All posts tagged: rapid transit

Historical Map: BART “Going Places” Advertising Supplement Poster, 1982

March 26, 2021
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Advertising, Historical Maps, Illustrations
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Here’s a fantastic poster designed as the centre spread of an advertising supplement to various Bay Area newspapers to celebrate the first ten years of BART (1972–1982). The immediately recognisable system diagram is overlaid on top of some charming line illustrations of landmarks and attractions, with the routes of BART Express buses also indicated. It’s all very simple – the illustration looks like it’s been done with some coloured fine felt-tip pens – but it’s […]

Fantasy Map: Chicago Transit Future by Michael Tyznik

January 8, 2021
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Showing an alternate future where everything in a 2014 proposal actually got built, this is without a doubt one of the best looking Chicago transit maps I have ever seen – just lovely work from Michael. Many designers have tried to integrate the Loop into the main map instead of using an inset before, but rarely as successfully as this. Michaels’ Loop fits the scale of the rest of the map really well, and just […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: Philadelphia Transit and Points of Interest, 2020 by Marc Szarkowski

January 4, 2021
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Submitted by Marc, who says: I thought you might enjoy poring over a transit+points of interest map I recently drew of Center City Philadelphia. I’ve collected bird’s eye urban panoramas since I was a child, and I particularly enjoy panoramas that have placemaking and wayfinding value, such as those drawn by Jenni Sparks and other artists. I also find there’s no better way to learn and demystify seemingly-complex bus service than drawing it a couple […]

Historical Map: Proposed Mass Transit System, Milwaukee WI, 1948

October 27, 2020
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Milwaukee dreaming big in the last days of rail-based mass transit in that city. I can’t find many specifics about this plan, though I do know that the City was attempting to purchase the transit lines in Milwaukee from its private operators at the time, so this study may have something to do with that. On this map, the thin black lines represent local services, probably a mix of diesel bus, “trackless trolley” and streetcar […]

Historical Map: Proposal for Rapid Transit in Pittsburgh, October 1973

August 6, 2019
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A map presented as part of an overview of future rapid transit prepared by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. See the whole document here. It’s a pretty basic thing, designed in that chunky 1970s style, but it’s interesting to compare it to what Pittsburgh has ended up building. Solid orange lines are proposed express commuter bus services, while dashed orange lines represent fixed guideway lines. If the lines are cased in black, then they […]

Historical Fantasy Map: Proposed 1974 Detroit Rapid Transit System by Jake Berman

March 25, 2019
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Jake Berman is one of those transit map design enthusiasts who are simply too prolific to note everything they do – suffice it to say that you should head over to his website and check out all the cool transit map things he makes. However, I do have to share this map – recreating a failed attempt at a south-east Michigan rail-based rapid transit system – if only because I think that Jake has absolutely […]

Submission – Unofficial Map: MARTA Rail, Atlanta Redesign by Alec Southwell

February 28, 2019
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Submitted by Alec, who says: Long-time reader here with my first submission, a redesign of Atlanta’s MARTA rail system. I’ve always been puzzled as to why the colors in MARTA’s logo don’t reflect those of the lines. For this map, I’ve “rebranded” the line colors, which has the added benefit of making them easier to distinguish for those with colorblindness. I’ve named the lines after their unique terminals, which erases the potential confusion for tourists […]

Submission – Fantasy Map: Pacific Electric, Modern Day by Julian

November 9, 2018
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Submitted by Julian, who says: Although Los Angeles’ Pacific Electric interurban system fell victim to the postwar wave of urban railway closures, systems in other cities were preserved on account of their grade-separated infrastructure. In San Francisco in particular, the only streetcar lines that were preserved were the 5 that were segregated from traffic for part of their length. Since certain segments of the Pacific Electric system were not only segregated from traffic but 4-tracked […]

Project: My Boston Rapid Transit Diagram Update, 2018

October 14, 2018
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Ever since I first designed it way back in 2012, I’ve tried to keep my popular alternative Boston MBTA rapid transit map updated as new stations opened and other changes to the network happened. However, with the opening of the Silver Line route to Chelsea (SL3) earlier this year, certain parts of my design just weren’t going to cut it anymore. Looking at the old version, it was also painfully obvious to me that I […]

Fantasy Map: MBTA Rapid Transit – Past, Present and Proposed by Amy Parker/Fore Design

March 27, 2018
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I’m quite taken by this interesting vision of Boston in an alternative future – one where the elevated rapid transit lines were never torn down, but instead upgraded to be part of a comprehensive and dense transit system. As well as these old lines (and the Watertown “A” branch of the Green line and the full length of the “E” branch!), Amy also adds in other proposed additions to the network like the Green Line […]