People visiting Poole shouldn’t get lost in the future.

A total of 20 new wayfinding totems have been installed across the town centre providing information about the town as well as easy to read maps and directions to local places of interest. The distinctive totems direct people to key destinations across the town including the bus and rail stations, hospital, stadium, ferry port, Dolphin Shopping Centre, leisure centre, high street and the Quay.

The wayfinding totems have been installed as part of BCP Council’s Transforming Travel programme which encourages residents and visitors to walk and cycle rather than drive. They have been funded by a combination of money from the £102m Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme secured from central government by BCP and Dorset councils and Local Growth Deal Funding from Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Cllr Mike Greene, BCP Council’s portfolio holder for Transport said: “The wayfinding totems are a good example of how we are investing our central government funded TCF grant to help transform travel in south east Dorset.  They are designed to encourage both residents and visitors to walk, cycle and take other forms of sustainable transport, rather than using their car. By providing clear information, the maps will show how quick and easy it is to walk or hop on a bike or bus to access local amenities and to explore the local neighbourhood.”

The wayfinding totems in Poole supplement the existing signage in central Bournemouth and will also be installed at key points along the TCF sustainable travel routes currently under construction. In addition, a number of ‘smart totems’ with interactive displays will be provided giving up to the minute information on bus / train times, Beryl Bike and e-scooter availability plus other local information.

The next tranche of totem installations will be delivered in Christchurch town centre and are expected to be completed in the autumn.