November’s Awesome Ottawa award goes to Lana Stewart, to support a raft of do-it-yourself “guerrilla wayfinding” street signs to improve walkability and bikeability in Ottawa.

“Everyone says Ottawa is boring, but it's not if you know the right places to go,” says Lana. “Unfortunately, the signs you see along the streets and highways aren't going to direct you to the heart of local Ottawa. We need signs that point the person who hopped off the bus and is walking, or the person cycling along a bike path, to the great things just minutes or metres from where they are.”

Starting in the spring, Lana will use the do-it-yourself sign-making website Walk [Your City], which she backed when it was first a Kickstarter project, to create signs to local businesses or points of interest that would not normally make it onto a formal street sign. “I hope these signs help point people in the right direction to find good local food, shops, and culture,” she says.

Lana is a pedestrian, cyclist, and mom. She blogs at http://www.modalmom.com.