Transit
New Metro map changes little but improves much
After carefully considering rider input and ideas from our map contest, WMATA and designer Lance Wyman have unveiled a draft of a new Metro map showing upcoming service changes.
Image from WMATA. Click to enlarge.
There were two big questions in the map contest. One was how to fit in the Silver Line on a map with fat lines and small station circles. The second was how to show new rush- On the first, WMATA has decided to wait. The Silver Line isn't running yet and won't be for a few years. If they make room for a very long gray line through the core, it will take up a lot of visual space for little effect; Barbara Richardson, assistant general manager for customer service and communications, also noted that it could confuse riders.
Therefore, the draft map shows the line merging into the Orange Line at East Falls Church and then disappearing. One potential drawback is that some people will surely come to believe the actual trains will just end at East Falls Church, requiring a transfer to an Orange Line to continue the trip. That may not matter much, as they can't take the trains today and will figure it out once trains start running along with new maps.
On the second, designers agreed with the direction most map contest entrants chose, to show versions of the Yellow Line splitting off to Franconia and Orange going to Largo. That's the most sensible approach. However, they want your advice on one thing: should the line be dashed or striped? That's one of many questions on a survey launching today.
Another issue our contest entrants wrestled with is how to show the fact that some trains currently short turn at Grosvenor, Silver Spring, and Mount Vernon Square, and in the future, will do so at West Falls Church as well. Wyman and the folks at WMATA came up with an interesting solution that wasn't in the contest at all: a different symbol for such stations. The proposal is to add a dot to the center of the circle that denotes the station. The survey includes a question about whether that's clear or confusing.
There are many smaller changes. Gone is what people's choice winner Cameron Booth dubbed the "boxy Volvo" for parking icons; the new map will use the blue squares that are the universal symbol for parking (but the survey asks you if you want the old symbols or one of 2 new alternatives).
Buses to airports may get much more prominent icons showing a bus, an arrow, and an airplane (with 3 options in the survey). The station names still sometimes overlap lines, but at least the stations from Federal Center SW to Stadium-Armory appear at a 45° angle instead of the odd wedged-in angle on the current map.
The best change of all, of course, is the new "subtitles" for stations. The U Street, Woodley Park, Mount Vernon Square, Georgia Ave, Gallery Place, Archives, West Falls Church, Dunn Loring and Vienna stations all have those segments as their primary name and the remainder shown in smaller text. Richardson said in a Board meeting that "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport" can't be changed by federal law, but they still are able to make "Ronald Reagan Washington" smaller than the former station name, "National Airport."
I'd still like to see all universities or other items after a dash or slash become subtitles. "Shaw-Howard U" is still a single name instead of "Shaw" with a subtitle of "Howard U." Same for "Van Ness-UDC," "Tenleytown-AU", "Brookland-CUA," "College Park-U of Md," and "Ballston-MU." If Gallaudet U is moved into a subtitle and so is "George Mason Law" (now the subtitle for "Virginia Sq"), why not do the same for all universities equally?
In the contest, we discussed some of the problems with stations appearing far from their real-life locations. The new map remedies some of this. The Green Line around Southern Avenue and Naylor Road actually travels northeast, with both stations near the DC-Maryland border, but the current map shows the line moving southeast as if Naylor Road were miles into Prince George's County.
Some geographic distortions haven't changed. Metro Center still looks much closer to the White House than McPherson and Farragut Squares, while the reverse is true. Union Station still looks very far from the Capitol, though it's not. These are arguably much more important to fix, since tourists do make decisions about which station to use based on the map while Prince George's commuters won't to the same degree.
Farragut North and West have gotten closer together, but the draft map doesn't reveal how WMATA officials hope to depict the planned out-of-system "Farragut Crossing" transfer, another subject of the map contest. It would also be helpful to move Metro Center and Gallery Place closer together, so riders at Gallery Place realize it's often better to walk to Metro Center for a Blue or Orange train than to take the Red Line one stop.
The survey asks a number of other interesting questions. Do you prefer "peak" or "rush hours"? Should the map keep the prohibited items at the bottom, or is that really not appropriate for the map? And what about this: should the new Tysons/Dulles line be just another branch of the Orange Line?
I suspect the feedback may overwhelmingly favor Silver because that's what we've all been calling it, and maybe that's a good enough reason to call it Silver, but when you think about it, Orange makes some sense. The trains between Franconia and Greenbelt will be Yellow because they follow the Yellow Line route through the core. Why not have all trains that run through North Arlington and then the tunnel from Rosslyn to Stadium-Armory colored orange?
And what if the original line went to Tysons and Dulles, and then Metro decided to add a 3-station spur to Vienna? Would it make any more sense to give that new spur the same color as the old line, since it duplicates its route for most of the distance?
The Washington Post reports that map designer Lance Wyman would like a "cherry blossom" pink for the line. Given the way the survey only gives options for silver, orange, and some other undefined color, it doesn't seem WMATA staff share his enthusiasm for that idea.
Head over to the survey and vote for your favorites on the specific questions being posed. And give your overall opinions of the changes in the comments.
David Alpert is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Greater Greater Washington. He has had a lifelong interest in great cities and great communities. He worked as a Product Manager for Google for six years and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He loves the area which is, in many ways, greater than those others, and wants to see it become even greater. 
Comments
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To a tourist who's just come in from a long flight into Dulles, "Peak-Only Yellow Line Service" might mean what it's supposed to mean - i.e. "Yellow Line Service only operates on this stretch at Peak times."
It could also mean "at Peak, Only Yellow Line Service will run on this stretch." Potentially confusing...even though we know exactly what it means.
Otherwise I'm a fan of the new map.
by PCity on Sep 6, 2011 8:12 am
I'm not worried about that - because the blue line and/or green line is still there. The visual is more important than the text.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 8:47 am
Like most of the other changes. I think I prefer the stripes over the chunky dashes, but hard to tell without seeing it over the whole map.
by xtr657 on Sep 6, 2011 8:53 am
Actually, the WH vistor's center is at 15th ad E, and the vistor's security entrance is in the southeast corner of the property. So Metro Center is now the right station for WH tourists.
I agree on Union Station, though. It shouldn't be too hard to slide it closer to Judiciary Sq and then run a diagonal line to NY Ave (more accurate anyway).
I like the striped lines for rush/peak service. The dashes look like they mean "Under Construction"
by Novanglus on Sep 6, 2011 8:55 am
by EdH on Sep 6, 2011 9:00 am
by Alan on Sep 6, 2011 9:02 am
Also, why can't U Street just be U Street?
I also agree that all universities should be in the subtitle.
by Ron on Sep 6, 2011 9:09 am
The street intersections for the stations (which are in such a small font they're unreadable anyway) and the Beltway remain unnecessary. Also, the symbols for landmarks like the White House are so hard to see/decipher that I doubt they'll be of much use to tourists.
WMATA could save some cash by holding their own map redesign contest, rather than paying Lance Wyman to do it (although I seem to remember his fee being pretty cheap).
by Rebecca on Sep 6, 2011 9:21 am
i do like the new font, and i like the new terminus dot idea by Wyman.
by jkc on Sep 6, 2011 9:38 am
As for the silver vs. Orange line color leaving it silver makes the most sense since its attached to the airport. This way people do not have to figure out which orange line the need to be on if they want to travel to the airport, they just need to make sure they are on the silver.
by Matt R on Sep 6, 2011 9:52 am
by David R. on Sep 6, 2011 10:10 am
by Jasper on Sep 6, 2011 10:17 am
While the terminal designation makes sense to someone who already knows the system, I don't know if it does if you don't. At the same time I don't think it is that important as once you are on a train that ends before you expect it to, it is very easy to figure out that you just need to wait for the next train. Perhaps Metro could make it a standard part of the out of service announcement, that if you are continuing you just need to wait for the next train.
by nathaniel on Sep 6, 2011 10:18 am
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see the need to indicate the additions to service toward Franconia or Largo with dashes or stripes - why do passengers need to know the trains will be more frequent? - it just adds clutter.
I like how they illustrated the bus to airport connections but think they could be a little more spaced out.
by DCster on Sep 6, 2011 10:59 am
by Scoot on Sep 6, 2011 10:59 am
The striped lines going to Franconia-Springfield (Yellow) and Largo (Orange) do not indicate more frequent service, nor are they intended to.
In fact, the number of trains going between Stadium-Armory and Largo during rush hour will be the same as it is today. The same applies for Franconia-Springfield.
But due to crowding in the Blue/Orange Subway between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory, some Blue Line trains are being rerouted to allow more Orange Line trains to operate through the tunnel.
What this means is during rush hour, some trains will operate from Franconia-Springfield to Greenbelt. The dashed yellow line indicates to customers that they can board a Yellow Line train at Franconia and go all the way to Greenbelt. It's not shown as Blue because that would mean the Blue Line called at both levels at L'Enfant Plaza, a confusing prospect.
On the Largo branch, the Orange Line trains there replace the Blue Line trains that are now operating to Greenbelt instead. This allows the Largo branch to maintain the same number of trains.
Read more about it:
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 11:08 am
by Transport. on Sep 6, 2011 11:15 am
by Vicente Fox on Sep 6, 2011 11:19 am
Also, I note that the demographic questions at the end of the survey were comprehensive EXCEPT that there was no question addressing mobility, low vision, or other disabling condition. Metro needs to improve in this area.
by TomatoQueen on Sep 6, 2011 11:35 am
How did this one slip by WMATA?
by tmtfairfax on Sep 6, 2011 11:37 am
I like "peak" rather than "rush hours" for the same reasons I use it in my road-based work: it's shorter, concise, and doesn't get misconstrued as easily with the singular "peak hour" that I'm sure we can all agree doesn't really apply these days.
Not a fan of Yellow Line's dots between Mt V Sq and Ft Totten, though I do believe some degree of distinction is useful. The dots are too similar to the round shapes of stations. Consider some alternate line type.
For Farragut Crossing: whatever method is used to show connection; consider that it may aesthetically work also with Metro Center - Chinatown; a connection that is certainly feasible in the future. In contrast to the GGWash write-up above, however, I prefer to maintain the spacing between the bolded lines of a Metro Center / Chinatown connection... moving them too close could be misinterpreted too easily as all the lines coming together.
Pink Line instead of Silver? Defies popular use & may also be too similar in color to orange. As for Orange Spur vs Silver, I ultimately sided with the latter... I just don't think spurs are as user-friendly to the unfamiliar user.
Regarding color codes: is there an established issue w/ color-blind in identifying routes? If so, I could see a case made for color codes... but if not, then I see it as rather redundant; potentially confusing if unfamiliar users are provided with too much information.
by Bossi on Sep 6, 2011 11:43 am
I used to think spurs were a bad idea, that they made things complicated; that's mainly because I grew up with the DC metro and had no experience with other metros. But as the DC metro is growing up, it needs to, well, get more mature and get away from the simplistic manner it's been able to rely on until now.
by Andrew L. on Sep 6, 2011 11:45 am
You can read more about why the Yellow Line stops at Mount Vernon Square during rush hours here: http://ggwash.org/6335
But I'll give the basics again. You might find it surprising that it is not just a money issue.
Before 2006, Yellow Line trains always stopped at Mount Vernon Square. The off-peak extension to Fort Totten costs Metro $3 million more per year.
To extend the Yellow Line to Fort Totten during peak periods would cost an additional $3 million per year.
Now, during off-peak periods, to extend the Yellow Line from Fort Totten to Greenbelt would cost an additional $2 million per year ($5 million more than stopping at Mount Vernon Square during off-peak).
During peak periods, that extension would cost an additional $5 million over current service levels (trains stop at Mount Vernon Square during rush hour).
What that means is that extending the Yellow Line to Greenbelt during all times would cost the transit agency $7 million per year more than it costs to run the system currently.
But even if WMATA wanted to do that today, they could not.
To run Yellow Line trains to Fort Totten during peak periods, Metro would need to buy 30 more railcars (5 new 6-car trains) since there are not enough cars in the fleet at present. They would also need to build a pocket track north of Fort Totten at significant expense.
To run Yellow Line trains to Greenbelt during all times, they would need to purchase 60 new railcars (10 6-car sets).
Both of those scenarios would also require expansion of railyards to have more storage tracks.
Metro is currently procuring the 7000 series cars to replace the 1000 series (300 cars) and for the Silver Line (64 cars, for phase I). The next 64 cars on the order will be for Phase II of the Silver Line. Following that are 100 cars to replace the 4000 series (these are actually rehabs, not replacements). After that, Metro could purchase cars for fleet expansion.
So the earliest a full-time Yellow extension to Greenbelt could happen would be in 4-5 years or so. It would have a capital cost of about $200 million and an annual operating cost of $7 million.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 11:51 am
The map is correct. If you look closely, you can see that the Silver spur joins the Orange Line between EFC and WFC. The stations are too close together, though, and the Silver spur does touch WFC station. That should be fixed.
If you're wondering about the circle-dot icon at West Falls Church station, that does not indicate that it is a transfer station. It indicates that some Orange Line trains will terminate there (the ones that start at Largo, in fact) during certain times. The text of the post makes this point clear, as does the map legend.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 11:54 am
by Pelham1861 on Sep 6, 2011 12:06 pm
Tone down the rhetoric, please. Federal law requires the name of the station at DCA to be "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport". Metro cannot change that name.
If you don't like that, write your Congressperson.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 12:08 pm
Do you know where the law is written re: National Airport? I'd be curious to know what, if any, flexibility it offers... does the name specifically state that WMATA &/or the Metrorail System Maps must use that name? Could we get away with IATA codes instead of the full name?
by Bossi on Sep 6, 2011 12:11 pm
I do not know where it is. However, I've seen it reported several times that it is a federal law. I believe I even saw it from Metro themselves at some point, though my memory is rusty.
Personally, I'd be perfectly happy with the stop being called "National Airport" or "Reagan National Airport".
I also think the subtitle approach works (though not as well as shortening the name). But then I suggested subtitles, so I might be biased.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 12:16 pm
by @SamuelMoore on Sep 6, 2011 12:27 pm
As I recall, the timeline went something like this.
1. Congress re-names DCA, appending Reagan's name to the airport. MWAA was against it for reasons of cost and potential confusion, but Congress overruled them. (1998)
2. WMATA refuses to re-name the Metro station accordingly, citing their policy that all station re-namings must be paid for by the entity requesting the change. Thus, the Metro station continued to just be "National Aiport" until mid-2001. The cost was substantial, since it involves changing every single map in the system, lots of station signage (even outside of the station in question), etc.
3. Congress gets upset, threatens to withhold funding from WMATA unless they make the change and WMATA pays for the change (despite WMATA's longstanding policy to the contrary) - mid 2001
4. In late 2001, Congress votes to force WMATA to change the station name, specifying that it be, in full, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
So - Congress is the body responsible for that long and clunky name, and they've forced it upon the transit system as well. This isn't a knock on Reagan, but any station name that checks in at 41 characters is too long to be an effective transit station name. Somehow, I doubt that Congress had the best practices of transit wayfinding in mind when they mandated the change.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 12:47 pm
To me a slash is used when you have two items that are on equal footing, such as you had a station that is between two areas and of equal distance to both.
You use a dash when something is a subset of something else, with universities being within the neighborhood that the station is named after.
by xtr657 on Sep 6, 2011 1:04 pm
U Street - Cardozo - African-American Civil War Memorial
U Street/Cardozo/African-American Civil War Memorial
by 7r3y3r on Sep 6, 2011 1:05 pm
by andrew on Sep 6, 2011 1:06 pm
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-107hr2299rfs/pdf/BILLS-107hr2299rfs.pdf. Page 48, line 16
by Scoot on Sep 6, 2011 1:07 pm
by xtr657 on Sep 6, 2011 1:07 pm
Would a better implementation of subtitles be basing their use on how close a supplemental place is to the stop? One clear example is Vienna. It may be the closest station to Fairfax and the main campus of GMU, but it's certainly not walking distance to either location.
If a supplemental place is close enough to a stop to be within reasonable walking distance, should it be part of the main station name? If the supplemental place is far enough away that you're taking another form of transit to get there (e.g., the buses to Fairfax and GMU from Vienna), then should the supplemental place should be bumped down to a subtitle, or removed altogether and given a bus symbol like occurs on the current map for the 5A and B30 buses to the airports?
Of course, if you get too overzealous with marking up the rail map with bus symbols (e.g., if they started adding bus markers for the termini of the Circulator routes), it could make the map too difficult to read or require changes more frequently than is practical.
Thoughts?
by Prinny on Sep 6, 2011 1:08 pm
I should have clarified that it's my theory; I don't actually know why they use the forward slash instead of the hyphen at times. And the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan station name basically blows a hole in my theory. Oops.
So maybe @xtr657 is right.
by 7r3y3r on Sep 6, 2011 1:14 pm
by Pelham1861 on Sep 6, 2011 1:16 pm
What immature response? WMATA had a policy on the books since the early 80s that if an organization wanted to re-name a station, that organization had to pay for it. Congress simply exempted themselves from that rule.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 1:19 pm
by Pelham1861 on Sep 6, 2011 1:23 pm
by Scoot on Sep 6, 2011 1:23 pm
by Tina on Sep 6, 2011 1:27 pm
by Pelham1861 on Sep 6, 2011 1:29 pm
Please stop capitalizing things that aren't acronyms. I feel like you're shouting at us.
by andrew on Sep 6, 2011 1:32 pm
by Pelham1861 on Sep 6, 2011 1:33 pm
So Congress increased WMATA's apportionment specifically to pay for changing the name of the airport in accordance with WMATA's long standing policy?
And I, too, lament the fact that WMATA does not allow you to add any comments at the end of the survey. But I presume that having a pre-determined set of responses (multiple choice) allows WMATA to easily sift through the data as opposed to it being a form of "bureaucratic censorship." Smh.
by 7r3y3r on Sep 6, 2011 1:39 pm
Your summary of Metro's accounting isn't correct, but that's another discussion entirely.
On the issue of station name changes, I believe the cost for one station was about $400,000. When Congress renamed the airport after Reagan, they specifically noted that the renaming didn't cost anything (which is a laughable statement anyway - it's not like signs are just free). Point being - just because they say it doesn't cost anything doesn't make it true.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 1:45 pm
by tmtfairfax on Sep 6, 2011 1:46 pm
by MDE on Sep 6, 2011 1:48 pm
On the Dulles line being a spur of the Orange, it definitely makes sense, and being from Boston, I'm used to having that sort of thing. However, while I'm fine with it on the west side of the map, I'm opposed to it because of its east side implications. The Orange Line will go from having one terminus stop to three: New Carrolton, Largo and Stadium-Armory. To me, this becomes too confusing for the average rider.
On Peak vs Rush Hour. I've always disliked peak. To me, peak means the standard time while off-peak seems more like a less frequent rate. Rush-hour is a concept that everyone understands and, since the terms are more important with the new route changes, the easiest to understand is the most important.
by BCD on Sep 6, 2011 2:20 pm
The Yellow Line north of Mount Vernon Square is difficult to show during rush hour because it will only have a few Yellow Line trains.
Basically, think of it this way:
Off-Peak (not rush hour):
Peak (rush hour):
The section of track between Mount Vernon Square and Greenbelt will look like this during rush hours:
*TPH means "trains per hour".
10 TPH - GR Branch Ave - Greenbelt
3 or 4 TPH - YL (ex-BL) Franconia - Greenbelt
Between L'Enfant Plaza and Mount Vernon Square during rush hour:
10 TPH - GR Branch Ave - Greenbelt
10 TPH - YL Huntington - Mount Vernon Square
3 or 4 TPH - YL (ex-BL) Franconia - Greenbelt
So, as you can see, during rush hour, Yellow Line trains DO NOT go between Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten, EXCEPT for those that go all the way to Greenbelt (and are coming from Franconia).
NOT during rush hour, Yellow Line trains DO go between Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten, but DO NOT go to Greenbelt.
Confused yet? It's complicated, but it's necessitated because the tunnel between Rosslyn and Stadium/Armory can only handle 26 TPH* (10 TPH Orange, 10 TPH Silver, 6 TPH Blue). The remaining 4 Blue Line trains, have to be sent over the Yellow Line bridge. But they can't terminate at Fort Totten because there's no pocket track. So they have to go all the way to Greenbelt (including the section between Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten). But the vast majority of Yellow Line trains won't be going north of Mount Vernon Square during rush hour.
So, off-peak, all Yellow Line trains go between MVS and Fort Totten. During peak, that service is "limited".
For more on this, read these 2 posts:
http://ggwash.org/6335
http://ggwash.org/6336
by Matt Johnson on Sep 6, 2011 2:33 pm
I'd hate to lose the Silver Line, but I do understand the suggestions to make it all orange.
I would demote all universities to the subtitles, and I would have chosen Petworth (Georgia Ave) over Georgia Ave (Petworth) [or Petworth/Park View].
Do not like the yellow dotted line and the upside-down text.
by djdc on Sep 6, 2011 2:43 pm
by David Garber on Sep 6, 2011 2:47 pm
by tmtfairfax on Sep 6, 2011 2:53 pm
by Tina on Sep 6, 2011 2:54 pm
{in CAT5 data cables, we have blue/with stripe, and white/blue stripe...}
by George on Sep 6, 2011 2:58 pm
We can add this to the realm of never going to happen, but why not... How about calling it "Airport - DCA". Probably a little tough on out of towners, but they would definitely figure it out soon enough.
by Ohio Exile on Sep 6, 2011 3:21 pm
I think it also may be a consideration that the City of Fairfax contributes to Metro's operating costs, despite not having a station in the city.
I also think, as a subtitle, GMU deserves inclusion, since a lot of students take public transportation to campus via that station.
And as someone pointed out, due in part to lousy land-use planning decisions by the county, almost nothing is walkable at that station, so having the name reflect the driveable radius better reflects how the station is used in the real world.
by c5karl on Sep 6, 2011 3:22 pm
How is renaming the silver line to the Orange line a downgrade of line? All that changes is the color on the map.
by Ohio Exile on Sep 6, 2011 3:23 pm
The GOP won't hear of it; they forced WMATA to spend $400,000 on new signs to worship Ronny to begin with. It was attached to a defense appropriation as I recall.
by George B on Sep 6, 2011 3:39 pm
by Adam Bink on Sep 6, 2011 4:21 pm
Finally, that survey was awful. I don't know why my race or household income should be mandatory, and I wish there had been a chance to add comments and not just choose from a couple options.
by sb on Sep 6, 2011 4:28 pm
Still unclear: why the only parkland shown is in Arlington and NW DC. Why aren't the Arboretum, Anacostia Park, and Fort Circle Parks included?
Because this isn't a map of parks. It's meant to provide navigation within the Metro system. The geographic features depicted (the Mall, Rock Creek Park, Arlington Cemetery, and the two rivers) are all significant barriers/landmarks that people commonly use to orient themselves.
Inclusion of the Fort Circle Parks wouldn't help someone navigate the Metro system, IMO. I'm not convinced that adding, say, Anacostia Park to the map would help orient users any more than the existing depiction of the Anacostia River already does.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 4:50 pm
by Aldebaran on Sep 6, 2011 4:54 pm
Are they wary because they have never even looked at a map of DC, have not visited the Nationals website or read any information guide on how to get to Nationals Park, or even done a simple google search for directions? Even the best metro maps cannot solve all the problems of the laziest travelers.
I don't have a problem with renaming the stop Navy Yard with Nationals Park as a subtitle (and renaming the Stadium-Armory stop RFK Stadium-Armory), but if people can figure out how to get to Madison Square Garden, Soldier Field, Fenway, Candlestick Park, Citizens Bank Park/Wells Fargo Center, etc, even without naming a station specifically for a pro sports venue, then I hope people in DC can figure it out too.
by Scoot on Sep 6, 2011 4:57 pm
by MDE on Sep 6, 2011 5:21 pm
-Call the extension to Tyson's and Reston the Silver Line. When it is complete as 23 miles of new route, that is longer than many typical main subway lines. It is not a "spur" line when done.
-The 5A to IAD bus logo takes up too much space.
-Move the Capital building logo closer to Union Station. With Union Station as the busiest station, it should been highlighted somehow. Maybe a Union Station icon?
-Keeping the western end of the orange line completely horizontal wastes space on the map and leaves less room for the Silver Line. Have the Orange Line bend southwest west of East Falls Church to make room for the Silver Line "spur" and better reflect the geography of the Orange Line route. Or tilt the entire Orange line west of Rosslyn down 30 degrees to make room for the Silver Line.
-Find the damn funding to build the physical tunnel between Farragut North and West so there can be a connecting line on the map and not some confusing Farragut Crossing virtual connection.
-Put a small baseball stadium icon south of the Navy Yard stop.
by AlanF on Sep 6, 2011 5:21 pm
I think the map is kind of busy - there's a lot going on, and some of it seems extraneous. For example, the filled-in dots for ending stations. Is this information that anyone will actually use? Is it information that anyone actually needs?
Also the dotted yellow line service from Mt Vernon Sq to Fort Totten. Do we really need to describe this service in such detail? Seems to me it doesn't need to be described other than with the regular yellow line - even a one-time user will decide to just ride the train to Mt Vernon Sq and then get on a Green Line train if they need to go further. It just seems like they're trying to outline every single conundrum people could have with the system, and in the process making the map too cluttered.
"Limited Peak Yellow Line Service" sounds like a convoluted phrase that was arrived at because there's really no concise way to describe it.
by MLD on Sep 6, 2011 5:21 pm
The filled-in dots are less for the end stations and more for the mid-line stations where trains frequently turn around, such as Silver Spring, Grosvenor, etc.
It helps people identify which names on the trains they should be looking for to get their directionality.
I've seen tourists trying to get to the zoo who have been on a red line platform, knowing that they need a train to Shady Grove, but letting a train to Grosvenor pass by because they weren't sure about that terminal destination.
by Alex B. on Sep 6, 2011 5:34 pm
by Chuck Coleman on Sep 6, 2011 8:14 pm
The demographics section should have a question identifying the disability status (if any) of the person filling the survey. After all, it's not only my race and gender and age that influence and shape who I am and how I view the world ... the fact that I happen to be a person with a disability (actually, several disabilities) is also another important part of who I am. It's not all of me, and it's not the only important part of me, but it's there and it's important, so why shouldn't I have a chance to identify myself that way? And, it might be interesting to see if that factor influences people's responses to the various questions. It might not, but then again factors such as gender or race might not make a difference either ... but you can't know without checking.
I voted to identify the color/name of each line by actually printing the word (eg, "red") rather than the proposed two-letter code because I felt the two-letter code might not be immediately intuitive or obvious especially for new users. I probably wouldn't have realized that "RD" was meant to refer to the name of the line ("red") if I hadn't seen it in the context of the question.
I wish they were planning another line running through downtown to serve some of the same neighborhoods being served by the red line now (but a few blocks away) plus serving neighborhoods like Georgetown that don't have a metro stop but should. We NEED something like this to take some of the stress off the red line. I also wish they were planning a line that would connect some of the suburban stops more directly to each other, for example something running from Glenmont to Shady Grove (or stations near those two) so that people who live near one end of the red line don't have to travel all the way into the city and then back out again just to travel a short distance away. Plus some of the other suburban stops near the ends of the various metro lines. But unfortunately they don't seem to be doing either of these yet.
I understand why others want a comment box in the survey itself: I do too. But I also understand why they don't: if you have a comment box then you have to invest more staff hours reading all the comments and then writing up a summary of common themes that emerge among the comments etc. then there's more staff time spent deciding what, if anything, to actually do about the issues raised. And the thing is that the staff hours to do all this do cost money in salaries! They probably omitted the comment box simply because it would have cost too much to include.
by Andrea S. on Sep 6, 2011 9:05 pm
If Metro does emphasize the terminal stations on the map I have two recommendations.
1) Make sure the multiple terminal stations are highlighted on the platforms. Instead of just listing Glenmont as the destination direction, they should identify Silver Spring.
2) In addition to the different circle designation, they could underling the station name. This would draw even greater attention to these key way-finding stations.
by Rob P. III on Sep 6, 2011 11:22 pm
by MichaelTRuhl on Sep 6, 2011 11:48 pm
by MichaelTRuhl on Sep 7, 2011 12:11 am
by tmtfairfax on Sep 7, 2011 9:32 am
Phase 1 of the Silver Line is 11.5 miles with 5 stations. By my measurement, the total distance covered from East Falls Church to Stadium-Armory is about 12 miles. If someone has track miles for this segment, please feel free to post it. So even Phase 1 of the Silver Line is about as long as the section of the Orange Line route it will use.
Phase 2 will extend the Silver Line to 23 miles with 11 stations, compared to the 26.4 mile total length of the current Orange Line from Vienna to New Carrol ton. Yes, that does show just how far outside the Beltway the Silver Line will be going.
Once the entire Silver Line is running, I expect a fair percentage of the traffic on it will be people traveling from Reston, Herndon, Dulles, Ashburn to Tysons Corner and back. They will be using only the Silver Line extension for most of their Metro traveling. Not just commuting, but to go to the Tysons shopping malls, and as Tysons develops, take the Metro from elsewhere on the new Silver Line extension to Tysons (or Reston) to go to restaurants, nightlife activities. This is more than just a short spur of the Orange Line, but instead an entirely new active part of the Metro system, regardless of how far west it extends.
Can't call Phase 1 for the 3-4 years it will be open w/o Phase 2 an Orange Line spur and then rename the extension the Silver Line when Phase 2 opens.
by AlanF on Sep 7, 2011 10:06 am
If it's truly going to be an integrated part of the Metrorail system, it makes the most sense to call it Orange. Heck, call the three stations out to Vienna the "spur."
by MDE on Sep 7, 2011 11:00 am
So can we call the yellow line a spur of the blue line then, as it only has two stations of its own?
by Jasper on Sep 7, 2011 1:10 pm
That move fed rumors along the newly re-christened line that it was part of a ploy to entice gay gentrification of the neighborhood. I doubt that similar rumors would occur in Tysons.
by Payton on Sep 7, 2011 2:24 pm
by Alex B. on Sep 7, 2011 2:28 pm
Past practices was to denote planed extension as "Future" in the legend , the draft uses "Planed". The extension is not planed it is actually under construction and contradict the note written on the map adjacent to the future Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project. Phase II should also be shown on the map.
The Tysons, Dulles Loudoun County Route should be a different color because when all is said and done the existing Orange line to Vienna, that is older, will appear to look like a minor branch off the longer line to the Airport and beyond. The Silver line also terminates at Stadium-Armory
I believe stripes should be used for the Orange and Yellow line peak service as dashes have been used to denote future extension on past maps.
The busses to the airports should use the airport name not the airport codes.
As to the other modification, I see little problem there. I would have preferred keeping to primary station names shorter, Shaw, Van Ness, Tenleytown, Brookland, College Park, Ballston and New York Avenue and making the rest smaller text.
I was under the assumption that the East Falls Church short turn terminal would not come into use until after the first phase of the Silver line opened.
by Sand Box John on Sep 7, 2011 2:33 pm
The short turn at West Falls Church (not East Falls Church) will go into effect at the same time as the "Blue Line Reroute". That means next summer.
The Orange Line rush hour trains that are going to Largo will start at West Falls Church. Those Orange Line trains starting at Largo will terminate at West Falls Church.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 7, 2011 2:38 pm
Take a look at http://www.dullesmetro.com/stations/ East Falls Church is marked as a Transfer Station.
by tmtfairfax on Sep 7, 2011 3:06 pm
I'm not sure who you are responding to. I have a sneaky suspicion that it might be me, so I'll try and clarify my statement.
Starting in June of 2012 (next summer) and continuing UNTIL the Silver Line opens (approximately December 2013), during rush hours, some trains will be signed as Orange Line trains and will operate from Largo to WEST Falls Church.
Those trains are operating so that the section of track on the Blue Line (G Route) between Stadium/Armory and Largo will not lose service as a part of the Blue Line reroute.
The trains are terminating at WEST Falls Church because there is a center track (and rail yard) there.
If you are referring to @MDE at 11:00AM, he is not referring to the Silver Line as you know it. A decade or so ago, when all of this stuff was getting started, one of the proposals was to run a LIGHT RAIL line from Tysons down to WEST Falls Church. Since Metro is HEAVY RAIL, passengers wanting to continue downtown would have had to get out of their train, walk through the station, go upstairs, and then board an Orange Line train.
No one else has chimed in since your last comment referring to West Falls Church.
by Matt Johnson on Sep 7, 2011 3:12 pm
by tmtfairfax on Sep 7, 2011 3:52 pm
by jim on Sep 7, 2011 5:00 pm
*subtitling long station names
*marking line terminii (esp. WFC, Grosvenor, Silver Spring)
*improved parking icons
*better Amtrak/MARC/VRE icons
*clearer representation of buses to airports
*legend effectively conveys a lot of info in little space
*representation of peak-only and off-peak-only service. The dots and rectangles are clear, and clearly distinguished. Being unfamiliar with current or future service patterns (I left in 05), I think this map preserves its ease of use. Much easier than NYC's map. Though to be consistent, the dotted section of the Yellow Line should be listed in the top legend with the dashed segments.
*keeping the overall design/minimizing changes. So I'm a minority on GGW, but I love the Metro map. I find it iconic and so easy to use. I didn't like the contest submissions that radically differed from the status quo, though I liked elements of many of them. I think this is a great compromise that should work well for the most people.
*love what they did with the National Airport station. And as I've said for years, Stadium-Armory should have RFK added to it for balance.
*keeping street locations of stations. Important since the lines don't necessarily follow street grids.
What I don't like:
*the new tight angle in the SE green line. I know it's more geographically accurate, but a great strength of this map has always been it's being diagrammatic over geographic specificity.
*English-only. Come on, this is the 21st century. The Hispanic population of the region and nation are growing rapidly. DC is an international city. At least print the most important things in Spanish. I also liked the contest submission map that listed other available languages, and
*no QR code. I don't even have a smartphone, but this would clearly be extremely useful.
*I'd like to see the whole Silver Line here, not just Phase 1. That would be more consistent with early versions of the map when Metro was first built. WMATA's rationale makes sense though.
*no bus lines. Buses have long been the stepchild to Metrorail. Major routes like the Circulators would've been a great asset. You could even leave off the lines and just list the route numbers that serve each station.
*no Purple Line. Call it personal preference; I'd like to see it on the map now.
*no Farragut-Farragut transfer shown
Good point on subtitling inconsistency with universities, and relative distances between stations and between stations and major destinations. The survey asks about replacing "Red Line" with "RD". But it doesn't say whether the two-letter codes would appear at both ends of each line, unlike the current map. I'm not disabled, but this might be a consideration.
As I think about it, it might make sense to call the Vienna spur silver and the Dulles extension and old orange line orange.
"Perhaps Metro could make it a standard part of the out of service announcement, that if you are continuing you just need to wait for the next train." -stroke of genius from Nathaniel
@Alex B. I think WMATA may also require that the jurisdiction in which a station sits approves a station name change, and National sits in Arlington County which strongly opposed the change.
by Jon Morgan on Sep 7, 2011 8:31 pm
Stupid mistake on my part, I meant West Falls Church.
On another note, the track work contractor working for Dulles Transit Partners installed the double crossover west of the Silver line junction over the Labor Day weekend.
by Sand Box John on Sep 7, 2011 10:33 pm
With the new service, there is always YL service to Fort Totten. The fact that some trains don't go that far is already implied by MVS being a terminal station. So the dots from MVS to Fort Totten seem unnecessary. What might need explaining is that you can't board from Huntington/Eisenhower Ave during peak times --- but that isn't specific to the stretch from MVS to FT.
The bars passed that going on to Greebelt make sense since the service is specific *both* to peak times and to the service that is indicated also with bars on the south end of the line.
So I'd rather see solid yellow through Fort Totten to indicate service at all times (even if peak service is less than off-peak service?), but with a note near Eisenhower Ave --- not at the north end where the map is very crowded --- indicating trains stop at MVS.
by Joshua Tauberer on Sep 9, 2011 12:25 pm
The Yellow Line to Ft Totten has always confused me does the last one leave Hunington or get to Ft Totten just before Rush Hour.
With all the possible routes WMATA will have to make sure Train Operators dont mess up desinations or stations for the blind
(right not there is only a small chance of error with the Red and Yellow lines when this comes into effect there will be chances of error with all lines except the Green)
It would be better to have Rush Hour only lines with that clearly noted by times and days of operation on maps.
As for including symbols on the map and places of interest we not include any make stupid tourist or locals research where they want to go and how to get there.
by kk on Sep 9, 2011 9:36 pm
It could also mean "at Peak, Only Yellow Line Service will run on this stretch." Potentially confusing...even though we know exactly what it means.
No. The hyphen precludes that possibility.
by Omar on Sep 12, 2011 5:03 pm
by Omar on Sep 12, 2011 5:15 pm
by A-lo on Sep 14, 2011 8:57 pm
I don't like the rounded Green/Yellow shape from U St. to Georgia Ave./ Petworth. Why the need to redo that?
Take away the dots between Mt. Vernon Sq. and Ft. Totten. A solid line would suffice.
by DB on Sep 16, 2011 2:01 am
As far as POI goes I don't think POI's should be included in the map.
Regards,
Tej
by Tej on Jan 23, 2012 9:49 am
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