Try changing the panel’s hierarchy while keeping your father’s words intact. It sounds as though you want his voice to welcome people into the street; I’m tentatively reading your protectiveness as being about that presence, rather than necessarily the space the line occupies. Does that fit, or is its prominence part of what must survive?

The five visits give you a reason to investigate the entrance: four people struggled to find the start. Three liking the line supports keeping it in the exploration, but doesn’t tell us whether its placement caused the difficulty. The tension is between an opening people can feel and a route they can find.

Before changing the installed panel, preserve a photo and make one temporary, full-size version: move the existing map and “Start here” into the upper part, with “Every doorstep remembers.” immediately beneath, still clearly readable and attributed as it is now. Keep the wording, map, and other content the same. This is a small hierarchy experiment; the hypothesis is that visitors will find their way sooner. The risk is that the welcome will feel more instructional and your father’s voice less present.

Observe the next five visits without pointing out the start. Record whether visitors identify it unaided, how long they take, and where they hesitate. Afterwards, ask what they remember of the welcome. Compare the actual panels yourself: does his line still feel like an invitation? Your response matters for that question; visitor behavior matters for finding the route.

Route clarity is currently a concern; readability, contrast, and visibility from standing and seated positions remain unverified. Check those on the temporary panel before trying it with visitors. Treat five more visits as a useful small test, not proof. Keep the change only if finding the start becomes easier and the welcome still feels right; otherwise restore the original and reconsider the placement.

Decision note: preserve your father’s exact words and the street’s sense of voice; test their placement because of the observed navigation difficulty. Revisit the choice if wayfinding fails to improve or the emotional welcome is diminished.