Visitors to Annapolis could soon use a mix of street signs and smart phones to find their way around town.

MERJE Design, a Philadelphia-based company, worked for months to develop a draft strategy and schematic designs for Annapolis' new navigation system. Residents can review those ideas during an open house from 5-7 p.m. Thursday in City Council chambers.

"Better wayfinding has long been a key recommendation made by many groups who look at parking and transportation in Annapolis," said Sally Nash, a senior planner for the city. "There have been previous efforts to improve wayfinding in the city; however, this is the first time that there has been a broad perspective that includes many different technologies and a comprehensive framework of analysis."

The Baltimore Metropolitan Council made the development of a new wayfinding system possible because it selected the city for a $65,000 grant in April.

A 10-person steering committee started meeting after the grant was allocated to discuss sign content and placement, Nash said. MERJE also conducted a series of interviews to gather information about how visitors and residents find their way around town.

One idea the company developed was to create interactive signs that use QR codes, which are bar codes that take people to a specific website when scanned by a smart phone. Smart phone owners would need to have a QR code reader downloaded to their mobile device in order to make it work.

You can view all of MERJE's ideas by clicking here.

After Thursday’s open house, MERJE plans to take public feedback to the steering committee and make revisions as necessary.

The plan will be presented to the Annapolis City Council for adoption, with review by the Historic Preservation Commission later on this year. A pre-application meeting with the commission will follow the open house at 7:30 p.m.