Corbin tourism applying for $5,000 grant to improve signage

The Corbin Tourism Commission is looking to take on a portion of the plan to make downtown more user-friendly.

At a special called meeting of the commission last Thursday, Director Maggy Kriebel said she will be applying for a $5,000 grant to help fund the proposed wayfinding signage.

“I’d like to do as much of it as we can,” Kriebel said when asked how much of the signage she is attempting to complete.

The plan, which was approved in February, calls for approximately 30 signs at major intersections throughout the area noting the direction to nearby landmarks, such downtown Corbin, Laurel Lake, the farmer’s market, EKU, the welcome center, and city hall.

Additional signs will direct motorist to parking lots on Depot Street.

“I would like to complete the full-on plan,” Kriebel said noting that while the grant would not cover the entire amount, it may spur the city into action on the project.

“Hopefully the city will pitch in,” Kriebel said of at least completing the signage portion of the plan.

To receive the grant, the city would be required to match 20 percent of the money. Kriebel said that may done through labor, which she is hoping would be done by Corbin Public Works.

Kriebel said even in the age of handheld devices and apps, such as GoogleMaps, tourists still rely on paper maps and wayfinding signage.

“People use a bunch of different interfaces. We said that with the little maps tourism put out. We have those maps everywhere and they come in handy,” Kriebel said. “It gives people different options so they can navigate successfully.”

According to numbers garnered based on contacts at Corbin Tourism’s visitor’s center, more than 300 people contacted the center in 2017 through either phone, e-mail, or in person. And addition 50,610 people visited the Corbin tourism website.

The five things those people were most interested in included: Cumberland Falls, the railroad museum, regional information, shopping and camping/hiking/outdoor adventures.

“We have seen people from 29 different states,” Kriebel said of the contacts.

Kriebel also told the board that she would be traveling to Minneapolis, Minnesota next week to attend the National Association of Sports Commissions in an effort to promote sports tourism.

Kriebel said her goal is to speak with organizers of various events and competitions including: cornhole, drone racing and, in conjunction with London, professional watercross.

“Instead of them going to us, we go to them,” Kriebel said explaining that each community representative answered a series of preliminary questions to determine which events would be the best fit for them.

Based on that, the community representatives scheduled appointments with the event coordinators/owners for an interview.

Kriebel said she and London Tourism Co-Director Rodney Hendrickson will be pitching Laurel Lake to host the watercross event.

“Where the lake encompasses both Corbin and London, we thought, if we work together, we could pull that off,” Kriebel said of securing the event.

Watercross features a variety of events on personal watercraft, including closed course racing, freestyle, freeride, in which the riders jump the surf and hydrodrag.

More information is available online at www.prowatercross.com.

“In reality, if we could score two major events that would be awesome,” Kriebel said. “That doesn’t sound like many, but to host one event takes a lot of coordination.”