PRM points Edinburgh and Leith in the right direction

A £250 000 signage and orientation project for Edinburgh city centre, created by PRM, is scheduled to be implemented in Leith, a few miles north of Edinburgh.

The consultancy started a feasibility study and research programme for Leith at the end of last week, the results of which are due before Christmas. The project is for an as-yet unconfirmed fee.

The Edinburgh city centre navigation system is designed to help pedestrians find their way around the city centre. It incorporates pocket maps, free-standing display units and bus shelter information displays.

The Leith scheme is expected to incorporate elements of the Edinburgh system as well as introduce descriptive, ‘interpretative’ signage to explain the history behind buildings and landmarks.

‘Leith will run on the same principles as Edinburgh but on a smaller scale,’ says PRM managing director Peter McGrail. Signage will be more descriptive as Leith is a less well-known city, he adds.

McGrail hopes that the pocket maps, in particular, will ultimately become guides of choice by hotels and selected by tourist attractions in both cities.

The Edinburgh scheme, which launched at the end of October, took about two years to complete. The signage units face south to provide a consistent vantage point and incorporate signs for navigating road junctions and a city centre map with colour-coded zoning.

The feasibility study will be undertaken among visitors to Leith. After the results are published, PRM will make recommendations to its client, Leith Strategic Framework.

Several English cities and another Scottish one have expressed an interest in the Edinburgh orientation system, McGrail claims.

PRM won the Edinburgh work in 1999 after a pitch against five orientation specialists, he adds.