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More map contest results, part 4: Calling out peak services

by Matt Johnson   •   June 14, 2011 1:48 pm

The next 3 maps from our map contest are notable for the way they show part-time services.

The first map, Map R, was created by contributor and BeyondDC blogger Dan Malouff.

Map R, by Dan Malouff. Click to enlarge.

Map R uses line bullets at each terminal to identify the service. These are shown with the first letter of the color of the service, surrounded by a square of that color. Another great feature is the inclusion of commuter rail, which several of the entries also showed. In Map R, commuter rail lines also keep to the 45-degree angles of the Metro lines.

Part-time services are indicated in two ways. The divergent peak-only services are shown as a thinner line within the primary line. This can be seen between Stadium and Largo, where peak Orange trains run on the Blue Line. Additionally, the map makes good use of callout boxes to identify when the part-time services run.

Short-turns are indicated by making the line hollow beyond the mid-line terminal. So the Red Line appears hollow north of Silver Spring and Grosvenor, where half of all trains terminate.

Map R finished in 9th place in the peoples' choice and received 59 first-place votes, the 10th-most in the contest.

Map K, by Owen Yamauchi. Click to enlarge.

Map K, by Owen Yamauchi shows the peak-only services in a similar manner. A thin line runs inside the primary line where the part-time service is running off it's usual line. Short turns are indicated by bold station name text.

The map uses a legend on the left side to better indicate when the part-time services run. Commuter rail connections are shown as they are on the current map, with their logos.

Map S, by Brian Love. Click to enlarge.

Map S, by Brian Love, has some similarities to Dan Malouff's entry. He uses hollow lines to indicate the off-peak services running off their primary line.

To deal with the Yellow Line peak service, he shows the Franconia-Greenbelt service with a hollow line. The section from Mount Vernon Square to Fort Totten is shown with a separate line with a thinner dashed line inside it to indicate that Huntington trains stop at Mount Vernon Square during rush hour.

Callout boxes are used to further define when services run.

Map S also includes commuter rail lines, which helps to show the regional connections available to riders.

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.