County explores wayfinding options for Siesta Key Public Beach

After winning its second No. 1 beach award, Siesta Key Beach can expect more visitors flocking to its famous powder-white sands. 

More visitors, however, can mean more confusion. Sarasota County is investigating a possible wayfinding campaign to help tourists navigate the beaches and adjacent county parks and help them remember where they parked.

Tricia Wisner, an operations coordinator for the county, presented the idea at the Parks Advisory and Recreation Council’s March 5 meeting. 

The new beach improvements, such as multiple picnic and concession areas and playground, along with 143 new parking spaces, can be overwhelming to visitors, Wisner said. 

“It’s a big park; we need to help people get around,” Tricia Wisner said.

Wisner said the wayfinding plan will likely centralize around the lifeguard towers. The stations are iconic, and people already use those as parking reminders.

Using the towers’ colors to create different zones on the beach is an easy start, she said. Studies have shown, however, that having multiple identifiers, such as a color, symbol and name, is better because not everyone is visually oriented. It also takes away the language barrier for visitors from foreign countries.

Many major venues already have a similar system to aid guests. Wisner listed Walt Disney World, on a large scale, and Sarasota Memorial Hospital as a local example. 

“They give you multiple ways to remember something,” she said.

The $21.5 million Siesta Key Beach Improvement project is still underway, with expected completion in December. The playground and picnic areas opened Saturday, and the east concession stand will open to the public later in the spring. 

Now is the perfect time to develop a wayfinding system, Wisner said. During construction, crews may have to take down some of the beach’s current signs.

Nicole Rissler, director of the Sarasota County Sports Commission with Visit Sarasota County and a member of the Parks Advisory and Recreation Council, said the idea would be helpful for beachgoers. 

“Visit Sarasota County believes that wayfinding signs are a great idea, especially for our crown jewel — Siesta Key Beach — and that as the county develops those signs we would love to be able to get the information about those signs out to visitors through our marketing outlets,” Rissler said in an email.