HomeMy Public PortalAboutCOTI_PR20100112_Wayfinding.pdfMAYOR
Jason Buelterman
CITY COUNCIL
Shirley Sessions, Mayor Pro Tem
Wanda D. Doyle
Bill Garbett
Frank Schuman, Sr.
Kathryn Williams
Paul Wolff CITY OF TYBEE ISLAND
CITY MANAGER
Diane Schleicher
CLERK OF COUNCIL
Vivian O. Woods
CITY ATTORNEY
Edward M. Hughes
P.O. Box 2749 – 403 Butler Avenue, Tybee Island, Georgia 31328-2749
(866) 786-4573 – FAX (866) 786-5737
www.cityoftybee.org
PRESS RELEASE: CONTACT: Chantel Morton, Better Hometown Coordinator
For immediate release (912) 786-4573, x123
Michael Bodine
(912) 786-4573, x126
New Wayfinding Signs to Debut on Tybee Island
Tybee Island, GA – (January 12, 2010) The City of Tybee Island is trying to make life easier for visitors,
as well as residents, with the unveiling of a new series of wayfinding signage that will be going up in the
next few months around the island. Every resident has a story about being asked by a visito r where the
Tybee Lighthouse is while standing in its very shadow, or being stopped by someone in front of a Pay -
and-Display meter asking where you go to pay for parking, or even “Which way is the ocean?”
To help make it easier to find some of the major l andmarks, the Community Development Department
has been working on getting effective signage designed, manufactured and installed since the creation of
Tybee’s new Master Plan. With government budgets shrinking, thanks to the economy, original proposed
high quotes put the project in jeopardy until Richard Adams, President of the Tybee Arts Association
(TAA) found a creative “Tybee” solution. Adams partnered with Shannon Marino of Tybee Island
Customs, an auto and motorcycle customizer on Thunderbolt, to cr eate a demonstration sign and a
proposal to marry Tybee’s relationship with sea turtles and tourism to create a unique and eye -catching
design. Each sign is a brightly colored loggerhead turtle with the words painted on its shell.
The prototype sign, pointing the way to the Tybee Lighthouse, from Van Horn near Meddin, was met with
enthusiasm by the community and the City Council. This enthusiasm quickly motivated T AA and Tybee
Island Customs to get the project under way. There was some fine tuning of the design to make sure it
conformed to local and state traffic safety requirements, such as changing the color of the sign posts,
which resemble an anchor chain, from black to silver, and also modifying posts to break away. The first
installation of these signs is scheduled to be at the corner of Tybrisa and The Strand, near the
roundabout by the Walter J. Parker Pier and Pavilion this coming Friday, January 15th, at 2:00 PM.
A total of 22 turtles will help show the way on Tybee, with the project scheduled for completion before
the 2010 tourist season begins. Just in time for the real sea turtles to start nesting on the Tybee
beaches!
The Tybee Arts Association’s first major public art project was the Tybee Turtle Tour. Several of the
fiberglass turtles from that project are still on display around the island. Shannon Marino has been
involved in several artistic endeavors in the Tybee Island area, one of which involved helping with the on -
going maintenance and repairs of the fiberglass turtles, which use clear auto body finish to protect them
from the environment. Thus, a successful collaboration was born.
P.O. Box 2749 – 403 Butler Avenue, Tybee Island, Georgia 31328-2749
(866) 786-4573 – FAX (866) 786-5737
www.cityoftybee.org
About Tybee Island, GA.: The City of Tybee Island, Georgia is on the outermost barrier island off the Savannah area coast. Wi th a
wild bird sanctuary, over three miles of ocean beaches, and salt marshes on the back river, outdoor recreation activities abound for
visitors to the island. As a key defense point to the important Savannah port, Tybee’s Fort Screven, Tybee Fort Theater, Fort
Pulaski, and the Tybee Island and Cockspur Lighthouses combine with the unique architectures of the island’s raised cottages to
form a rich backdrop for history buffs. Attracting a strong artistic community, there are several local supporting art galleries.
Keeping the island interesting year round are several arts festivals, the Annual Pirate Fest, the Beach Bum Parade, St Patrick’s Day
celebrations, the Hot Rod Run, the Beach Bash, and the Christmas Parade, as well as fireworks displays on Independence Day Eve
and New Year’s Eve off the Parker Pier and Pavilion. The Marine Science Center cooperates with Georgia’s DNR to protect
threatened sea turtle species by searching for nests, protecting their eggs, and making sure hatchlings make it to sea. For v isitor
information, stop by http://www.tybeevisit.com/, and to find more about the City of Tybee Island, visit our web site at
http://www.cityoftybee.org/.
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Attachments: Close up of wayfinding prototype; full view of wayfinding prototype