ScopeOfWork Wayfinding WP.pdf

Scope of Work for Wayfinding at William Powers State Recreation Area

Introduction The Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Coastal Management Program (IDNR-CMP) is working with the Illinois Conservation Foundation (ICF) on a grant-funded project for overall site improvements and amenities at William Powers State Recreational Area (Wm Powers), located on the south side of Chicago. IDNR-CMP committed to providing several required components of the overall project. This scope of work is specifically for the Wayfinding component, which will be pilot implementation of a regional Calumet wayfinding system developed by the Calumet Collaborative and a suite of regional partner organizations.

IDNR-CMP is seeking contractual services to design, plan and produce a Wayfinding system including locational, directional, and interpretive signs at William Powers State Recreation Area. This system must also connect to the broader Calumet region branding, interconnection, and messaging, using IDNR signage standards where relevant.

Background William W. Powers State Recreation Area, located on the south side of Chicago in the Calumet region, attracts a half million visitors annually and is Illinois’ gateway to Wolf Lake. The site is often characterized as a “diamond in the rough” and “hidden gem.” Until recently, its impressive natural assets have been often overshadowed by declining aesthetics and operations. After a stakeholder-driven planning process to identify priority park enhancements, ICF, in cooperation with IDNR-CMP, applied for and received a grant to implement some of those enhancements. The Wolf Lake Public-use Enhancement Project includes a number of components including a fishing pier, public kayak and canoe launch, bike racks and bike repair station, outdoor classroom, public bathroom access/improvements, pollinator habitat, and wayfinding throughout the park.

IDNR-CMP is leading the implementation of the wayfinding component because of our familiarity and involvement in the broader regional initiative for wayfinding and branding in the Calumet. IDNR-CMP had volunteered Wm. Powers to be a pilot site for the Calumet Wayfinding Initiative several years ago.

Since then, the Calumet Collaborative has led a more detailed community and stakeholder-driven process to develop a wayfinding and branding strategy for the entire Calumet Heritage Area, highlighting sites of biodiversity and community significance. This Scope of Work will outline the pilot wayfinding system at Wm Powers, launching the Calumet’s groundbreaking, high-quality, regionally relevant wayfinding system. This project will implement the Calumet regional wayfinding concepts at the site level to provide wayfinding and interpretive signs throughout the park and connections to other Calumet sites and larger regional themes.

Scope of Work Project Goal: To implement a site-level Wayfinding system at Wm Powers that includes locational, directional, and interpretive signs that incorporates the goals and principles of the Calumet Regional Wayfinding and Branding Initiative.

To fulfill our commitment, IDNR-CMP is seeking contractual services to design, plan, and produce locational, directional, and interpretive signs at William Powers State Recreation Area. This project includes determining overall site signage needs, identifying signage locations and layouts, providing graphic design, purchasing art reproduction rights, selecting signage substrate materials, and printing all final signs. This wayfinding component of the Wolf Lake Public-use Enhancement Project is a critical part of the overall project because park users have expressed frustration in the difficulty navigating the park.

In response to the improvements park users requested for William Powers State Recreation Area, the wayfinding system will include: 1) wayfinding system along the existing pedestrian and bike trail and park road; 2) improved signage for entrance area, Visitor Center, and other strategic locations; and 3) outdoor interpretive panels and educational media.

William Powers was identified as a foundational site for a Calumet Regional Wayfinding Initiative. This initiative is much more than a simple signage plan. The Wayfinding Initiative is a comprehensive set of strategies for unifying and culturally branding the region to celebrate and promote its unique history and natural features. The Calumet Collaborative, a regional non-profit organization, has been leading the effort and IDNR has been a part of the genesis and development of the wayfinding initiative. William Powers will be the first site in the region to fully implement these wayfinding strategies. The goal of this regional wayfinding initiative is to create a unified and connected region in a very fragmented and disconnected area. This entails strategic placemaking, connecting individual sites within the context of the region, and conveying regional stories through examples at individual sites. Using this unified framework for regional connectivity and storytelling will build community identity within the region by increasing awareness and appreciation of national significance of the rich and diverse natural, social and cultural history.

This project will entail extensive coordination with the Calumet Collaborative and other regional partners in addition to IDNR staff in order to provide the nuanced and connected content and placemaking needs for both Wm Powers and the Calumet Region.

The first phase of this project will include a kick-off meeting and follow-up meetings between the contractor and IDNR Coastal Management staff to discuss the sign design timeline, identify partners, and select the types of signs that will be designed. Potential signs and design elements have already been identified through the work of Calumet Collaborative on wayfinding for the Calumet Heritage Area and will be implemented through this project. The desired types of signs and number, where known, identified for the wayfinding project include: (1) Entrance monument, (1) Building identification: park visitors center; and directional and interpretive signs in key park locations. Additional directional and interpretive signs may include traditional, mounted interpretive signs, specialty site identity/placemaking signs, vehicular, bike & pedestrian directional signs, events kiosk with site map, amenity identification and/or regulatory signs. Sign numbers and placement will be determined by the overall site plan, the outcome of meetings during this contract, and constraints of the contract budget.

For proposed location of signs, see: map of William Powers State Recreation Area, included at the end of this document.

During the second phase, the contractor will solicit design content input through meetings with IDNR staff and partners identified through IDNR Coastal Management staff. The contractor will create signs that incorporate the Calumet Heritage Area brand with regionally specific interpretive content about site natural areas, history, and amenities as appropriate in the area of Wolf Lake, its adjacent lands, and its neighboring waterways and wetlands. The contractor will solicit feedback from IDNR, the Calumet Collaborative (CC), and other partners and incorporate changes as needed. The contractor will design a signage system, a toolkit of sign types and standards, based on the CC and IDNR design requirements.

The contractor will provide designs of signs and text content to IDNR Coastal Management staff and partners for final comment and approval by IDNR staff.

In the final phase, the contractor will coordinate printing/manufacturing of the signs and sign components and deliver completed signs to the site. In this phase, the contractor will provide full size paper prints of all interpretive panels, for IDNR review. Prior to this final production, contractor will secure all art reproduction rights for images used on the interpretive panels. All final art files will become the property of IDNR. The contractor is not responsible for installation of the signs. Signs will be installed by Wm Powers park staff or volunteers.

Schedule:

The overall project must be completed by November 2021. Exact schedule will be determined by the timing of contract execution and coordination with overall site plan development and construction contractors and volunteers. Signs must be ready for installation by mid-2021 in coordination with construction contract and volunteer timing, which should be determined by early 2021.

Deliverables:

William W. Powers Wayfinding - Wolf Lake Public-use Enhancement Project will include the following types of signs:

Qty. of Signs Type of Sign 1 Entrance Monument 1 Building Identification: Park Visitor’s Center

TBD Interpretive Signage TBD Specialty Site Identity/Placemaking TBD Vehicular Directional TBD Bike & Pedestrian Directional

1 Events Kiosk/Map TBD Amenity Identification/Regulatory