New Tourism plan features new community signage and Indigenous imprint for Prince Rupert area

Concept options from Tourism Prince Rupert for new
Welcome to Prince Rupert signs for the Highway 16 access points 
from Terrace and the BC Ferry Terminal

There soon will be no doubt where you are, or how to get where you want to be with an ambitious program of sign placement set to come for the Prince Rupert area.

Tourism Prince Rupert outlined their plans yesterday with an information release that points the way to signage placement for the community, which will start with  new welcome signs to be installed at each main entrance to the community: at the Highway 16 entrance from Terrace and at the Highway 16 entrance from the BC Ferries terminal.  

Following that, new wayfinding and informational signage will be installed throughout the downtown and main tourism areas.

Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director of Tourism Prince Rupert outlines the focus for the project which has been in the works for much of the last year.

This destination development project has multiple goals. First, we aim to improve visitor perception upon entry and exit into the community with the installation of vibrant new “Welcome to Prince Rupert” signage. The installation of new welcome signs at all official entrances to Prince Rupert will not only signal to visitors that we are a vibrant, welcoming community, but also that key economic investments are taking place here and that Prince Rupert is entering a new decade of transformational change. 

The new welcome signs will also include a welcoming message in Sm’algyax, as well artwork by local artist Russell Mather.

We also aim to help both locals and visitors more easily locate key retail, dining, hospitality, and outdoor adventure business and attractions in the downtown core, an issue long identified by local tourism businesses and visitors alike, by installing colourful new wayfinding signage featuring artwork from local artists in key downtown districts and along the Cow Bay waterfront. 

This new wayfinding signage will pick up on the design of the new welcome signs to help visitors find key attractions throughout Prince Rupert, providing detailed information and map illustrations noting distances and other important information. The new wayfinding signage will not only help Prince Rupert’s visitors arriving by air, road, and rail to better navigate the community, but it will also have a particularly strong emphasis for the cruise economy, which has suffered immensely through the COVID-19 pandemic, by improving cruise visitors’ ability to navigate the community.

The launch of the signage program comes as local business and tourism operators come out of two years of COVID restrictions and the impact of the coronavirus on their operations.

The initiative will serve to help with the recovery efforts for the tourism sector, while building on the City of Prince Rupert's vision making planning of recent years.

Potential locations for way finding signs around Prince Rupert

Mr. Mather is not the only artist to share his talents with Tourism Prince Rupert for the initiative, with more talented artists to work with the signage for the newly named districts through the Prince Rupert 2030 Vision planning to find placement across the city.

Those districts will gain way finding  markers through the work of Chris Fraser, Roddy Tasaka, Lucy Trimble, and Kristen McKay. 

The wayfinding signage will be divided into four new city districts, as identified in the Prince Rupert 2030 Vision, with artwork for each district to be provided by a different local artist, creating a distinct identity and sense of place for each district.  

Ms. Marlow shared Tourism Prince Rupert's enthusiasm at the opportunity to work with and showcase the talents of local artist on the project. 

“We are thrilled to unveil the work we have been doing with local partners and a group of talented artists to install new community welcome & wayfinding signage throughout Prince Rupert. This has been a long-desired project for Tourism Prince Rupert, and I’m particularly proud to have the opportunity to showcase the work of diverse local artists, as well as to work with the Tsimshian Sm’algyax Language Authority to include a Sm’algyax welcome message on the new signage.” - Ceilidh Marlow, Executive Director, Tourism Prince Rupert

Tourism Prince Rupert secured funding for the wayfinding project through the Province of British Columbia’s Community Economic Infrastructure Incentive Program (CERIP), bolstered by funds from Tourism Prince Rupert Society.

You can explore more of the planning ahead and offer your opinion on the concepts provided through this link to the Tourism Prince Rupert website. 

The information package takes you on a tour of the program's creation and what's to come in the months ahead.

Tourism Prince Rupert is welcoming community feedback, through their public comment period which will wrap up on April 18th. The feedback forum is available at the bottom of their presentation page.

Ms. Marlow delivered a presentation to  Prince Rupert City Council on Monday evening, you will be able to take that in once the Monday March 28th session is posted to the City of Prince Rupert YouTube channel.

More notes on Tourism on the North Coast can be explored here.