Students demonstrated plans for new signs, interactive elements, marketing materials and a cell phone app.
/ Alex Dunbar
SYRACUSE -- The City of Syracuse has invested years and lots of taxpayer money on developing its creekwalk and connecting Onondaga Lake to the city.
Now they are trying to get more people to the area.
The Onondaga Creekwalk has been expanded, cleaned up, and built out so you can walk from the shops and restaurants of Armory Square all the way to Onondaga Lake.
"Now that the creekwalk is here, we go out," said Sue Judge, who uses the creekwalk during lunch. "We walked around the city before but now it's a specific walk. You can go as far as you want and head back."
It's popular with downtown walkers, but not a lot of other people know about it.
Junior design students at Syracuse University see it every day from their classes, and on Wednesday they showed off their ideas for how to get the word out and improve the experience.
The students came up with logos, signs, markers and a cell phone app that uses GPS to take people on a guided tour of all the neighborhoods the creekwalk passes through.
"I think the creekwalk has extreme potential," said Kelly Kurkjian. "I think there's a ton of different age groups in this area and with all the things we have to offer and we've developed, it's going to pull in all of these age groups, from kids up to older groups."
Syracuse has put a lot of time and effort into developing the creekwalk into an attraction. What was a heavily polluted river, often hidden from public view, has become a highlight. Free marketing help from these students helps with the City of Syracuse's budget.
"It's very challenging for us to get these kind of services," said Andrew Maxwell. "To work with this class is a huge opportunity for us. 40 students working intensely all semester on all sorts of elements is just a fantastic opportunity for us."
The designs for the signs and the cell phone app are complete, but the city will have to find money to have them built.
