Signage: Park Rules and Regulations

by Charlie McCabe

One of the most common types of signage that I see in public parks and related open spaces is those with rules and regulations. A general fear of many of my clients and at park agencies that I've worked for is "too many signs with too many rules." Generally, I think this is overstated in tersm of an issue by park staff. I base this statement on the fact that I visit hundreds of parks annually and generally don't see that many signs with too many rules.

However, I have to say that increasingly I'm seeing some clever and well designed signs and I'd like to share some of the more recent ones I've seen with you.

Going to the dogs. Given that dogs poop about half a pound a day, you can bet that a lot of dog waste ends up in parks. There are some clever signs, starting with the one shown at the top of this post from the Atlanta Beltline.

Here's several from parks in Dublin, Ireland

This one is from London.

This is from Glasgow, a small neighborhood park near the bigger Kelvingrove Park.

A number of park agencies and nonprofits have even launched unique campaigns to get pet owners or walkers to deal with this messy situation. A good example is the Scoop the Poop program in Austin, Texas.

Dealing with Messy Situations in Park Usage.

One of the bigger challenges for urban parks is that they are popular spaces for picnics and bbqs, offering grills for people to use. The challenge is properly disposing of used coals safely. More parks agencies have hot coal bins for use, here's an example from Helsinki Finland, along with an explanatory sign in three languages.

This sign is from the public spaces in the Seaport District in Boston.

What's Going On Here signage. A few informative signs informing visitors what might be going on in the park or public space that they are in.

Below is a sign from Friends of the Fells and DCR north of Boston explaining invasive species management activities.

From Prospect Park in Brooklyn, protecting rare American Elm Trees....

A Pollinator Garden sign outside the public library in Melrose, Mass.

A Community Garden / P-Patch program sign in Seattle.

Creative signs with rules and regulations, along with a plug to join as a supporter for the Butler Trail at Lady Bird Lake in Austin.

Weather signage, like this in protected area in Flagler Beach, Florida.

And one of favorite - a sort of rouge campaign putting "Not Art" messages on found objects in the public realm as well as temporary infrastructure installations on city streets around the Boston area. This is from the Middlesex Fells State Reservation north of Boston.