Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson discusses the need for digital wayfinding kiosks in Seattle alongside Markham McIntyre, director of the Office of Economic Development, center, and Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, at City Hall on Thursday. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)Like a giant smartphone with content tailored to the needs of Seattle citizens and visitors, a large digital wayfinding kiosk was powered up at City Hall on Thursday to demonstrate the look and feel of infrastructure that could be coming to city streets.The dual-sided, touchscreen kiosks feature Wi-Fi access and can relay information related to transportation, community events, safety, health, arts and entertainment, and more — with advertising included. The desire to install the devices in the public right-of-way in the downtown core is in support of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan and the effort to revitalize the city post-pandemic.“This is a proven tool in markets across the country,” said Jon Scholes, president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA), the organization that is serving as lead applicant and proponent to bring the kiosks to Seattle. “This will drive traffic and spending into our small business community, our neighborhood business districts, and increase attendance at arts and cultural events or concerts.”The kiosks, called IKE Smart City, are a product of Columbus, Ohio-based advertising company Orange Barrel Media, which is partnering with DSA on the proposal. There are currently 23 U.S. cities where the digital kiosk program has been implemented, and the hope among stakeholders is to bring 30 of the devices to Seattle’s Metropolitan Improvement District in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.IKE Smart City’s Jessica Burton shows how to engage the apps on one of the digital kiosks alongside her colleague, Clay Collett, left, at Seattle City Hall

An IKE Smart City kiosk in Miami, where users can interact with a variety of touchscreen apps to learn about nearby businesses or events in the city, get directions, and more. (IKE Smart City Photo)A proposal to bring 30 interactive digital kiosks to downtown Seattle — in the hopes of enhancing public safety, wayfinding, Wi-Fi access, community engagement and more — spotlighted the potential of the devices while raising a number of questions and concerns during a Thursday meeting of the Seattle Design Commission.Will the kiosks targeting residents and tourists in the core of the city, and potentially in outer neighborhoods, provide a meaningful benefit to the public? Or will the large screens planted alongside sidewalks and roadways further clutter Seattle’s landscape with bright light and excessive advertising?The kiosks, called IKE Smart City, are a product of Columbus, Ohio-based advertising company Orange Barrel Media, which is partnering with the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) to add Seattle to its list of clients. There are currently 18 U.S. cities where the digital kiosk program has been implemented, and the hope among stakeholders is to bring the devices to Seattle in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.There is no cost to the City of Seattle for the installation or upkeep of the kiosks, which could generate, on average, $1.1 million per year via advertising revenue that would go to DSA. The organization says it would invest that money back into downtown. The City would also share in any additional revenue that exceeds an agreed-upon threshold.DSA and its partners would also receive rights to a portion of the content on the kiosks.Representatives from Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, pubic safety agencies, Orange Barrel Media, DSA and others presented arguments Thursday for how the kiosks would be a welcome addition to Seattle streets.Andrew Myerberg, chief innovation officer for the City of Seattle, said that Mayor Harrell strongly supports the proposal, which is in line with his Downtown Activation Plan to reinvigorate the city post-pandemic.“One of the broadest [public benefits] is the benefit to public safety and to our response and engagement with the community around emergencies,” Myerberg said.Myerberg was joined by representatives from the Seattle Police Department, Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle CARE Department — home to Seattle’s 911 communications center and the CARE Community Crisis Responder Team.Along with the ability to call 911 from a kiosk, agencies like SPD and SFD envision using them to broadcast warnings in the event of an emergency or to issue public safety instructions.“I have seen cities all around this country avail themselves of the very best technology available to keep communities not only safe but to keep them connected to one another, to connect to services,” CARE Acting Chief Amy Smith said, while referencing Seattle’s rise in violent crime rates and overdose deaths