Contest to redesign DC Metro map: vote for your favorite entry

[manrush]

I also voted for that map. It is a beautiful map.

[volguus zildrohar]

Maps L & Q for me. Map N, depicting bus routes, is entirely too busy. Such a setup is fine for a single line system but for the D.C. map it's just too much visual clutter. Map H's use of individual bubbles for each line at each station isn't necessary - it's not New York where some trains pass through stations without stopping.

[micro]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

I'm definitely going to have to go for this one:

For the record, that's map C.

So far, C got 5 votes in this thread. N, B, L, Q, 2 votes each, if I counted right.

[tdawg]

I also voted for N. It looks like the cleanest, most graphically appealing and professional.

[Wright Concept]

My Picks

1) C - The color, angles, smoothness and clarity. This map looks as iconic as the original map and its coffered tunnels. But like the original coffered tubes, they got modified and simplified to refect a new period yet provide a similar iconic look. This map does the best to reflect that.

2) N - I like it because it recognizes the frequent buses which are as important to the Transit Network as showing the commuter rail/amtrak connections using a careful balance of lineweights and color saturation.

3) D - This is a very good frequency/routing diagram on its first glance, which is one of its strengths. Where it lacks in sharpness and quality to C, it makes up for in content. If the colors were sharper I would have moved it higher on the list. This map also does a very good job of using lineweights and scale

4) Honorable mention P - for doing a good job of simplifying the growing complexity of the map and trying a new concept with the cross striping which with the thick lines and bold colors would be a problem but that designer did a good job on saturation so that I don't get dizzy after staring at it for a couple of minutes.

[miketoronto]

I don't really like any of them. Why not just stick with the original one which works just fine? The original one is still my favourite.

[vid]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Why not just stick with the original one which works just fine?

Because the original one doesn't work fine because the Silver Line and other possible expansions don't fit.

[OfCourse]

I like map C.

[Nouvellecosse]

I have a quick question about the Silver line. I know it's a tad off topic, but it is still related part of the reason cite for having to change the map is the fact that the map cannot depict three lines bundled together.

Why is the Silver Line set to be it's own line? Why not just make it a spur of the Orange line? Isn't that essentially how it will operate?

[Cirrus]

Technically speaking they could still call it a spur of the Orange Line. "Silver Line" is actually an unofficial term that has never been adopted by WMATA. However, it's in such common parlance that at this point it wouldn't make sense to fight it.

[OhioGuy]

I'm not a fan of viewing rail expansions as spurs anyway, unless we're only talking about a couple extra stations. But when a line is being created that will ultimately add 11 new stations to the rail system, I think that line deserves its own color.

[Nouvellecosse]

^ Hehe, I guess you wouldn't care for the London Northern or Piccadilly Lines then.

But seriously, I'm with you in that I don't think it should be called a spur if the majority of the line is on it's own. But in this case, the map depicts it as having 18 stops in common with the Orange line all the way between Stadium-Armoury and East Falls Church. Not sure how that relates to actual distance though since stops are likely much closer in town than in the boonies.

[pyropius]

Map C is nice to look at, but might be hard to read from across a crowded Metro car.

[northbay]

definitely map C

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

But seriously, I'm with you in that I don't think it should be called a spur if the majority of the line is on it's own. But in this case, the map depicts it as having 18 stops in common with the Orange line all the way between Stadium-Armoury and East Falls Church. Not sure how that relates to actual distance though since stops are likely much closer in town than in the boonies.

The Silver Line will be a 23 mile extension from the branch west of the East Falls Church station and, as noted, will have 11 unique station stops. Pretty long for a spur. The Silver Line will also have it's own railyard at Dulles Airport (when Phase 2 is completed) with a fleet that will run end to end over the Silver line segment shown on the map.

The Blue Line shares tracks and stations with the Orange Line from Rosslyn to Stadium Armory. The Silver Line trains will do the same. If you are going from L'Enfant Plaza to Rosslyn, you will be able to get on a Orange, Blue, or Silver Line train. If you are going from L'Enfant Plaza to Tysons Corner, then you get on a Silver Line train. The DC Metro system has overlapping shared segments in the city core: Orange/Blue, Yellow/Green, and Yellow/Blue. The Silver Line will follow the same concept.

BTW, the DC Metro long range planning staff posted this conceptual plan for a new route for the Silver Line through DC here at http://planitmetro.com/2011/03/31/what-about-a-faster-transit-route-between-dulles-and-the-core/. This is a variation on the study floated a few years ago for re-routing the Blue line to run on new tunnels north of Rosslyn under the Potomac to Georgetown and then provide a new route under M street through the city core to Union Station. New tunnels under the Potomac, bringing Georgetown into the Metro system, providing additional capacity through the city core, and providing a 2nd Metro line connecting at Union Station (which is the busiest station in the DC metro system) are all improvements the Metro system will eventually need. Blue sky stuff at this point, but figure a decade or two to arrive at a consensus on what to do (Silver or Blue line re-route or new line running through DC) and then more years find the billions it will take to build.

[jg6544]

If I remember correctly, when the system was initially being planned, they rejected a line through Georgetown because the tracks would either have had to be carried across the Potomac on a bridge or the stations would have been too far underground were the tracks to go under the river.

[ardecila]

Yes, because God forbid a new Potomac bridge is ever built in DC.

Apparently only one-for-one replacements are allowed.

[afiggatt]

Originally Posted by jg6544

If I remember correctly, when the system was initially being planned, they rejected a line through Georgetown because the tracks would either have had to be carried across the Potomac on a bridge or the stations would have been too far underground were the tracks to go under the river.

From my understanding of the history of the DC Metro system, when the basic routes were established in 1968, there were several reasons that Georgetown was not included as a stop. One, is that Georgetown was not the busy retail and nightlife destination back then that it became. The DC Metro started out conceived more of a commuter system to reach the city core than a in-city metro system and that played a role. Second, the geography and geology is a challenge, not insurmountable, but would have been expensive to build with the technology and budget constraints of the time. But, now the lack of Metro stations in the Georgetown neighborhood is widely seen as the biggest gap in the DC Metro system in the DC core, people keep looking at options to build a Metro line through Georgetown.

I have not seen any specifics on how a Metro line would go from north of Rosslyn to Georgetown, but I doubt if it would utilize a bridge across the Potomac. The amount of land and property that would have to be taken for a bridge and then running a Metro line underground into the side of the embankment on the Georgetown side of the Potomac would be very difficult to acquire. I would expect the plans are for new tunnels under the Potomac with a deep station or two in Georgetown that would rise to just under M street. But this is all very long term conceptual planning. There is a set of presentation slides from last October on the PlanitMetro site which show the possible Blue and Yellow line new routes which might be of interest at http://planitmetro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/TAG-Meeting-05-October-21-2010-FINAL.pdf

[dgreen]

Originally Posted by afiggatt

There is a set of presentation slides from last October on the PlanitMetro site which show the possible Blue and Yellow line new routes which might be of interest at http://planitmetro.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/TAG-Meeting-05-October-21-2010-FINAL.pdf

A lot of interesting ideas being mentioned for the future. Last night, I was wondering what a DC area Metro system would look like if you started from scratch and could just magically have it all appear in an instant. Where would the stations be and how would you connect them?

Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria (much closer to the action than King St and Braddock Rd), Shirlington, Bailey's Crossroads, Seven Corners, Merrifield, Potomac Yards, National Harbor, universities, hospitals...so many places that would be added in an ideal world.

[dchan]

- I did not like any of the choices that neglected to include the major geographic features (A and K)
- The geographically-correct map (Q) is quite interesting, but rather impractical. There's a reason why the NYC subway map features a huge Manhattan and a tiny little Staten Island.
- Conversely, I didn't like any of the choices that skewed too far from geographic-correctness (like J).
- Some choices were just too busy (like G)

So I'd have to go with the consensus choice, C. I didn't like many of the choices that had too many straight lines instead of curves, but C just works. It has the county lines, which is important because many of the stops are two counties away from DC. It's simple, clean, and not overly busy-looking. Of course, the map may not be as friendly to tourists as some (which feature the locations of the Washington Monument, White House, etc.). But as long as you have the basic knowledge of the major points of the MacMillan Plan (not terribly difficult to memorize), then you should be fine.