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More than one Confusion Corner in Winnipeg?
The city has hired an expert in tourism signs and maps to help solve the puzzle downtown Winnipeg presents to visitors.

Bob Firth runs Informing Design Inc., a Pennsylvania company that advises cities about how to make it easier for people to get around. He has spent the last few days trying to find his way around Winnipeg.

"You have a big problem here," he says. For example, regarding The Forks national historical site – Winnipeg's top tourist attraction – Firth says if you didn't know it was there, you'd have a tough time finding it.

"People are walking or driving on streets and they need to see signs facing them ahead of a turn," he says. "You need advance warning and you need the confidence that you're going to have that advanced warning for people to really be able to 'see' these things."

Firth also complains that the route numbers on signs are confusing and mean nothing, and he says there are no signs at all telling visitors how to get to some destinations. He says the city is a "blank canvas" for pedestrians, and while there are 30,000 parking spots in the downtown area, most signs indicating the location of parking are in the wrong position or are illegible.

Firth pictures 3D maps at bus stops and colour-coded signs to tell people when they're getting close to an attraction. "We're going to make it a lot more fun for visitors and simpler from a traffic perspective."

He says tourists aren't the only ones who benefit from better signs; when signage changed in Pittsburgh, he says the city's residents started to explore more of the city.

Firth expects to have his initial report on traffic signs completed this fall. The city is spending almost $250,000 this year to deal with the sign issues.