Pedestrian sign system
The first major project of the Bristol Legible City initiative is the signing system for pedestrians in Bristol City Centre, funded by Bristol City Council and Adshel. The most comprehensive system in Europe, it has been designed specifically to encourage walking and to aid wayfinding in a complex city centre environment.

It consists of direction signs and monolith shaped map panels to aid people's understanding of the city centre. In total there are nearly 40 monolith panels and 60 direction signs, with over 700 fingers.

The monolith panels help the user identify where they are and help them plan their journey through a combination of text and map information. Each panel is double sided, with the same type of information repeated on each face, but orientated towards the direction in which you are looking. The panels are titled by the name of the street and which neighbourhood the user is in.

The maps have innovative features forming a comprehensive mapping system. Two types of map are provided – a diagrammatic map of the city centre and a more detailed ‘heads-up’ map of the immediate area. The diagrammatic map shows the principal city centre neighbourhoods and the main attractions.

The focus and location of the system has been designed around the development of a primary pedestrian route network, termed the ‘Blue Route’, this links the main city centre neighbourhood areas together. The monolith panels are located at car parks, other points of arrival and at major junctions and spaces throughout the city centre. Direction signs are interspersed with the monolith panels, at minor junctions, to provide continuity.

The system was introduced in Spring 2001. Additional signs have been added in Summer 2002 and the system is being extended into Clifton during 2003. The system is managed by Bristol City Council and is maintained on an ongoing basis by Adshel.