17 people entered our Redesign the Metro Map contest. Now, you can see the entries and vote on them!

Eric Fidler and I created a voting application that lets you browse each map and drag them into a special ballot, where you can rank as many (or as few) choices as you like. We’ll then use Instant Runoff Voting to pick the winners.

You have until 11:59 pm on Friday night to cast your votes. Just one vote per person, please. We will announce the winners the following week.

Many of the maps came from readers and a few from contributors. We’ve removed all of the identifying information so that the voting can be totally anonymous. That way, people will be voting for the best map, not one whose author they happen to like based on posts or comments. If you submitted a map, it’d be great if you can help keep it that way by not identifying your map. When we post winners, we’ll also identify and thank all of the submittors.

A distinguished jury of transit experts, journalists and designers is also going to be making their own picks this week. The jurors are:

  • Barbara Richardson, Assistant General Manager for Customer Service, Communications and Marketing, WMATA*
  • Chris Zimmerman, former WMATA Board member from Arlington and current chairman of the Arlington County Board
  • Zachary Schrag, Associate Professor of History at George Mason University and author of The Great Society Subway: A History of the Washington Metro
  • Michael Schaffer, editor of the Washington City Paper
  • Bob Thomson (“Dr. Gridlock”), transportation columnist for the Washington Post
  • Kytja Weir, transportation reporter for the Washington Examiner
  • Justin Young, designer and proprietor of ReadySetDC

Barbara Richardson is helping us judge, but this is not an official WMATA contest. The winning map does not get to become the new Metro map; WMATA has hired Lance Wyman, the original map designer, to revamp the map. They might draw some inspiration from elements of the entries, but this contest is strictly for fun.

Cast your votes! Feel free to post your opinions in the comments, but we encourage you to go vote before you read everyone else’s opinions.

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.