Transit
More map contest results, part 3: Refreshing the old look
Many of the maps in our map contest took a radical approach to the redesign. But other designers opted more for a revamp of Wyman's original map.
Two entries stood out for keeping the basic form of Wyman's map, but at the same time offering a new look. One reduces clutter, the other for adds information, yet keeps a clean design.
Map E, by Rik Silverman. Click to enlarge.
These entries are Map E, by Rik Silverman, and Map M, by David Jones. Map E received 78 first-place votes, the sixth highest in the first round. Map M got 74 first-place votes, putting it in 7th place. Because we used instant-runoff voting, Map E finished in 4th place, with 137 votes in round 13. Map M finished in 8th place with 82 votes.
Both maps used a similar approach to dealing with the bundling of 3 lines downtown. The designers used a subtle narrowing of the lines so that the width of 3 lines is the same as the width of 2 lines elsewhere on the map.
Map E was notable for using squarish icons to indicate stations. In cases where the map is cramped, leader lines connect station names to their icons for clarity. The width of the icon is based on how many lines it crosses.
Another notable feature was calling out the ends of each line with a geographic label. Calling the Glenmont end of the Red Line "Red East" could help orient riders.
This was one of 3 maps that chose to call out the District of Columbia by showing it as a different color. The part-time services were shown using a checkerboard pattern.
Map M, by David Jones. Click to enlarge.
Map M was one of several maps to include commuter rail lines. This is a helpful feature, and David was able to include these without adding too much clutter to the map.
Map M was the only map to show the Franconia-Greenbelt service with a blue line. Most maps showed it in yellow, and a few showed it as a unique color.
The spacing of stations and lines allowed the station name text to be more easily read than on the current map. And the use of larger and bolder font and a larger icon for transfer stations is good. The call-out boxes are tastefully done.
The large station circles give the map a nice visual appeal. And overall, it's got a nice cohesive look.
 | Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington region since mid-2007. He has a Master's degree in Community Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He has worked in the planning field since 2006 and lives in Greenbelt, where he serves on the city's Advisory Planning Board.    |
Comments
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by tom veil on Jun 8, 2011 2:25 pm
by Brandon on Jun 8, 2011 2:56 pm
Absolutely agree. The directions are much better. I think anybody standing on the platform at Union Station trying to get to Metro Center would be able to understand what "Red Line West" meant as opposed to "Red Line to Shady Grove".
by Adam L on Jun 8, 2011 3:18 pm
Also, keep in mind that the Red Line is sort of East-West in DC but is two separate north-south lines in Montgomery.
by Cavan on Jun 8, 2011 3:24 pm
The Red Line has east and west halves, but it actually runs north and south. Just read the termini of the lines in clockwise direction - across the top of the map, they are West, East, North, North, East.
Does that mean if you're in Rockville and heading into DC, you hop on an Eastbound Red line train? That makes no sense at all. If I'm at Eastern Market and I want to go downtown, I hop on a Southbound Blue line train? Even when I actually turn north first?
The track geometry does not support that kind of nomenclature for the lines, I'm afraid.
by Alex B. on Jun 8, 2011 3:28 pm
I get that concern but there must be something that can be done to make it more understandable. Even when people are looking at the map, just getting on the right train is problematic. I used the Union Station example because it happened to a group of tourists who knew they needed to go towards Shady Grove but the rush-hour train said "Grosvenor". Some of them didn't think it was the right train, others were confusing it with Glenmont. Had they just known that that the train went "west", they would've just boarded.
I get what you're saying about the Cartesian names not directly matching up with the direction the train is traveling but I don't think it's any less confusing than obscure station names.
by Adam L on Jun 8, 2011 3:34 pm
Yes, something must be done - we scrap the idea of lines named solely by color.
Jarrett Walker has a great post on the different levels of nomenclature:
http://www.humantransit.org/2009/10/paris-do-we-need-to-know-about-mona-and-joel.html
For this reason, I liked the maps in the contest that had multiple red lines, because there really are multiple 'red line' services that use those tracks.
by Alex B. on Jun 8, 2011 3:38 pm
by Steve S on Jun 8, 2011 3:46 pm
Several of the maps, including Metro's current map, fail to note that half of all trains terminate at Silver Spring.
by Matt Johnson on Jun 8, 2011 3:48 pm
by Esmeralda on Jun 8, 2011 6:01 pm
My rationale was to separate the many combinations of service from the limited number of routes by identifying the routes’ color and direction. Then, identify each service by the destination, which now more than ever could be one of several stations along the route.
That makes each trip a combination of route, direction, and destination. So if you’re at Union Station and want to go to Metro Center, you’d look for the route that went between the two stations (Red), the direction you’re going (West), and then for a train that goes as far as your destination (Shady Grove or Grosvenor).
This removes the presumption that all trains go to the terminus and would allow further changes to the service patterns. The trains themselves could probably be signed the same — “Red: Shady Grove” — I’m thinking of the directional signs as most useful inside the station when you’re looking for the right platform, and as a planning tool. (As it is now, I always have to stop and run through a mnemonic in my head to decide which way to go on the Red Line — I know which “side” a stop is on, but, especially as a non-Marylander, I just can’t place the names Shady Grove and Glenmont as reference points.)
So while the Red Line, especially, doesn’t travel in a straight line between two opposite directions, I thought of the cardinal labels as endpoints more than directions — that you’re heading toward the west end of the Red Line, versus traveling westward. Or, the Blue Line runs south and east, with the key being, essentially, “which end do I want to end up closer to?” Not ideal, I know; but helpful, I hope.
As I think it over and see the excellent submissions throughout the contest, I’d want to explain this concept more clearly on the map — how to put the pieces together to take your trip.
by Rik Silverman on Jun 8, 2011 6:05 pm
by M.V. Jantzen on Jun 8, 2011 6:21 pm
Rather than having them as cardinal directions, I think of the trains as having "sides": top to bottom for Green & Yellow, East to West for Blue & Orange (West side is to Western European names, after all), and Right Side-Left Side for Red. Unsure how that would work into a map, but having something that denotes the direction of a train would be good.
by OctaviusIII on Jun 8, 2011 6:41 pm
The problem with all these maps is that you are too tied down with the color of the lines. I would like to know the percentage of people who uses the through routing of the system (meaning ride from East Falls Church to Landover?, i assume very small. Thus inbound trains don't need a color, just where they are going to on the other end. So in theory you could call a train a "Blue" if it was going from Vienna to Largo Town Center. People getting on at East Falls Church don't care, they are most likely getting off before it changes "lines". I'll try to make a map but I don't have any snazzy software.
by David B. on Jun 8, 2011 9:01 pm
http://potomaclocal.com/news/dale-city/officials-want-metro-to-woodbridge-on-new-map
While Woodbridge & Quantico have VRE, VRE doesn't run all day like Metro does, so it would be convient to have Metro
by Davin Peterson on Jun 8, 2011 9:57 pm
thanks for posting your creative thought process. Very cool map and I think the directional naming of the lines makes great sense. As someone who lives in the city and does most of my travel within the District boundaries, the names of the ends of the lines as they are now (Glenmont, Franconia-Springfield, etc) don’t have any meaning or reference for me. North, South, East, West is much easier to remember!
by kelliott on Jun 8, 2011 11:00 pm
You don’t need any snazzy software. With enough computing power and RAM you should be able to draw something reasonable with MS paint. There are also some relatively simple to use freeware programs out there.
I used Design CAD 3D Max to draw the maps I did and used MS paint to assemble the screen captures into a single graphic file and did the final resizing with Irfanview.
by San Box John on Jun 8, 2011 11:35 pm
http://greatergreaterwashington.org/image.cgi?src=200810/wmata1982large.jpg&ref=1298
by Rich on Jun 9, 2011 8:27 am
by David Jones on Jun 9, 2011 9:57 am
by CCCA Prez on Jun 9, 2011 1:31 pm
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