Attachment_A_CAHA_Sign_Recommendations_Report.pdf

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Sign Planning Recommendations Report

Harpers Ferry Center hfc_si@nps.gov

April 2023

Attachment A

Barrier islands are narrow, low-lying, dynamic landforms which parallel ocean coasts, are separated from the mainland, and are constantly moving and reshaping in response to storms, ocean currents, sea level changes, and wave and wind action.

Seashore visitors discover the unique natural, cultural, and recreational opportunities by foot, bicycle or vehicle, and through surf-fishing, kiteboarding, surfing, swimming, windsurfing, crabbing, shell-collecting, nature-experiencing, lighthouse-climbing, sightseeing and more.

NPS presence is most conspicuous in the park’s three lighthouse districts, but the seashore is much more than the lighthouses, it stretches tens of miles along the coastline on both the sea- and sound-side of the islands. The public is generally unaware that the seashore is quite literally in the backyards of many island residences and short-term rental properties.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore seeks to develop a carefully planned, visually cohesive sign plan to aid visitor wayfinding, impart important information and regulations, and bolster understanding the park’s presence and identity.

The resulting system of signs should have a welcoming tone (we’re at the beach—we’re here to have fun!)

but also convey the authority of the NPS in a way that encourages compliance and stewardship.

Background Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA, the seashore), the nation’s first national seashore, was established in 1937 to preserve significant segments of unspoiled barrier islands along North Carolina’s stretch of the Atlantic Coast.

Messaging

Sign messages need to be considered holistically and in the context of other media and wayfinding devices.

Wayfinding sign messages need to correlate with messages on signs visitors have previously encountered so that the “trail of breadcrumbs” is continuous. Content for regulatory signs should be planned with consideration of what information visitors are presented in other media both during and prior to their visit.

Consider the following for regulatory signs:

• Trip planning information on the park website

• Information provided to campers as they reserve a site on recreation.gov

• Safety and regulatory information provided to people obtaining ORV and beach fire permits including

• Information on wayside exhibits (refer to the park’s wayside exhibit plan)

Messaging should also take into account common visitor questions and observed problematic behavior both generally and site-specifically. Park staff from all divisions should provide input for message planning.

Standardized messages and sign designs should be developed for all similar facilities with site-specific information added as appropriate. Gather all examples of existing sign messages for like areas, (ex: lifeguarded beaches, beach ramps, campgrounds, etc.) and compile a comprehensive listing of all regulatory information provided. Look for logical ways to pare down long lists of regulations based on the above recommendations.

Rip Current Messaging: One of the park’s top safety messages is an effort to educate visitors about rip currents – what they are, and what to do if you’re caught in one. All interpretive programs begin with a safety talk about rip currents.

Consider ways to adapt messaging found on current rip current safety signs so that it is more concise and easier to understand at a glance. Consider when/where a simple warning will be used (Caution: Beware of rip currents.) and when it is more advantageous to provide a more complete description of what a rip current is and how to escape one.

NOAA issues warnings when conditions are conducive to the formation of rip currents. Consider how and where the seashore might post notifications of such warnings, being considerate to the fact that park staff cannot easily or quickly access all the numerous beach access areas within the seashore.

Fishing Messages:Fishing Messages: Seashore visitors must comply with North Carolina’s fishing regulations. In some areas, detailed regulations may be helpful, while in others a simple notice “North Carolina fishing license required” may suffice.

Temporary Messages: The seashore routinely deploys temporary signs to alert visitors to closures or dangerous conditions. Example topics include closures for nest sites, lighthouse climbing closures due to high winds, and soft sand warnings. Signs should be developed for all known types of temporary signs. Those sign designs will later serve as templates for signs created for new temporary circumstances.

Locating

Sign placement is equally as important as sign message content. In addition to paring down information gathered from existing signs, consider ways to rearrange and relocate messages so that they are relevant to the place and time visitors encounter them.

Example: “Observe all posted closures” message is only relevant when a closure exists. Instead of appearing on all regulatory signs, that message should appear only on signs posted at closures.

Planning Signs need to be planned and located so that they work as a system. Visitors should be able to follow signs to their intended destination like they would a trail of breadcrumbs.

Once there, signs need to identify that the visitor has reached their intended destination and provide relevant information and safety messages at that point.

The NPS divides signs into 3 types:

• Identity signs welcome and confirm arrival at destinations.

• Motorist guidance signs direct, warn, and inform drivers.

• Visitor Information System (VIS) signs orient, direct, warn, and inform pedestrians.

NPS Identity and Sign Standards All signs in the comprehensive plan should conform to NPS sign standards which incorporate key elements of NPS visual identity into all sign types.

Signs need to be designed for their intended audience. Signs for motorists cannot be effectively read by drivers if they are designed as VIS pedestrian signs. This is especially important at beach access ramps where regulations are provided to drivers accessing the seashore.

Identity Signs

Identity signs across the seashore use a range of styles, colors, materials, and sign bases.

A tiered menu of identity signs should be developed so that all magnitude of signs ranging from main park and facility identity signs (northern entrance, 3 lighthouses) on down to sites of less prominence (picnic areas, small trailheads, etc.) share a consistent visual identity.

Sign panel layouts must be based on standard NPS Identity sign grids which prescribe how information is laid out and what types of information must be included on Identity signs. Panels do not have to use standard NPS Identity sign colors but color should be consistent across all Identity signs and text and panel backgrounds must have 70% contrast in accordance with NPS accessibility standards.

Sign bases should be constructed of materials that compliment the park’s landscape.

Sample Sign Type Menu with Consistent Styles Across All Tiers

Sampling of Existing Identity Signs in CAHA

Main Park Identity Signs - Existing

Examples of Existing Co-branded Identity Signs

Main park identity signs may continue to feature depictions of the seashore’s lighthouses but need to follow a consistent style based one of the standard NPS Identity sign layouts. These signs should all include the NPS arrowhead.

Main park identity signs should incorporate elements that represent the park’s cultural (such as a depiction of a lighthouse) and natural resources (such as an ocean wave motif).

Signs depicting co-branding or partnerships should use a consistent layout that is also consistent with the style of all other seashore Identity signs.

Consider the nature of the partnership when determining partner logo placement. A brief description of the partnership can be used to help visitors understand the relationship, as shown in the example. Other federal agency logos may appear in the sign overbar but non-federal partner logos cannot.

Main Park Identity Sign - Sample Concept

Example Adaptation of NPS Identity Sign Grid to Incorporate Partner Identity

The following areas may require co-branded signing: Pea Island Wildlife Refuge, Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, Airstrips (the park owns two, operated in partnership with NCDOT Department of Aviation, the U.S. Weather Bureau Station on Hatteras Island, and Avon Fishing Pier.

Motorist Guidance (MG) Signs

Signs leading drivers to the seashore should be based on standard MG sign grids. They should feature the NPS arrowhead (if allowed by NC DOT) and the full park name.

In order to set NPS destinations apart from other points of interest on the seashore’s 3 islands, it is recommended to utilize an overbar containing the park’s name and NPS arrowhead on all MG signs directing to seashore destinations, especially along NC Hwy 12. In some areas where NPS identity has been clearly established (such as after entering the clearly signed Cape Hatteras Lighthouse district) it may be beneficial to omit the overbar element to reduce sign size.

MG signs should identify to drivers when they are entering and leaving the seashore. The NPS has two

Visitor Information System (VIS) Signs

Visitor Information Signs are often located within park boundaries where NPS Identity has already been well established. For this reason, VIS signs generally do not include the park name and NPS arrowhead. They still must incorporate the other elements of NPS identity (fonts, overbars, standard symbols and layouts, etc.).

It is sometimes acceptable to include the arrowhead on VIS signs to confirm to visitors that they are in a national park or to lend authority to the message(s) displayed on signs. For example, VIS regulation signs at beach/sound access areas, temporary closure signs, and boundary signs at pedestrian entrances might benefit from the added authority of the arrowhead.

Highway Directional Sign Directional Sign with Park-specific NPS Identity Overbar Added Park Boundary Sign

Some important VIS signs may include the NPS Arrowhead.

standard layouts for such signs. The recommendation is to use the traditional MG park boundary layout that features a black overbar in order to be visually consistent with recommended MG signs.

Electronic signs are needed at the park’s main entrances to display messages for current conditions -ex: closures, emergency messages, etc.

Important: MG sign types will have to be approved by NCDOT before all signs are designed. Because the DOT has purview over the majority of the roadway within the seashore, their determinations on the style of Motorist Guidance signs will set the precedent for the type of roadway signs in the comprehensive plan.

“National Park Service” and “U.S. Department of the Interior” must appear alongside the arrowhead whenever it is used.

Colors

The NPS has standardized colors for all sign types, though there are instances where custom colors may be introduced. Identity signs may feature a custom color palette or use standard colors. Custom colors on VIS signs should be limited to elements that identify the park (ex: the site name might appear in a sign overbar that is a custom color) but otherwise only standard colors may be used.

Motorist guidance signs shall only use MUTCD standard colors plus a black overbar with white text if approved by the DOT.

Environment and Materials

Consider environmental conditions when selecting sign materials. Materials need to be able to withstand to the greatest degree possible salt spray, wind-driven sand, UV damage, and hurricane winds and flooding.

Avoid overly customized structures and expensive materials to allow ease of replacement.

All signs requiring footers shall be reviewed and stamped by an engineer licensed in North Carolina.

For simple post-mount signs, the park prefers to use pressure treated 4x4 wood posts to allow ease of replacement.

Plan, design, and locate signs with consideration to moving dunes. Signs that are low to the ground can more quickly be enveloped my shifting dunes. Ocean-side road shoulders are heavily impacted by blowing sand dunes on some stretches of road - locate signs accordingly.

The park’s 3 historic light stations, Bodie Island Light station, Cape Hatteras Light Station, and Ocracoke Light Station, are prime seashore destinations. Each lighthouse has an associated visitor center in its vicinity and scenic grounds open for public enjoyment.

Lighthouse districts should feature prominently on directional signing. Identity signs should convey the importance/prominence of these destinations and their NPS affiliation through inclusion of NPS graphic identity elements.

Lighthouse Districts

Lighthouse Climbing

Visitors can climb two of the three light houses Memorial day through Labor Day. Climbing is by ticket only. All tickets are reserved online.

Signs need to inform visitors how to purchase tickets (including a QR code to the correct page on recreation.gov) and when lighthouse climbing is available (seasons and hours). Wayfinding signs need to guide pedestrians to location where tours begin.

An informational sign with lighthouse climbing safety information is needed in the vicinity of the lighthouse, seasonally. Lighthouse climbing is strenuous. Lighthouse stairways can be hot, dark, and noisy. Review information presented online to those reserving tower climbing tickets and consider which safety messages should be duplicated on signs.

Lighthouse climbing is canceled or paused during extreme weather events and in emergency situations. Temporary signs should be available to make the public aware of such closures.

Bodie Island Lighthouse District

Improve pedestrian wayfinding with signs planned/designed to orient visitors to the available sites and activities at the Bodie Is-land Light Station. Signs at the perimeter of visitor parking areas should direct pedestrians to the various points of interest within the site including the lighthouse, visitor center, and wildlife obser-vation deck. Facility Identity signs should clearly label the primary destinations within the site.

Current signs rely on text only to convey messaging. Incorporate symbols wherever possible to visually represent lighthouse climbing conditions.

Example - Existing Sign Design

Signing for Cape Point is critical as it is a prime destination within the lighthouse district. However, access to the site requires an ORV permit or a long walk. Consider how to convey these conditions when Cape Point is listed on guide signs.

There are roughly 5 miles of beach road in the Cape Point area – mainly Inside Road and Bypass Road. Traffic control signs (stop, yield, etc.) and directional signs with road names may be needed to guide and orient ORV users.

Hatteras Island Lighthouse District

This area is described as “the heart of the park.” Major attractions include the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, a lifeguarded beach, Cape Point (a popular destination for ORV users), Cape Point Campground, hiking trails, a multi-use pathway (coming Fall 2023), a WWII British cemetery, pedestrian beach access, ORV beach access, and a picnic area.

Signs need to give drivers (and walkers/bikers once the multi use pathway is complete) a understanding that they are entering a park setting as they make the turn from NC 12. NPS Identity should be evident.

Motorist guidance signs within the lighthouse district need to effectively guide drivers to points of interest and help them find the exit when leaving.

A confirmation sign with distances to destinations is needed shortly after the turn off in Buxton.

Pedestrian guide signs near the lighthouse and visitors parking area should list and direct to each facility on the lighthouse grounds where a facility identity sign will confirm their arrival (lighthouse climbing/ viewing, visitor center, restrooms, museum, etc.)

Ocracoke Lighthouse and Ocracoke Island Discovery Center

The discovery center and lighthouse occupy two separate parcels of seashore property within Ocracoke Village’s residential area. This compact area requires thoughtful planning.

Signs need to welcome visitors to the site and clearly identify the lighthouse and discovery center areas as part of the seashore. Pedestrian and vehicular guide signs should connect the lighthouse and discovery center areas and orient and direct visitors to available attractions within the discovery center area (ferry, boat slips, boat ramp, parking, etc.)

Beach/Sound Access

VIS (Pedestrian) Sign Messaging

The seashore has numerous pedestrian access routes leading to the coastline. Facilities range from developed boardwalk areas with showers, restrooms, and changing rooms to simple road shoulder parking areas without amenities.

There are numerous existing regulatory signs for pedestrians accessing beach areas. Some messages are strictly use and regulatory related, while others relate to common courtesy. All combined, it is too much information for visitors to digest as they carry armloads of beach chairs or fishing tackle from their vehicle to the beach.

Document existing messaging and consider other information sources to make recommendations on which regulations and safety information are most important for pedestrians accessing the shoreline.

Example: Beach fire permits have the full list of fire regulations on the permit, therefore adding particulars about beach fire requirements to the sign, other than the fact that a permit is required, is unnecessary.

Reduce the overall amount of text and use symbols with brief bits of accompanying text to convey messages whenever possible. Courtesy message(s) that are non-regulatory need to be very brief so as not to keep people from reading the regulations.

Messages should be clear and brief, and convey only the most essential, site-specific information.

Example: beach access signs say “observe posted closures.” This message isn’t effective when/where there aren’t closures in place and isn’t likely to improve compliance. Information about closures should be posted at the actual closure site.

Most beach access areas have existing VIS signs in standard NPS VIS double upright sign bases. The right hand panel typically provides interpretive information while the left hand panel displays a map for orientation and beach safety information (including rip tide information). The scope of the comprehensive sign plan includes only the left side panel - the interpretive panels are not included.

VIS Sign Design

For the left hand panel, consider the purpose and audience of the orientation map and adjust the map extents and design accordingly. Provide clear headings and visual hierarchy by combining standard VIS panel designs into a single sign panel design. The recommendation is to introduce a standard list of regulations for beach/sound access areas onto these panels with additional small regulations-only panels located on single posts wherever trails exit parking areas.

Messages for pedestrians and drivers should be planned and designed according to their audiences’ needs and applicable NPS standards. Note that the park is no longer referring to these sites as “Day Use Areas.” Instead they are beach or sound access.

Existing Left Side of Double Upright Sign

Sample Compilation of Standard VIS Sign Layouts

Motorist Signs (Beach/Sound Access)

Current regulatory and safety signs intended to be read by drivers approaching beach access ramps convey too many messages to be effective. Information needs to be strategically grouped and located. Example: Speed limit information belongs on standard MUTCD speed limit signs rather than on signs listing regulations and permitting requirements.

Existing Beach Ramp Signs for Motorists Sample Designs

Consider what information is provided during the ORV permitting process (including the online video applicants must watch) and only duplicate the very most important messages on signs. Locate regulation signs beyond signs alerting drivers to permit requirements so that the permit requirement is more likely to be read and because regulations are not pertinent to anyone who will end up having to turn back because they do not have the required ORV permit.

Beach access ramps are identified by their ramp number. Existing Identity signs incorporate standard elements of NPS Identity with the ramp number large enough to be read from a distance but are not designed specifically for motorists.

The version of the stop sign in use does not conform to MUTCD standards for traffic regulatory devices.

Other methods should be employed to get driver attention.

Signs identifying ramps and conveying other ramp-use messages to drivers should be designed as motorist guidance signs. These signs can still convey NPS Identity as shown in this sample.

(Sample only, contractor to propose sign design.)

Lifeguarded Beaches

Campgrounds

There are 4 lifeguarded beaches on the seashore with lifeguards on duty Memorial Day through Labor Day. The park promotes lifeguarded beaches as the safest places to swim.

Consider ways to post messages seasonally about the safety of lifeguarded beaches to drivers. A sign near Walebone Junction might read “Lifeguarded Beaches are Safest for Swimmers. First lifeguarded Beach X miles.” And in the off season, the sign might read “Lifeguards not on duty. Practice good water safety.”

At the lifeguarded beaches themselves, visitors need safety and regulatory message tailored to seasonal situations (lifeguards on duty or no).

Plan messages for these sites with consideration to what information is relevant year-round and what messages are seasonal and develop a practical method for posting seasonal information.

The seashore has 4 campgrounds, two of which are open year round.

Visitors approaching campground entrances encounter a barrage of signs. The overall amount of messaging needs to be reduced. Visitors should encounter one sign at a time along the campground entrance roads. Locate messages in logical sequence.

Locate general messages where they are most pertinent to the visitor experience and in locations where they are most likely to be read.

Ex: ares of common use, like restroom/shower areas are good locations for signs with general campground regulations and courtesy messages.

Consider what information is available to visitors as they reserve a campsite online and what information is provided on printed site occupancy permits. Select only the most important messages related to common infractions and common visitor questions to include on signs.

Seven signs line the entrance to Oregon Inlet Campground.

Sample Existing Sign

Lifeguarded beaches need a standardized sign that can be used on all beaches on the Outer Banks, not just those within CAHA. Consider content of NPS and other beach signs when planning lifeguarded beach signs in order to propose a design and messaging that can serve as a universal sign.

Walebone Junction Whalebone Junction is the park’s northern gateway. Just beyond the park’s large main park identity sign there is a turn off to a small parking area, contact station staffed by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, restrooms, and a hiking trail.

The park’s existing main park entrance sign is missing critical elements of NPS Identity.

See previous section on NPS Identity and Sign Standards for recommendations.

Signs need to alert visitors beginning their drive down the seashore of conditions that will impact their plans. The DOT uses an electronic sign to alert drivers to the status of the Ocracoke ferry which is sometimes out of operation due to weather or rough seas. Other conditions impacting visitor decision making that should be signed include campground statuses, beach closures, and rip currents.

Visitors beginning the drive also need confirmation they’re on the right path. A motorist sign listing major destinations (limit to 4 or fewer) and their mileage is needed on NC 12 just after the contact station parking area.

Given the unique nature of the seashore and its legislative boundary (in many places the seashore is only the coastline up to the high tide mark), it is important to impart to visitors entering the park some understanding of the extent of the seashore that encourages stewardship. A potential message for such a sign might read “The next 75 miles of coastline are your national seashore.”

Visitors exiting the park at Whale Bone Junction should be provided information on distances to the other 2 NPS sites in the area, Fort Raleigh and Wright Brothers. A series of guide signs should direct all the way to those two sites’ entrances.

The following messages covered elsewhere in this document should be considered for signs in/near Whalebone Junction: rip currents, lifeguarded beaches.

Ferry Stations Ocracoke Island is connected to the mainland, Cape Lookout National Seashore, and Hatteras Island by ferry routes. The three ferry stations on the Seashore are operated by NCDOT. The DOT is responsible for all signing within the ferry station areas.

Signs at ferry station exits should welcome visitors to the Seashore and feature all major elements of NPS graphic identity. Site conditions and available space will factor into determining whether motorist signs or park identity signs or a combination of the two should fulfill this need.

Visitors departing ferry stations should be guided to the park’s primary destinations with motorist guide signs (at vehicle ferries) and pedestrian directional signs (for pedestrians exiting the ferry station in Silver Lake Harbor on Ocracoke Island).

In addition to the fishing center and its associated facilities (docks, boat ramps), there is a free public boat ramp and kayak launch area. These valuable public resources need adequate vehicular guide signs and should be clearly identified as an NPS facilities.

Oregon Inlet also has a campground -see recommendations for campgrounds elsewhere in this document.

Oregon Inlet Oregon inlet is a hub for recreational activity centered around fishing. Careful sign planning and design is required to introduce NPS Identity appropriately.

A private company operates the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center under a lease agreement with the NPS. A new facility for the fishing center is currently under construction (built by a private company on NPS property). Signs need to make this partnership relationship clear - visitors should understand they are visiting/recreating in the seashore but that the fishing center is operated by a non-government partner.

The NPS is responsible for signing all roads and vehicular access points in the area, including vehicular guide signs for fishing center parking and facilities and for a Coast Guard station which also occupies seashore property. The Coast Guard will continue to be responsible for their site’s identity signs and the NPS will continue collaborating with the coast guard for signing within the Oregon Inlet waterway itself.

A pier on the north end of Hatteras Island at Oregon Inlet has only been open since 2022. There are numerous signs at the entrance to the pier displaying regulations, etiquette, and best practices for marine life encounters. Messaging needs to be condensed so that an angler with arms loaded down with fishing tackle can ascertain the topics covered at a glance.

The pier’s primary purpose is for fishing, so in-depth fishing regulations may be appropriate. Conservation messages relating to sturgeon, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, and other wildlife should be posted. Reduce the overall amount of text for these existing conservation messages and look for ways to connect people to more information, ex: QR codes and phone numbers.

Existing signs may not reflect the most important regulations for this area. Example: there’s a no bikes sign, but people riding bikes on the pier is probably not as common a problem as people taking dogs on the pier. Base new messaging on the experiences of park staff who field visitor questions and witness infractions.

Sample of Existing Signs at Pier Entrance

Bonner Bridge Pier

U.S. Weather Bureau Station

The U.S. Weather Bureau Station in the village of Hatteras has a co-branded Identity sign which should be redesigned as described previously.

A blue sign on NC 12 directs towards information but there’s no sign confirming the weather station is the site where visitors can receive information.

Complete the “trail of breadcrumbs” by including the words “visitor Information” on a sign at the station, potentially on the identity sign.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

The museum is on NPS property. The cluttered, aged signs in the vicinity of the building need to be planned and redesigned as part of the comprehensive plan. Use of the NPS arrowhead and park name are not required here.

Pea Island Wildlife Refuge

Pea Island Wildlife Refuge is on the northern end of Hatteras Island is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The seashore’s comprehensive sign plan should include road signs at the refuge entrance and directional signs within the refuge parking area.

These signs should not contain the arrowhead or ovarbar but can otherwise follow NPS standards for motorist guidance signs. Pedestrian and Identity signs will be the responsibility of the Refuge.

Other Sites The following sites are included in this document because they have specific signing needs or recommendations. All areas within the seashore will be included in the planning of signs, even those not mentioned specifically in this document.