- Over the next couple weeks, crews will begin installing new wayfinding signage throughout Downtown Wake Forest.
- The signage is intended to help improve navigation for residents and visitors, fuel local economic development, encourage visitors to discover local attractions and community assets, and enhance the town’s overall identity and experience.
- The work will entail the installation of 19 vehicular directional signs, three gateway signs, 11 parking (directional and identification) signs and two pedestrian kiosks.
WAKE FOREST, NC – Over the next couple weeks, crews from Ritelite Signs, Inc. will begin installing new wayfinding signage throughout Downtown Wake Forest. The initiative will mark the implementation of the first phase of the Town’s comprehensive Wayfinding Plan.
The custom signs, designed by Town consultant, MERJE, in collaboration with Town staff and Wake Forest community members, are intended to help improve navigation for residents and visitors, fuel local economic development, encourage visitors to discover local attractions and community assets, and enhance the town’s overall identity and experience.
Phase one of the wayfinding plan will entail the installation of 19 vehicular directional signs, three gateway signs, 11 parking (directional and identification) signs and two pedestrian kiosks. The kiosks will feature a large map of downtown (designed by Graphics Manager Bess Martinson) that highlights important public facilities in the downtown area, including Town Hall, Northern Regional Center, Chamber of Commerce, Post Office, and Library, along with parks and greenways, such as Holding Park, Kiwanis Park and Greenway, and Miller Park and Greenway. The total cost of phase one, including signage and kiosk production and installation, is $400,000.
Scheduled to begin in late 2026, phase two of the initiative will involve the installation of wayfinding signage beyond downtown. The third and final phase, scheduled for 2027, will include the construction and installation of gateway signage at prominent entrances to Town.
This project began in 2022. Following a Request for Proposals, Wake Forest identified and selected MERJE (West Chester, PA) to develop its Wayfinding Plan. MERJE is a nationally recognized design firm with specific expertise in Community Wayfinding. The company has worked with more than 90 communities of all sizes and aspirations in the development of similar wayfinding programs, including Asheville, Durham, Cary, and Greenville – to name a few.