Signage Strategy

Overview

The County of Wellington officially launched its first ever Wellington Signage Plan Project in 2015. The goal is to create a unified look and feel across Wellington County to distinguish us from our neighbouring municipalities.

The Signage Plan incorporates a strategy that will be implemented over the next several years. The phases include:

  • Phase 1: Wellington County Gateway Signs
  • Phase 2: Directional Tourism Signage
  • Phase 3: Community Destination Signs

Directional Tourism Signage

The County of Wellington's Directional Signage Policy outlines in detail the aspects of this programme, who is eligible, and how to participate.

Deadline to apply is November 30, each year.

 Types of Signs

Blade Signssign with business names, drectional arrows and km

Blades are fastened onto panel signs that are located on main County roads. There is room for four blades on each panel sign. These large panel signs are meant to direct travellers heading towards an attraction, typically no closer than 1km and no farther than 30km away from the destination.

The panel sign is grey in colour. It measures 8 feet wide by 4 feet tall and mounted on two wooden posts.

Each blade dimension is 7.6 feet wide by 0.7 feet tall and contains the following, in order, left to right:

  • Directional arrow
  • Icon representative of the attraction
  • Name of business/ attraction
  • Distance to business/ attraction (km)

Programme Policies

Request the full signage policy in PDF

Introduction

Directional tourism signage also known as a pay-to-play programme provides an opportunity for tourism attractions and tourism-based businesses to promote their location.

Purpose

Define the eligibility, use, design and authority for directional tourism signage on County of Wellington roads.

Objectives
  1. Elevate the County of Wellington’s profile.
  2. Increase awareness and provide directional information for tourism businesses, attractions and points of interest found throughout the County.
  3. Provide local tourism businesses with a quality pay-to-play option for signage that complements both the needs of the business owner and the County.
  4. Provide clear, methodical sequence of identification and tourism-based directional signage for visitors and residents.
  5. Define a route through the County that will bring several small tourism venues together to create a larger tourism package, resulting in tourists staying longer and spending more.
General Provisions

Defining the requirements allows eligible businesses and attractions to obtain directional tourism signage along a route that will lead motoring tourists to their destination in a reasonably direct manner.

Sign Location Criteria

We want each sign to be the most accessible to the visitor and be situated in a location that connects them to your product when they make the effort to travel here. The County of Wellington reserves the right to determine the best location for directional tourism signage.

This decision will be based upon, but is not limited to:

  • Improving access
  • Enhancing the experience
  • Boosting visitation
Programme Administration

The County of Wellington will administer all Directional Tourism Signage. The Programme will be administered through the Economic Development Department in partnership with the Roads Operation Division.

Economic Development Department:

  • Promotion of the Signage Programme
  • Approval or denial of signage applications
  • Approval of signage symbol and content
  • Collection of documents, fees and payment terms for tourism signage
  • Coordination of signage order and installation
  • Coordination with sign manufacturer

Roads Operation Division:

  • Identify ideal signage locations
  • Removal of tourism signage along County roads
  • Ensuring maintenance and replacement of signage
 General Eligibility Criteria

The following requirements must be met to be eligible to participate in the County of Wellington Directional Tourism Signage programme. An asterisks (*) indicates criteria is derived from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; Tourism-Oriented Directional Signing (TODS) programme.

  1. The business must serve transient customers and be open to the general public.*
  2. The business must comply with all applicable Federal, Provincial and Municipal Legislation. *
  3. The business must be accessible by road open to traffic.*
  4. The business must be open to the public at least 12 consecutive weeks per year (unless specified otherwise).*
  5. The business must be open at least 5 days a week during its operating season, on advertised set days and times (unless specified otherwise).*
  6. The business must have a reception structure – a controlled gate, staffed reception and orientation point, or permanent interpretation panels or displays.*
  7. Only those tourism-based businesses and facilities listed in Appendix “A” will be permitted to participate.
  8. The business must have adequate parking on-site.
  9. Out-of-County businesses located within 25kms of the County of Wellington Boundary are eligible to apply, however, in-county businesses take priority.
Note: Significant Wellington County tourism attractions that do not fulfill required criteria and wish to participate in the tourism signage programme will be reviewed on a case by case basis.  This recognizes that major attractions are economic drivers and locations that draw a significant number (i.e., 10,000 per month) of visitors and offer key experiences in Wellington County.
Three-Year Commitment Payment Options
  • All applicants must abide by a 3-year commitment and will sign an undertaking to this effect.
  • The commitment between the applicant and the County of Wellington will be in force for 3 years from the date the sign is installed.
  • Each applicant must have their payment submitted by November 30th for both Payment Option 1 and Payment Option 2 (see Table A).
  • Signs will be manufactured during the winter months with install occurring in May of the following calendar year.
  • Payment will be invoiced and accepted in the form of cheque, credit card and cash.

All fees for the directional tourism signage have been established on a cost recovery basis. These costs include the administration of the programme, manufacturing, installation and maintenance of the directional tourism signs.

The County of Wellington has the highest number of neighbouring municipalities in the Province of Ontario, therefore we have chosen to include businesses that are located outside the County boundaries to bring in additional visitors and consumers. Out of County businesses will be subject to an additional surcharge of $50.00 per sign, per year.

Wellington County Businesses

Option 1: Lump Sum Payment

$750.00 + $97.50 (HST) = $847.50

$847.50 per sign - $75.00 (10% base discount)

Lump sum payment of $772.50

*3-year term savings of $75.00

Option 2: Annual Payment Plan

$250.00 + $32.50 (HST) = $282.50

Annual Amount Due: $282.50 per sign, per year

Out of County Businesses

Option 1: Lump Sum Payment

$900.00 + $117.00 (HST) = $1017.00

$1017.00 per sign - $90.00 (10% base discount)

Lump sum payment of $927.00

*3-year term savings of $90.00

Option 2: Annual Payment Plan

$300.00 + $39.00 (HST) = $339.00

Annual Amount Due: $339.00 per sign, per year

 Expiration of Contract
  • Successful applicants are committed to a three-year term and are required to pay for all three years, whether it is paid on a lump sum or annual basis.
  • Failure to make an annual payment during the three-year period by the November 30th due date will result in the removal of the sign.
  • If a business closes before the three-year term has expired, the business will not be reimbursed for any time remaining in the three-year term and the sign will be removed. The full payment for the three-year term will be required to be paid despite the closure of the business.
  • After the three-year term has finished the sign will be removed or businesses may reapply for another three-year term, following the same conditions as the initial application.
Cause for Sign Removal

Removal of signage may occur for the following reasons:

  • The location of the directional tourism signage is needed to be utilized for roadway purposes or activities including:
    • construction, reconstruction or maintenance;
    • The business is no longer in operation;
    • The business declines renewal of the signage contract;
    • The location of a tourism sign endangers the health, safety or welfare of the public.
  • When a directional tourism sign is removed and cannot be re-installed at an approved substitute location, the tourism business shall be entitled to an appropriate pro-rata rebate for the remainder of the 3-year term.
  • All installation, removal and maintenance of signage will be performed by the County of Wellington Roads Operations Division or an approved contractor. At no time shall the business enter upon County road right-of-way for such purpose or perform any such activities within the roadway right-of-way.
  • The granting of directional tourism signage does not convey any rights, title or interest to the County of Wellington road right-of-way.
  • There will be a "grandfathering" in process for signs that already exist on County of Wellington roadways. If a sign becomes damaged or no longer meets the Roads Department standards, the sign will be removed.
Application Process
  • Every tourism-business must apply to County of Wellington Economic Development Department for directional tourism signage to be located on County roads. No approval of application or sign installation will occur until all requirements and criteria for eligibility have been satisfied and all follow-up documents have been signed.
  • Application packages can be obtained from the County of Wellington Economic Development Department or the County of Wellington website www.wellington.ca
  • Economic Development staff will act promptly in the denial or approval of any sign application. Economic Development staff shall deny applications which do not comply with this policy.
    • The applicant shall provide the Economic Development Department with a complete application form. The Economic Development Department may reject any application which is incomplete.
    • Any sign changes will require a fresh application process and will result in the applicant incurring additional expenses related to sign removal, sign production costs and remount.
    • All directional tourism signage will remain property of the County of Wellington.
Design

County of Wellington directional tourism signage will project a consistent design and image that will be easily identifiable to County road users. County of Wellington Directional Signage will contain the following design elements:

  1. The base directional tourism sign will be 9’ x 5’ (feet).
  2. A maximum of four (4) businesses shall be placed on one post location.
  3. Each business panel will be approximately 1’ x 8’ (feet)
  4. A maximum of 25 characters, including spaces, per business panel
  5. Each business panel will contain a directional arrow, universal traffic symbol, business name and distance to location in kilometres.
General Design Guidelines
  1. The principle body of the business panel will be a blue background with engineering grade white reflective legend and border;
  2. The content of the sign legend shall be limited to the identification of the business by its operating name, the distance to the business and a directional arrow.
  3. All sign legends are subject to the approval of the Economic Development Department.
  4. One symbol may be included per business panel.
  5. No business logos or trademarks may be used in the tourism signage legend.

sample sign with golf course, bed and breakfast, campground, and theatre listed sample sign with golf course listed and county website displayed on bottom

Eligible Primary Businesses

The County of Wellington Directional Tourism Signage Programme is designed for attractions and tourism-based businesses. These operations must promote tourism in the region and provide tourism activities or services. A categorized listing of “primary” businesses eligible for the Programme includes (but is not limited to):

  • Overnight accommodations
  • Agri-tourism / farm-based tourist attractions
  • Attractions
  • Authentic regional food tourism
  • Boat rentals and charters
  • Campgrounds
  • Casinos
  • Conservation areas
  • Convention centres
  • Cultural centres
  • Developed natural sites
  • Downtown areas
  • Equestrian facilities
  • Fishing / hunting lodges
  • Flying operations
  • Golf courses (Public)
  • Lakes and waterways
  • Live and performance theatre
  • Major sports facilities
  • Marinas
  • Public arts galleries
  • Public beaches
  • Racetracks (horse, motor, go-kart)
  • Tourism information centres
  • Animal displays / centres

Eligible Secondary Businesses

The County of Wellington Directional Tourism Signage programme understands the importance of non-commercial (non-profit /community owned) tourism attractions that provide visitors with an experience in Heritage or Historical, Recreational, Entertainment, Natural, Cultural, and Educational activities.

A categorized listing of “secondary” businesses eligible for the Programme includes (but is not limited to):

  • Community centres
  • Farmers’ markets
  • Historic sites / heritage buildings
  • Libraries
  • Public museums and archives
  • Parks
  • Picnic areas
  • Scenic lookouts/natural attractions / hiking trails
  • Winter recreation trail access points

Mapping and Signage Locations

Potential Directional Tourism Signage locations can be found below. Final locations will be based on business needs.

map of wellington county showing the different sign locations in each municipality

Township of Centre Wellington tourism sign locations

Sign #8 Traveling northeast on County Road 21 at 2nd Line East

Sign #9 Traveling southeast on County Road 16 at 19

Sign #10 Traveling southwest on County Road 18 at 2nd line

Sign #20 Traveling southwest on County Road 19 at T-intersection with 26

Sign #21 Traveling southwest on County Road 18 at 26

Sign #22 Traveling northwest on County Road 29 at T-intersection with 18

Sign #23 Traveling southeast on County Road 18 at 2nd line

Sign #24 Traveling northeast on County Road 19 at 2nd Line

Sign #27 Traveling northwest on County Road 7 at 1st line

Town of Erin tourism sign locations

Sign #17 Traveling northwest on County Road 125 at 124

Sign #18 Traveling northwest on County Road 24 at 124

Sign #19 Traveling southwest on County Road 124 at 26

Township of Guelph-Eramosa tourism sign locations

Sign #15 Traveling northeast on County Road 124 at 29

Township of Mapleton tourism sign locations

Sign #2  Travelling northwest on County Road 7 at 109

Sign #5  Travelling northwest on County Road 7 at 11

Sign #6  Travelling northeast on County Road 12 at 8

Sign #25 Travelling northwest on County Road 86 at 12

Sign #28 Travelling southeast on County Road 7 at 11

Sign #29 Travelling northwest on County Road 86 at 11

Town of Minto tourism sign locations

Sign #26 Traveling south on County Road 109 at 123

Township of Wellington North tourism sign locations

Sign #3 Travelling West on County Road 109 at Highway 6

Sign #4 Travelling West on County Road 109 at 16

Please contact the Economic Development Office with any recommendations for a location not identified.

Tourism Signage Application

We are excited to work with you! Please be sure to review the application criteria as outlined in the County of Wellington Directional Tourism Signage Policy before submitting an application.

Apply online

Request a tourism signage application in PDF

Gateway Signage

 Media

Wellington County Gateway Signage ribbon cutting

County begins Signage Plan implementation. Read more here!
Posted Monday October 2, 2017

 

To read more about the Launch of the County Signage Plan Project, click here!
Posted on Tuesday July 21, 2015

Signage Plan and Presentation

Request a copy of the Wellington Signage Plan

Request a copy of the Signage Presentation

Questions

If you would like more information on the Wellington Signage Plan, please email the Economic Development Office or call 519.837.2600 x 2611.

 

 

© 2023 County of Wellington, 74 Woolwich St. Guelph, Ontario N1H 3T9, T 519.837.2600, TF 1.800.663.0750, F 519.837.1909