New wayfinding signs planned for downtown Wilmington to help visitors navigate, support local businesses

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY)– Downtown Wilmington is a popular destination for both locals and tourists, but some visitors say finding their way around can be a little confusing. The city is looking at a new plant to make it easier to navigate downtown, while also helping more people discover local shops, restaurants, and attractions.

Getting lost in downtown Wilmington may soon become a thing of the past. While walking through downtown, WWAY asked visitors if they had any trouble finding their destinations.

“Yes,” one visitor said when asked if they got lost. “Yeah, for sure. We’ve been dealing with that all day. All day, trying to find stores and stuff. It’s been pretty difficult,” they said.

Some noticed a lack of directional signs.

“I’m realizing there’s really not any signs,” on person said.

The City of Wilmington hopes to change that. During a recent City Council meeting, The Downtown Gateway and Wayfinding Plan was unveiled, a proposal that includes new gateway signs, directional signs, updated map kiosks and Riverwalk totems designed to make it easier for residents and visitors to navigate downtown.

Kim Hufham, president and CEO of the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the project is about more than simply helping people find their way. It’s also designed to connect visitors with businesses and attractions they may otherwise miss.

“If you don’t know the area, you could be on the Riverwalk and not realize that one or two blocks away are shops and restaurants,” Hufham said. “And vice versa, you could be downtown and not even realize the Riverwalk is right there.”

The first phase of the project will include gateway signs welcoming visitors into downtown and additional wayfinding signage in key locations. Future phases could expand the system with more pedestrian signs, parking guidance and additional downtown wayfinding features as funding becomes available.

Hufham said the new signs will also encourage people to explore more of downtown by directing them to shops, restaurants, tours and attractions.

“We wanted to have something that really could help with the traffic flow,” Hufham said. “When you’re on the Riverwalk, you have some signage that says, ‘Go this way for shops, go this way for restaurants, go this way for tours and attractions.'”

The first phase of the new wayfinding system is set to be installed by fall.