An unused test diagram for Boston’s rapid transit network from 1991. It attempts to name every station on the branches of the Green Line, but with the unfortunate side effect of completely dominating the design. The poor old Blue Line gets shoved into the top right, and the northern part of the Orange Line doesn’t fare much better. In short, the whole thing is hideously unbalanced, and I’m very glad that this concept didn’t advance any further.

Interestingly, the source image for this diagram is named “UK-SPIDER-MAP.jpg”, which makes me think it was designed by a British consultancy. It certainly looks more European than most North American transit maps, with thin route lines and ticked station markers. It definitely puts me more in mind of Manchester or Berlin than Boston, that’s for sure. The other clue is the use of the word “tram” to describe the Green Line… which I’m pretty certain has never been the preferred Bostonian term!

Our rating: Seriously flawed, but an interesting look at a very different approach that never went anywhere. Three stars.

Source: ctps.org