Clarkson Trail Signage
Client: Clarkson Woods Committee
A proposed signage system for navigating in the Clarkson Woods both routinely and during emergency response.
Background
Clarkson University sits on a 680-acre campus consisting of a mix of traditional academic buildings, residence halls, athletic fields, and specialized research labs. Unique to the Clarkson campus is the Clarkson Woods, a 400+ acre sprawling research and recreational forest comprising walking and biking trails, lookouts, Adirondack style lean-to structures, and a boathouse and riverside trail.
These clear, flat, well-maintained trails are used by hundreds of people each year, from experienced mountain bikers and outdoorsmen to research classes and students getting their first taste of the Adirondacks. As the site is utilized by numerous different groups, the trail network and signage needs to accommodate several different types of stakeholders:
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Hikers need clear, well-blazed trails
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Bikers want large features in areas that won’t cross a walking trail to practice tricks and race
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Research groups need sections of wood that aren’t frequented by the public to study
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ROTC programs need unmarked sections of woods to practice land navigation and orienteering on
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Forest managers want a variety of plants and animals to thrive in the woods they care for
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Facilities needs an easy way to identify problem areas and access routes for trail maintenance
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Safety and Security/CUEMS needs an easy way to identify the location of a missing or lost individual
Location Marking Methods
Two methodologies were considered for identifying and displaying locations on the sign, those being what3words or a custom location code. use the buttons below to learn more about each option.
what3words
What3words is an alternative to GPS coordinates that has given every 3-meter square in the world a unique address made of three random words. These three words can be used in conjunction with the what3words website or mobile app to locate the position.
Pros
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Easy to use (just type three words)
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Easier to share over the phone than coordinates
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High fidelity (points to a small area)
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Can be used for any point, even if there is not a location sign present, to share location
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Universal (anyone can download and use the what3words app)
Cons
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Words can be long or difficult to spell correctly
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Words can be difficult to pronounce especially for non-English speakers
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Requires a compatible device to access location information (must have app or website)
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Users know their exact location (can’t practice orienteering with signage)
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Closed source and owned by a private company
Case Studies
Similar trail marker systems have already been successfully used to improve emergency response in other communities. At Cold Spring Harbor State Park in New York, numbered trail markers were installed alongside a GIS map that allowed emergency responders to quickly identify a caller's location and determine the best access point. During one cardiac emergency, responders were able to reach the patient in approximately 5 minutes instead of the typical 15 minutes.
This same problem has been observed firsthand in the Clarkson Woods. During a joint training exercise between CUEMS and Potsdam Rescue, rescuers were given the location of an injured mountain biker only to the extent of which trail they were on. Without a way to identify where along the trail the patient was located, rescuers had to search the trail to find them, costing precious treatment time. A simple location marker system would have allowed the biker to provide a specific location and given rescuers a much better starting point for their search.
This is especially important given the number of lost and injured person calls that Clarkson Campus Safety and Security receives in the Clarkson Woods each year. With more than 400 acres of woods and an extensive trail network, simply knowing which trail someone is on can still leave responders searching a large area.
Location markers would give trail users an easy way to identify where they are, making it easier for someone who is lost to direct themselves out of the woods or for an injured person to provide rescuers with an accurate location. The proposed system builds on this idea by assigning each marker a simple code that can be communicated over the phone and matched to a pre-mapped location, creating a common reference point for trail users, CSS, CUEMS, Potsdam Rescue, and other emergency responders.
Proposed Design
There are two proposed mounting methods for signage along the trail. In open areas or near bike features, a 4x4 pressure-treated post would be used to support the signs. Signs would be mounted to both sides of the post so they can be viewed from either direction of travel. A galvanized nail and aluminum end cap would be used to prevent rust and protect the top of the post from water and snow, reducing the potential for rot. To prevent repeated freeze-thaw cycles from pushing the nail out of the post, the nail should be left approximately 1/8 in. proud of the post. This allows water to drain from behind the sign rather than becoming trapped, freezing, expanding, and pushing the sign away from the post.
In more secluded areas or deeper in the forest, where transporting posts and installation equipment may be impractical, a smaller version of the sign could be mounted directly to a mature tree. To prevent the sign from being absorbed into the tree as it grows, a spring-and-foam mounting system would space the sign approximately 1.5–2 in. from the trunk. The spring would push the sign against the end of the mounting nail, helping maintain its viewing angle despite wind or movement. On the tree side of the spring, a foam pad and washer would distribute the pressure against the bark while allowing the tree to grow without growing around the sign. As the tree increases in diameter, the spring would compress while maintaining the separation between the sign and the tree.
