The Covington Board of Commissioners heard a proposal for a pilot program for both static and interactive wayfinding signage along Madison Avenue on Tuesday. Dubbed “the Madison Mile” the program will be done in partnership with meetNKY, the region’s tourism bureau, Southbank Partners and the Covington Business Council. It will aim to draw in and guide city visitors to Covington’s major landmarks.
“The vision, I think, with meetNKY and the others on this was that we have this incredible Riverfront Commons trail system, and we’re going to have a lot of visitors and folks from the region on that trail system,” said Covington Economic Development Director Tom West. “How do we get them into our cities to spend money?”
The city and the organizations have been discussing the project for about a year. If the Covington program proves successful, it could be replicated in other major cities throughout the region.
“We’re really basically setting the standard for the other cities to follow,” West said.
On Tuesday, the commission placed the program on the consent agenda for next week’s meeting, meaning it will likely pass.
“I think this was all really important with the [IRS development] because we’re gonna have so many new people down here as the Convention Center hopefully expands down the road,” said Pat Frew, executive director of the Covington Business Council. “The timing is just really right for all this with all the development down there along the riverfront.”
The program will see the installation of various way-finding signage at six locations up and down Madison Avenue, one of Covington’s major thoroughfares, from the Riverfront Commons to MLK Jr. Boulevard.
The project will feature two different sign types. The first will be conventional signs, about eight feet tall, that point to various areas and landmarks in the city. The second type will be three electronic interactive kiosks provided by the Covington-based business RoveiQ. Visitors can interact with these kiosks, which meetNKY will regularly update with content.
“As [people] enter the city, they’ll have that experiential kiosk where they can see everything in the city they’re about to enter,” said Matt Ellison, a sales representative for RoveiQ.
MeetNKY will also be responsible for maintaining the physical integrity of the kiosks and signs.
West stated that the project would be funded through TIF district financing, so it will not come out of the city’s general fund, which is still reeling from a deficit. West added that Covington’s Economic Development Authority had already voted to recommend approval of the project.
“We’re very excited about the project,” said meetNKY Product Development Director Josh Quinn. “It’s been a long road, but we’re finally here.”
Quinn stated that the signs and kiosks are slated to be installed and operational by mid summer pending the commission’s approval.
The next meeting of the Covington City Board of Commissioners will take place on Tuesday, May 14 at Covington City Hall on Pike Street at 6 p.m.