The Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, Councillor Steven Purcell, has unveiled the first of the city's new pedestrian tourist signs in George Square.

This key orientation sign is the first of a new signing system consisting of 225 individual signs, featuring map panels, directional 'fingerposts' and the location of Glasgow's main tourist attractions, to be installed in the city.

The signage will replace the existing blue tourist signs at no cost to the Council as the scheme is funded through a public private partnership agreement, generating advertising income on some of the signs, known in the industry as public information hybrid units.

The new signage system has the following elements:9 key orientation signs, depicting either the city centre or the west end on one side and displaying a topographical model with the key visitor attractions on the other side. These signs are placed on the arrival points to the city such as George Square, Central Station, Buchanan Street bus station, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

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A total of 60 local area information signs which show a simplified map of an area with attractions between 5 and 15 minutes walk away.

There will be 80 fingerposts and 76 hybrid public information units installed in the periphery of the city centre such as Cowcaddens Road and Cathedral Street, that display commercial advertising on one side and contain a large tourist map on the other side.

Revenue generating signs will be located on the periphery of the city centre, outside conservation areas. These displays will have an advertising panel on one side and public information panel for use by the Council, on the other side.

The new tourist signs will be strategically placed in the city centre and west end of Glasgow replacing the aging blue signs, which are more than fifteen years old, out of date and expensive to maintain.

Made of high quality vitreous enamel, the new signs are brighter and more distinguishable than the current ones and have a design life of 25 years.

The signs incorporate best practice and research with regards to being visible and readable by people with visual impairment and people with disabilities.

The area maps and key orientation signs will also have accent lighting through solar panels to be seen easily at night.

Venues and visitor attractions as well as tourism related groups in Glasgow were consulted as to the form that the new signs should take and where they should be located.

Councillor Purcell, said: "So much has changed in Glasgow’s tourism landscape over the last 15 years.

"These new signs not only better reflect the many great attractions Glasgow has to offer, but also serve to underline the city's seriousness about becoming a major league tourist destination."

"They are the first physical sign of Glasgow's Tourism Action Plan to 2016, launched earlier this month, and will provide a 21st century welcome to the many more visitors we expect to receive," he said.

(GK/JM)