The $8 million initiative will see 2100 braille and tactile street signs installed throughout central Sydney along with 3D maps, information pylons and other digital technologies to aid navigation.

The City of Sydney's design director, Bridget Smyth,   says a  study commissioned as part of the project showed people often found it difficult to find their way around Sydney.

"We audited the city to see what's out there, and found a lot of visual clutter. If you can't find your way around, there is a barrier to accessing the city centre," she says. "The study was like a health check on our city and how it's doing. It gave us a focus with how to improve and wayfinding was one of the key aspects."

The new signs have been developed in consultation with agencies working with the blind and Smyth hopes the network will mean disadvantaged people, including the visually impaired, feel more confident about getting around.

"It's a compact city and it's beautiful and being able to access the waterfront and being able to move should be so much easier.  When we complete the system, we hope everyone will feel the city is much more accessible."  

Among the wayfinding technologies are QR tags which work in conjunction with a mobile phone app and have specific benefits for those with special needs. "With QR tags, you use your phone to swipe and it takes it to the website of your city. If you have a vision impairment and you're lost, you can ring the service line and we would assist you. It's a fantastic message for people with impairments," she says.

Smyth says planning and designing the system has been an expansive process.

"We've looked at other cities around the world ... and looked at how successful they've been. We want the simplest, most uncomplicated system that unclutters messaging and mapping; not to spray the city with signage, but try to strategically place it," she says.

"We're trying to get one comprehensive system that works across the city and it really is quite an art. It's not just signage design it's environmental design. We don't want to reinvent the wheel but to learn from our city colleagues all over the world."

The City of Sydney is also contributing $220 million to support various new street works which will mean huge changes for the city, Smyth says.

"There is an area of George Street where cars will be removed, which will breathe new life into the city, new space and activation on the street. This will be a whole new game-changer for Sydney."