Later this week, the WMATA Board of Directors is scheduled to consider a revised version of designer Lance Wyman’s iconic Metrorail map, which includes several potential changes to station names around the system.
According to a copy of the map obtained by Greater Greater Washington, Wyman’s latest draft includes several changes. The extension to Dulles International Airport is depicted in silver, as expected, and there are dashed lines to indicate extended, rush-hour service on the Yellow and Orange Lines. Additionally, Wyman added several minor details to the map, including hours of operation and an H in a square next to the Forest Glen, Foggy Bottom, Shaw and Medical Center stations to indicate the proximity of hospitals. (Montgomery County had requested that WMATA change the name of Forest Glen to “Forest Glen [Holy Cross Hospital]”, but the addition of this logo solves that problem.)
Station names are still a matter of contention.
The District, Montgomery County and Alexandria made a total of six suggestions to change station names. WMATA staff is endorsing two of those: King Street would become King Street-Old Town, and Navy Yard would become Navy Yard-Ballpark once the District funds it. The District has suggested changing the name of Waterfront-SEU to Waterfront-Arena Stage; WMATA has endorsed changing the name to simply Waterfront. Changes to Smithsonian (Smithsonian [The National Mall]), New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U (New York Ave-NoMa [Galludet U]), and Forest Glen (Forest Glen [Holy Cross Hospital]) are potentially viable, but WMATA has not endorsed those at this time.
The board will also address the idea of subtitling 12 station names to condense their length. These alterations would be the first set of alterations under new rules the board adopted last year which allow subtitles for stations as long as they convey a sense of place, do not push the station name past 19 characters, only mention nearby landmarks and are not sold for commercial purposes.
Greater Greater Washington was kind enough to allow us to post a form they have created which allows you to indicate your preferences for the name changes under consideration, then send that feedback to the WMATA board for their review. Survey results have played a large role in Wyman and the transit agency’s process to this point, so do let them know what you think.
