< PreviousCASCADE LOOP SCENIC BYWAY 4. Sustainable Destination Development 120 Promoting Sustainable Travel and Geotourism Saddle Rock trail system and view overlooking the Wenatchee Valley GEOTOURISM, GREEN TOURISM, SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, ECOTOURISM, ECOLOGICAL TOURISM Regardless of the terms used—reflects the principles of sustainability and environmental consciousness that are becoming increasingly important. Tourism that sustains and enhances the geographic character and ecological balance of a place including its environment, character, culture, aesthetics, heritage, and the well-being of local residents, is essential. Some of the key geotourism opportunities that exist along the Cascade Loop include: ECOTOURISM— Focused on responsible and low-impact travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, ecotourism appeals to ecologically and socially conscious travelers through opportunities to be involved in conservation and environmentally- friendly activities. Ecotourists are often encouraged to volunteer and/or provide funds to benefit local ecological and preservation initiatives. One of the common goals of ecotourism is to offer insight into the impact of human beings on the environment and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats. Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment through promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local communities. Local best practices being implemented around the Cascade Loop include responsible wildlife watching, low impact camping and hiking (pack-it-in/pack-it-out), and the presence of onsite information about resource protection. North Cascades Environmental Learning Center offers a variety of programs centered around this focus.4. Sustainable Destination Development CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 121 AGRITOURISM— Another dimension of geotourism, agritourism involves bringing visitors to farms, orchards, vineyards, ranches, and other agricultural and rural destinations for an authentic and educational experience. Agritourism has different definitions in different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays (as in Italy). Elsewhere, agritourism includes a wide variety of activities, including buying produce direct from a farm stand, navigating a corn maze, picking fruit, feeding animals, staying at a bed and breakfast on a farm, or enjoying farm-to-table products. Agritourism is widespread in America, and many areas around the Cascade Loop offer an attractive setting for agritourism enthusiasts. Agritourists can choose from a wide range of activities that include picking fruits, visiting and lending a hand at different types of orchards, farms and ranches, riding horses, learning about wine and brewing, cheesemaking, attending culinary symposiums, and shopping in farm gift shops and at farm stands for local and regional produce or hand-crafted gifts. VOLUNTOURISM— Volunteer travel and vacations are voluntourism activities that involve volunteering for a charitable cause as part of a travel experience. Types of volunteer vacations are diverse, from low-skill work cleaning up local wildlife areas to high-skill work providing professional services. Voluntourism participants are diverse, but they typically share a desire to “do something good” while also experiencing new places and challenges. Visitors are becoming more interested in volunteer activities as part of the experience of their vacation. Around the Cascade Loop visitors and residents can get involved in a variety of work for federal land managers (US Forest Service and National Park Service), state parks, land trusts and local communities, such as: Clean up and litter removal, Revegetation and native planting projects, Trail building and maintenance, Rehabilitation of cultural landscapes and historic structures, and Other ecological and stewardship activities. Apple orchard near Chelan at harvest timeCASCADE LOOP SCENIC BYWAY 4. Sustainable Destination Development 122 Effectively Communicating Information to Visitors Effectively communicating information to visitors and guiding them in their travel are essential to a successful scenic byway experience. Engaging visitors starts by helping them identify and navigate the byway. Visitors need to be able to clearly understand where they are at all times. Signing and wayshowing and wayfinding improvements along the byway can help in addressing the following questions: How do visitors find the byway? Where does the byway begin and end? How much time should be allotted for travel along the byway? Where should visitors turn to stay on the byway? How do visitors know they are still on the byway? What are the special places (intrinsic qualities and attractions) and where are they located? Where should visitors stay, eat, learn, have fun, and shop? Where can they find services they might need (restrooms, auto repair, information, etc.)? Where are visitors when visiting the special places or community hubs along the byway (in what region)? What is the best direction to travel the Cascade Loop? (Counterclockwise is recommended for maximum scenic experiences.) Signing along the byway should communicate information to travelers while avoiding negatively impacting the scenic values of the corridor. Signs serve many different functions—they identify, inform, warn, advertise, direct, describe, and explain. Expanding and improving signing will reinforce the byway brand identity and help visitors navigate their way throughout all regions of the byway corridor. Continuing to execute a unified signing approach will: Maintain the byway’s scenic character by minimizing visual intrusion Reinforce the byway brand identity Help travelers find their way along the byway Signs will continue to be carefully designed and installed in accordance with all applicable requirements to avoid creating hazards to drivers and bicyclists. Unnecessary, superfluous, and redundant signs will be avoided. Regulatory Signing The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is the universal reference for regulatory signs along highways and roadways in the United States. Because of their importance to traveler safety, regulatory signs must meet specific design standards in the MUTCD as well as other applicable state requirements. Regulatory signs that serve a safety purpose are already controlled by MUTCD so this section of the corridor management plan does not address these types of signs. Rather, the focus of the guidance in this plan is on the types of signs and wayshowing elements that are discretionary in guiding travelers. Expanding and Improving Signing and Visitor Wayshowing and Wayfinding Washington State DOT Role: Signage & Wayshowing Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) manages the sign program along the state highway routes that make up the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway as well as other routes in Washington. This ensures that travelers receive the visual cues they need without adding redundancy and too much detail. Traveler safety is a principal concern. WSDOT provides specific guidance for scenic byways in the document Scenic Byway Logo Signing Guidelines, developed in 2007. Excerpts of this guidance are included in this chapter. The Cascade Loop Association communicated directly with the WSDOT office when developing its initial signage program resulting from the first edition of the CMP. Any requests for additional signs or for adding information to existing signs will be submitted through WSDOT and the agency’s signing specialists will work with byway representatives to implement continued signing and wayshowing programs for the Cascade Loop.4. Sustainable Destination Development CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 123 The Difference between Wayfinding and Wayshowing Wayshowing and wayfinding are terms used in scenic byway planning and management. WAYFINDING is the process byway travelers go through that turns their goals into decisions, actions, and behaviors. It is the act of navigating the byway and continuously solving problems under uncertainty. The focus is on the byway travelers/visitors and what they are doing. WAYSHOWING is the communication of information, intentionally implemented by byway managers to aid travelers in setting desired goals, making decisions and taking appropriate actions as part of navigating their trip along the byway. The focus is on the byway hosts and what they are doing to help byway travelers. Effective Byway Guidance Focusing on the en-route and on-site stage of the trip, an effective byway guidance system should include: Entrances, exits, and gateways Orientation stops Repetitive route markers Directions to planned stops Portable byway maps/ travel guides In addition, there are a variety of technologies that are carried in automobiles or hand- held by visitors that are now commonly used as travel guides. These include GPS systems, smart phones and navigation programs, satellite radio, and other technologies. Travelers are becoming more likely to carry pad-format computers and laptops on their journeys, where they can access travel information, podcasts and stories about places, and other tools. However, it’s important to note that not all travelers have access to these tools, and until they are universally available, it will continue to be important to provide a basic level of guidance and information to them via signs along the byway and portable maps and brochures. The Cascade Loop’s traveler guidebook is a great tool for this purpose. Cascade Loop Signing & Wayshowing Since the first iteration of the Cascade Loop CMP, the organization has removed out of date signage in Regions 3, 4, 5, and 6 that was in poor condition and/or bearing out of date branding. It was replaced with eighty new repetitive route markers (sometimes referred to as trailblazer signs) with several of these providing directional assistance to the byway. Four large-scale gateway signs were also installed. All were designed in accordance and partnership with the Washington State DOT and the organization’s wayshowing and signing plan. Pre-trip Guidance The Cascade Loop website cascadeloop.com along with the printed travel guide provide a wealth of information to visitors as they plan and prepare for their trip. Cascade Loop Association staff respond to traveler pre-trip inquiries and recommends trip itineraries in addition to mailing the printed travel guides to those who request them paying the full postage cost. All of this pre-trip guidance is critical in helping visitors enjoy their experience. En-route and On-Site Guidance As travelers make their way to the byway and while traveling along the Cascade Loop, there are a variety of sign types that can guide them: SUPPLEMENTAL REPETITIVE ROUTE MARKERS— Additional repetitive route marker signs are needed to direct travelers to the official routes of the byway. These signs have already been designed in compliance with WSDOT requirements and simply need funding to support the fabrication and installation of additional units. GATEWAYS (BYWAY ENTRANCE SIGNS OR MONUMENTS)— The Cascade Loop Association has worked with WSDOT to design and install four format gateway signs located at key orientation hubs along the byway. Additional signs are needed at major transition points between routes. Gateway signs are consistent in design across the entire byway and recognizable as being part of the Cascade Loop. The possibility of installing gateway monuments will be explored in the future once adequate gateway signage is installed and completed. Monuments should be designed to blend with the setting where they are located using a context sensitive design approach. Examples of gateway signing, repetitive route markers and supplemental signing will follow the WSDOT Scenic Byway Logo Design Guidelines shown on the following pages. Cascade Loop printed Travel Guides/mapsCASCADE LOOP SCENIC BYWAY 4. Sustainable Destination Development 124 Byway logo signs consist of the byway logo fabricated as a sign and affixed to a standard post sign. The sign may be accompanied by other directional signs affixed to the same post. The minimum suggested size for the sign is 24 inches by 24 inches per WSDOT byway sign design guidelines (unless route marker signs are the smaller 18 inches by 18 inches along the specific route, in which case the byway logo sign should match that size). Logo signs should be reflectorized for night visibility. The signs should be installed along the edges of the roadways of the byway, similarly to other directional signs. For the marine route between Clinton and Mukilteo, it may be possible to display the byway logo sign onboard the ferries in cooperation with Washington State Ferries. Also in accordance with WSDOT scenic byway sign standards, the logo sign should be placed along the byway at intervals of about 5 to 10 miles. Where possible, logo signs can be added to existing sign posts that already hold a directional sign. Consolidating signs along the byway will help to minimize visual intrusion. In addition to the logo sign/route markers along the byways, it is also advisable to provide directional signing on roadways leading up to the byway (upon approach to the junction with the byway). These scenic byway route marker signs with arrows alert travelers that they are approaching the byway and that they should turn at the junction to follow the byway route. ADVANCE WARNING SIGNS AND DIRECTIONAL SIGNS TO SPECIAL PLACES AND ORIENTATION HUBS— These signs direct and orient visitors to their destinations along the land routes of the byway, assisting with wayshowing and identifying points of interest located along the byway or off the main route. (For example, side trip routes can be signed through directional signing placed on the byway in advance of the turn off points). Directional signs identify recreational opportunities, visitor services and facilities, cultural and historic sites, and other destinations and attractions along the byway, such as parks and museums. Directional signs can be installed in advance of byway information/orientation hubs and key sites along the land routes of the byway. Brown and white recreational signs (and blue and white traveler information signs) are included in this category. These signs are typically placed in advance of sites and sometimes include a reference to the distance to the point of interest (i.e. “Heritage Marker - 1/4 mile ahead” with an arrow). In addition to the gateway signs installed upon approach to the byway, providing Cascade Loop Scenic Byway information at regional transportation hubs such as airports, ferry terminals, and visitor information centers in major metropolitan areas is important since these locations are also major portals to the byway. ORIENTATION HUBS WITH KIOSKS— Orientation hubs are the places that visitors expect to find information while en-route or on-site as part of their trip, as well as the places that byway providers offer information to travelers. Orientation hubs should be easily recognizable, easy to find, and located with enough frequency that byway travelers can re-orient themselves along their route. It is common for information kiosks to be located at byway orientation hubs and for these hubs to be located in communities and activity centers along the byway. Orientation hubs should have a distinctive, recognizable and attractive byway kiosk if space permits. The byway logo should be included on the kiosk, along with an enlarged scale map of the region. The kiosks should also be designed to display additional visitor information and interpretation pertaining to the region and specific site. Byway travelers should be able to view the kiosks and learn the locations of the byways guidance system (gateways and orientation hubs) as well as special sites along the byway and the places they can go for services and accommodations such as lodging, food, restrooms, information, etc. In accordance with federal standards, advertising of private businesses will not be permitted on these signs. BYWAY REPETITIVE ROUTE MARKERS— Scenic byway logo signs highlight the significance of the route as a scenic byway to travelers. Note: byway logo signs may also be called route markers, trailblazer or trailmarker logo signs, or confirmation/reassurance signs. Cascade Loop Gateway signage4. Sustainable Destination Development CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 125 Avoiding too much sign clutter and visual intrusion of the landscape is an important concern. As such, placement of directional signs must be judicious. These signs should be designed and installed to be as non-intrusive to views and visual qualities as possible, while still being effective. Consider painting the back of these signs in a non-reflective neutral color, such as brown. To avoid sign clutter, directions to less prominent destinations and attractions could be provided in brochures, pamphlets, and other information available at visitor information centers. SIGNS AT SPECIAL PLACES AND ATTRACTIONS ALONG THE BYWAY/SITE MARKERS— There are many special places and attractions along the byway. These are the places that will truly engage visitors in the experience of the byway and leave a lasting memory. These sites can be more directly linked with the Cascade Loop Scenic Byway in a number of ways: Byway logos (small versions) can be provided on existing site signs or on new signs or interpretive displays developed at the site. The sites can be identified as special places along the byway in maps and brochures and on websites. Site markers, such as boulders or timber posts with small byway logos or simplified elements from the logo engraved or affixed as emblems can be located near the entrance to each site. INTERPRETIVE SIGNS AND HISTORIC/HERITAGE MARKERS— Interpretive signs, panels, and kiosks communicate something about special places and events that either currently exists or that existed in the past along the corridor. Interpretive signs are typically tied together through design and visual character to reflect an overall theme for the byway. They should be designed with a unifying style that is recognizable as a continuous element throughout the byway. Interpretive signs and the structures that support the signs should be constructed of materials that complement the natural and cultural elements unique to the byway. Interpretive signs should be responsive to context, setting, and special qualities of the sites, yet still provide unity to the overall byway. Historic/heritage markers include signs or monuments that have been installed to mark an historical event or site. These signs usually provide less detail and illustration than an interpretive sign/panel. A system of historical signs or plaques can be designed to reflect the character of the era to which they relate. Interpretive wayside exhibits are an excellent medium to tell travelers about the intrinsic value of the corridor. Multiple exhibits throughout the byway can be used to link various sites together through a strong theme and consistent design. Interpretive information can also be displayed on larger kiosks, along with traveler information and maps. The byway logo can be included in a smaller size on the interpretive display infrastructure. Displays should use a consistent color scheme, format, and type style. Design of interpretive panels and displays within National Park Service would need to comply with the National Park Service Wayside Design Guidelines, which also include standards related to accessibility. Signs located within US Forest Service areas, state parks, and on other publicly-managed lands will need to be designed and installed in accordance with the requirements of those agencies. Signs located within cities and towns are often subject to additional sign regulations of the city code. BYWAY MAPS— Visitors should be able to mentally embed or visualize the byway route as they travel along it. They should have a “cognitive map” of the byway in their heads as part of their experience. As such it is highly recommended that byway map graphics be developed in a similar style and be displayed repeatedly along the byway. North should always be positioned at the top or upper side of the maps for consistent visitor orientation. At each gateway, orientation hub, and key site along the byway where maps are displayed (such as on kiosks), a prominent “you are here” label should be provided to orient visitors to where they are on the land route. Maps should also be displayed onboard the ferries, with prominent features visible from the ferry routes labeled so that visitors can discern where they are along the marine passage route. In addition to static displays of the map along the byway, byway maps should continue to be made available on websites. This allows visitors to engage in pre-trip planning, and they can choose to print the maps and carry them along their trip as well. Continuation of print version byway maps in the travel guidebook will also be important. Portable byway maps to guide and orient visitors during a trip are essential.CASCADE LOOP SCENIC BYWAY 4. Sustainable Destination Development 126 Entering Scenic Byway Scenic Byway Scenic Byway Gateway Signing Trailblazer Signing Supplemental Guide Signing Scenic Byway Recreation Area Exit 111 Scenic Byway # 123 US 9 Next Left Scenic Byway Directional Route and Confirmation Signing SR222 SR111 Scenic Byway Route marking Confirmation signing 222 JCT 222 Scenic Byway Scenic Byway L EGEND Scenic Byway = Scenic Byway Route = Scenic Byway Logo Sign 111 111 Scenic Byway Scenic Byway 222 JCT 222 Scenic Byway Scenic Byway Scenic Byway Scenic Byway 111 JCT111Scenic BywayScenic Byway Directional Route and Confirmation Signing * ** ** **-AlternateLocation L EGEND Scenic Byway = Scenic Byway Route = Scenic Byway Logo Sign SR222 Interstate Highway WHITE/BROWN Scenic Byway route markers or confirmation/assurance signs should be placed as soon as the route leaves the freeway right-of-way. *Supplemental guide sign may be used on any Interstate highway only if the Scenic Byway junctions with the interstate and only if there is sufficient space to install this sign per the MUTCD and WSDOT Traffic Manual requirements. Scenic Byway NEXT RIGHT Scenic Byway Scenic Byway Scenic Byway 222 Scenic Byway Confirmation signing Excerpt from WSDOT Logo Signing Guidelines4. Sustainable Destination Development CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 127 A scenic byway logo is an emblem with a unique combination of words, colors, images, etc., that identifies a scenic byway and symbolizes the “essence” of the route. The logo should be based on a theme that characterizes the primary natural, historical, and/or cultural resources that are responsible for making the route special and unique. The logo should visually communicate the identity quickly and clearly. With public awareness and familiarity, the logo can become a marketing tool to promote the corridor and its resources. The logo can provide an instant association between the route and marketing publications that promote the scenic byway and the special characteristics of the area. Source: WSDOT Scenic Byway Logo Sign Design The Cascade Loop Association designed a new logo/brand as a result of the 2014 Corridor Management Plan. The logo served as the foundation for the organizations signing plan, website, printed travel guides and marketing. Cascade Loop logo, designed as result of 2014 CMP Scenic Byway Logo Wayshowing Signage on the Cascade Loop As noted in the introduction to the Cascade Loop Signing and Wayshowing section, since the initial issue of the Corridor Management Plan in 2014, all damaged and/or out of date signage has been removed and replaced with now repetitive route markers, directional and gateways signage, all bearing the new Cascade Loop logo that also resulted from the findings obtained during the initial Corridor Management Planning process. The process was coordinated in partnership with the WSDOT who fabricated and installed all signage in accordance with WSDOT signing policy.CASCADE LOOP SCENIC BYWAY 4. Sustainable Destination Development 128 Locations of Cascade Loop Scenic Byway Repetitive Route Markers and Directional and Gateway Signage4. Sustainable Destination Development CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT PLAN 129Next >