City of Ballarat has implemented a suite of Civiq wayfinding signage and drinking water stations around the Lake Wendouree parklands.
Lake Wendouree, located in the centre of City of Ballarat, is home to a number of outdoor recreational facilities including jogging tracks, cycling trails, botanical gardens, picnic spaces and indigenous heritage grounds.
With an array of facilities spread out over a number of precincts, a comprehensive wayfinding strategy was integral to making these accessible and easy to navigate. A robust signage system that could guide users to places of interest was key to achieving this.
In addition to wayfinding, the council also wanted to provide accessible drinking water amenities in convenient locations along the foreshore.
The council teamed up with Civiq to achieve both of these objectives.
For the wayfinding signage component of the projects, precinct managers adopted Civiq’s signature FlexiSign system.
The FlexiSign modular totem is engineered using structural marine-grade aluminium and stainless steel for superior performance in outdoor locations, with minimal maintenance required.
The signage system is available in eight different profiles which can be customised and any length or height. City of Ballarat Council chose three variations of the FlexiSign range configured as vertical totems at 310, 440 and 770mm widths.
In addition, the precinct also features the Aquafil FlexiFountain 2100BF drinking fountain and bottle refill station, also including a 310mm-wide signage podium. The water station podium artwork features the same wayfinding graphics as the FlexiSign units.
The drinking water station component of the project involved working with Central Highlands Water and the ‘Choose Tap’ initiative driven by Yarra Valley Water.
The Choose Tap program aims to decrease single-use plastic bottle waste by educating the public about making smart water choices and the benefits of choosing tap water over pre-packaged products.
Jeremey Johnson, Chair of Central Highlands Water, explains, “The Aquafil drinking water fountains feature bottle refill dispensers, a wheelchair accessible dispenser and a dog drinking bowl, and in turn promote the benefits of drinking tap water as part of a healthy lifestyle and as a positive alternative to bottled water”.
The Lake Wendouree precinct now has a stylish wayfinding solution that combines signage and drinking water products with a consistent visual look.
Park visitors have prominent signage to guide them through the elegant landscape, with drinking fountains available to ensure that they are kept hydrating when exploring the tracks, or simply enjoying a picnic.
Civiq Product Manager, Adrian Wilson, believes the fusion between the two products is a great way for councils to improve amenities in their community space.
“A consistent design language is achieved by specifying the FlexiSign and FlexiFountain together like this – it really enhances the ambience of the park” he says.
“This system allows councils to convey public messages, user instructions and wayfinding graphics on the water stations themselves, which has proven to be an extremely useful and popular design feature”.
