Students’ interpretive signs for Kenduskeag Stream Trail go on view at Bangor Public Library; Rotary pledges support for trail wayfinding
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Summary
University students designed nine interpretive signs for the Kenduskeag Stream Trail; the designs are on display at Bangor Public Library through Nov. 8 for public feedback, and Rotary has offered up to $20,000 to support trail wayfinding and durable reproductions.
A public-history project to replace and update interpretive signage along the Kenduskeag Stream Trail is on display at Bangor Public Library and open for community comment, a presenter told the Bangor City Parks, Recreation and Harbor Committee on Oct. 9.
The presenter, a history instructor who supervised senior students, said the original concrete pedestal signs were installed in February 2008 and have since become illegible. Senior history majors at the University of Maine researched and designed nine new signs; two prototypes were brought to the committee meeting. The instructor said the signs will be on display at the library “from now until Saturday, Nov. 8,” and that QR codes on each sign link to expanded online material and a public-comment form.
The project included collaboration with local institutions: Brenna Schroeder, the history librarian at Bangor Public Library; Mackie Bishop, curator at the Bangor Historical Society; and the Zillman Art Museum, whose bicentennial-era screen print appears on the introductory sign with permission from the artist’s estate.
Separately, the Rotary Club has offered to commit up to $20,000 to add wayfinding and gateway signage, produce durable copies of the interpretive panels, and support trail improvements, a parks staff member told the committee. Engineering work on a nearby section of the trail — including a reconfigured Valley/14th Street intersection, a new crossing signal and three bases installed for pedestrian lights — has run in parallel with volunteer and staff vegetation-clearing and board-plank replacements.
Committee discussion emphasized public engagement: the student-designed panels will be available at the library and the closing-comment conversation is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8, when several students will be present to receive feedback. Staff said they will use the QR-code responses and in-person remarks to edit the final, weather-resistant signs.