GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The mile marker signs on Greensboro trails are being replaced by new GPS coordinate signs.
- It's part of an effort to make hiker and cyclists on the trails easier to rescue in emergencies.
- Now the signs have the trail name and one number on them.
- Because the signs are a specific point on a map, firefighters responding know exactly which coordinates to go to.
"Not everybody falls out our gets hurt at the trail head or the trail end. Sometimes they're right smack dab in the middle," Jonathan Bryant of the Greensboro Fire Department said.
Each sign is specific to the trail, where before the mileage markers repeated on different paths.
"The trails serve basically as a street and the mile markers are like addresses," Trail Planner Elizabeth Jernigan said.
When people call for help, the only information they need to relay is the trail name, number of the sign they're near, and if the numbers are going up or down in their direction.
Because the signs are a specific point on a map, firefighters responding know exactly which coordinates to go to. Before the mile markers covered a general area.
Jernigan says she understands people miss having the mileage updates, but the changes are to make everyone safer.
