that make it difficult for first-time visitors to quickly interpret what they need to know. Northland is also looking somewhat dated in key digital channels where many businesses have not updated their business listings and Google Street view is up to 10 years old in places.

The plan recommends a fully managed, integrated approach, involving community engagement, updated signage, with full digital reach through special-purpose apps. This to be implemented over five years at a cost of $7.62 million and it has a positive benefit-cost ratio.

Helping visitors easily find their way around Northland is an important part of our destination development. We could start by identifying the best way to find Whangārei's Town Basin from State Highway 1!