Chicago's Wicker Park and Bucktown Area and RedPost
Launch Digital Signage Pilot Program

The program is the first of its kind in the nation

CHICAGO, IL — RedPost and the Wicker Park and Bucktown communities (WPB) have announced the launch of a pilot program consisting of thirteen digital signs displaying a combination of neighborhood announcements and Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Bus Tracker information. The Wicker Park and Bucktown area is a vibrant, eclectic neighborhood just northwest of Chicago's Loop.

Jamie Simone, Program Manager of WPB, spearheaded the project. "The signs let shoppers get out of the cold and into a coffee shop, restaurant or store, while still keeping an eye on their bus. CTA had already developed the bus tracker for its own tracking and logistics purposes. We are simply providing that information in a way that is easy to access."

The digital signs are located indoors along the four bus routes that criss-cross the neighborhood, in three cafes, four retail stores, and two community offices, with plans to install four more in coming months. The program is the first of its kind in the nation. Transit officials from Boston have already traveled to Wicker Park to learn how to integrate a similar system in their community.

Shop owners are already noticing an increase in business.

“People come in to check the monitor, and invariably they take a moment to look around,” said Krista Isaacs, owner of Gallery Café on North Avenue.

"Wicker Park and Bucktown have always been the cutting edge communities of Chicago," said Simone. "These digital signs are just one more example why." The pilot program was a result of WPB’s master plan, which was adopted in February 2009 and has received national attention since then, winning several awards. One of the many goals of the master plan is to encourage transit ridership to decrease vehicular congestion and parking pressures in the neighborhood.

RedPost is one of the first users of the CTA's new Bus Tracker Application Programming Interface (API), a publicly available source of data plugged into the CTA's GPS-driven system for tracking when a bus will arrive at the next bus stop.

Eric Kanagy, CEO of RedPost, is excited about expanding RedPost's neighborhood concept into Chicago's urban setting. "We're already getting lots of good anecdotal evidence of the success of the pilot program. We're going to be studying the long term economic impact, and, of course, are looking forward to installing our signs all over the City and throughout the country."

Bus Tracker Digital Sign Locations:

Wow & Zen – 1912 N. Damen
caffe de Luca – 1721 N. Damen
Gallery Café – 1760 W. North
Red Hen Bread – 1623 N. Milwaukee
W Grocer – 2060 W. North
Myopic Books – 1564 N. Milwaukee
The Silver Room – 1442 N. Milwaukee
Office of 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores – 2058 N. Western
Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce – 1414 N. Ashland

About WPB
WPB is the Special Service Area (SSA) for the Wicker Park and Bucktown communities. Unique among Chicago’s SSAs for its size and eclecticism, WPB encompasses a vibrant yet varied, mixed use urban area home to a diverse mix of people and a rare combination of nightlife, culture, family, and art. WPB’s goals are to preserve, encourage, and enhance the qualities of Wicker Park and Bucktown that make the neighborhoods and their corridors distinct; and to balance the needs and desires of all residents, visitors, and businesses in the allocation and expenditure of their tax dollars. More information at wickerparkbucktown.org.

About RedPost
RedPost uses simple, off-the-shelf technology to link digital signs throughout a local "neighborhood” that can include a few city blocks, corporate office or university campus. For one-fourth the cost of comparable systems, neighborhood-based sign owners work with RedPost’s easy-to-use software to create, distribute, promote and manage the system through the Internet, relying on Wi-Fi access at the signs’ locations to pickup their neighborhood-specific feed.

RedPost's mission is to replace the world's bulletin boards with digital signs.