Month: June 2015

Unofficial/Future Map: Denver RTD Rail Transit by Theo Ditsek

June 29, 2015
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Having just complained about how depressingly average the new official Denver RTD rail map is (June 2015, 1.5 stars), it’s rather wonderful to see an unofficial map that raises the bar as much as this one by Theo Ditsek. Unlike the real map, this one has a pleasingly compact shape, compressing the outer reaches of the map while expanding the central part. It’s a classic diagrammatic transit map device, but it’s employed particularly well here, […]

Submission – River Rail Streetcar, Little Rock, Arkansas by Peter Dovak

June 28, 2015
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Submitted by Peter, who says: Ages ago, after you posted a tutorial on highway interchanges on your McKinney Ave streetcar map, I was inspired to try and practice the technique on what ended up being a very very similar project–definitely too similar to take any credit for. I left it incomplete for so long because it was just uncomfortably reminiscent of your map to finish, but for the sake of completion and appreciation for the […]

Unofficial Map: Boston MBTA by the American Automobile Association (AAA), c. 2008

June 23, 2015
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Sent my way by Andy Woodruff, this map is all kinds of wrong. As it’s from around 2008, it shows an older configuration of the Silver Line routes, with an SL3 route going to City Point. However, the underlying base map hasn’t been adjusted to accommodate the diagram, so SL2 and SL3 appear to take you to destinations deep in the outer reaches of Boston Harbor, while Kendall/MIT is located in the middle of the […]

Official Map: London Night Tube Services, 2015

June 23, 2015
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It’s almost bizarre to think that an enormous cosmopolitan city like London doesn’t have 24-hour rail service. Yes, there’s an extensive night bus network, but the Tube is such an integral part of the city that it seems odd that it just stops after midnight.  However, that’s about to change on Fridays and Saturdays from September 12, as shown on this new map from Transport for London. I’ve already seen some positive commentary on it […]

Submission – Portland MAX Light Rail Yellow/Orange Line Interlining Graphic

June 23, 2015
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Submitted by Breck, who says: Here’s a neat little animated map and explanation that show how the new MAX Orange Line will tie into the rest of the system in downtown Portland. Like many other transit fans, I too have wondered how the Orange Line will work and why it won’t just be a simple extension of the Yellow Line. It is all explained here, and the reasoning seems to make pretty good sense. Transit […]

Submission – Future Official Map: Denver RTD Rail Map for 2016

June 18, 2015
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Submitted by Steve Boland, who says: Cameron, as long as you’re talking about the new Salt Lake City map, I thought you should know that Denver has just adopted a new, updated but unfortunately only slightly amended version of their map, which of course was/is nearly as comically awful as Salt Lake’s old map. I wish it were possible to shame them into shape. Transit Maps says: Oh dear.  Denver’s map has never been as […]

New Official Map: UTA Rail Services, Salt Lake City, 2015

June 17, 2015
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Sent my way by Mike Christensen. Long-time readers of Transit Maps will know that I have long deplored the abysmal quality of the UTA’s rail services map. I first reviewed it way back in July 2012 (where I awarded it one measly star), and things have only gone downhill from there.  By April 2013, I was calling it “the most embarrassing transit map in the U.S.” and gave it a big, fat ZERO. I basically pleaded for […]

Historical Map: Polish Airlines LOT Route Map, 1939

June 16, 2015
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An absolutely phenomenal airline route diagram from 1939, which is both map and schedule in one.  The thicker route lines represent the routes that belong to Polish Airlines LOT – one of the oldest continually operating airlines in Europe; they still use the beautiful flying crane logo today – with thinner route lines representing partner or connecting airlines. Red lines show daily service, black lines show weekday or irregular service. The departure and arrival times […]

Submission – NEW Official Transportation Map of Szeged, Hungary, 2015

June 14, 2015
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Submitted by barnade, who says: Two years ago, you reviewed the transit map of Szeged, Hungary (September 2013, 0.5 stars). The conclusion was the map is a mess, as we here in Szeged thought so. Also, you’ve been pointed out that it would be much better, if a circular schematic form had been applied, based on the town’s triple-boulevard structure. Now, the day has come, the new official transit map of Szeged have been applied on trams, trolleybuses […]

Reader Question: Are there any resources available for exporting city map data to vector format for importing into Illustrator?

June 14, 2015
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Question: Are there any resources available for exporting city map data (similar to Google Maps, etc) to vector format for importing into Illustrator? Do you utilize any pre-existing data for your projects, or do you simple start from scratch? I’m thinking of your Dallas streetcar map in particular. Answer: To be honest, most of the time, I just start from scratch. My very low-tech workflow is to quickly grab some screenshots from Google Maps or similar […]