I’ve had quite a few calls to review this map over the last day or so, with people calling it “interesting”, “quite something” and just plain “bad”. It certainly continues the somewhat haphazard evolution of the system map over the last couple of years as more lines have opened, that’s for sure. Visually, it has quite a bit in common with the last iteration I reviewed a year ago, though the most obvious change is the expansion of the downtown section to include a detailed street grid. 

In principle, I don’t mind the concept behind this at all – this is the most complex part of the map, especially with all the added bus routes now shown – but it’s just not particularly elegant. I find myself wondering if there was a way that this central part could be represented as a circle (or magnifying glass, if you will), with the C, E and W lines circumscribing an arc around the western edge. Perhaps the zones could then be represented as concentric rings expanding out from that centre rather than the somewhat awkward shapes they currently make. I haven’t sketched this out at all, but this seems like it could be a good starting concept to me.

However, I do quite like the representation of the different parts of Union Station – the historic facade and main train hall, leading to the bus  and light rail concourses – which neatly conveys the arrangement of the different services and implies that there’s a bit of a walk from one to the other.

Not so good is the lack of directional arrows on the California/Stout one-way couplet. The bus routes get them but the light rail doesn’t? And the representation of all the different Flatiron Flyer routes (seven, count them!) as one branching dark blue route line is pretty desultory. There’s not even any markers at the various termini to indicate the start and end points of the routes: the reader has to cross reference the legend and attempt to find those stops on the map themselves. The acute angle that the W Line forms as it heads west to Golden isn’t very attractive: a softer curve here would help a lot.

Our rating: Not as bad as some are saying, but definitely not as good as it could be. I think the concept is sound, but it needs a little polishing to make it really work. Three stars.

Source: Denver RTD website