Columbia updates trail wayfinding, maps, trail guides for extensive local trails system

Columbia, Missouri, recently announced the addition of mile markers to nine trails, part of a wayfinding system for the extensive local trail system that also includes updates to the trail guides and bicycling maps for the area. The city's press release has details about the project:

Mile marker on Columbia's Bear Creek Trail

Installation of mile markers on local multi-use destination trails has been completed by Columbia Parks and Recreation staff. The trailside mile markers were installed along 26 miles of trails at quarter-mile intervals.  The new mile markers were installed on the Bear Creek Trail, County House Trail, Scott's Branch Trail, Hinkson Creek Trail, MU Rec Trail, South Providence Trail, Hominy Creek Trail, Grindstone Creek Trail and City and County portions of the MKT Trail.

The City of Columbia, Boone County and the University of Missouri share management of local trails, and the new mile markers are designed for trail users to identify the appropriate agency to contact for necessary maintenance work such as a fallen tree or trail washout.  The frequency of the new mile markers will provide trail users with a more accurate means to identify their location as well as enhance the user experience in regards to measuring distance.  Additionally, first responders will have access to GIS data to expedite response time for emergency situations that occur along the trail system. The new mile markers offer a color-coded system that corresponds with the graphic design of a new Columbia Trail Guide.  The guide is available at all Parks and Recreation facilities.

The federal grant also provided funding for design and printing of the Columbia Trail Guide and large-scale maps for select trailhead kiosks.

Wayfinding is an oft-overlooked element of trail systems. Wayfinding is just as important for trail systems as it is for road systems or any other transportation system.

We would dream of installing a road system without street signs at every intersection and directional signs in key locations. Yet we install miles of complex trails systems without a wayfinding or location sign anywhere.
Wayfinding is vital to attract new and novice users and is essential for tourists and visitors to the area.

And best of all, wayfinding is extremely inexpensive--just a infinitesimally small part of the total cost of the trails.

More Missouri communities should follow Columbia's lead and include thorough mapping, wayfinding, and mile markers on their trail systems.

KOMU talked to local trail users about the new wayfinding signs:

Jacqui Jamieson lives near the trails, and she said she is thrilled with the new markers.

“I think it’s great. I like to walk on the trail, I like to run on the trail so it’s nice to know how far you’ve gone before you have to turn around and go back. So yeah, I think it’s a great addition to the city,” said Jamieson.

Another resident said he is pleased with the markers, but probably won’t use them often.

“There was a time in my life I would have been referencing the markers. Now, I’m just glad to be able to walk from one to the other,” said Wayne Fields.

The markers will not only assist those using the trails for recreational purposes, but will also serve as a resource for first responders when emergency situations occur on the trails.