MBTA OPENS PUBLIC VOTING FOR MAP DESIGN COMPETITION

BOSTON – The MBTA announced today that public voting is now open for the six finalists in the Perspectives MBTA Map Re-design competition. This past spring, the MBTA launched the contest and received dozens of impressive entries. A panel of experts including the MBTA, academics, urban planners, and mapping aficionados evaluated each of the entries against a set of criteria.

With many new projects opening (new Fairmount Line stations and next year’s opening of Assembly Square Station) in the coming months -- and many more in the pipeline (Green Line Extension, South Coast Rail and Silver Line Gateway) -- the MBTA will need to modify and redesign system maps. The MBTA may use the map with the most favorable public response from this contest as the new map.

“The proposed maps are a fresh look at our system. The creativity and skill shown in all the entrants will certainly make their choice a tough one,” said MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott. “I am looking forward to seeing who our customers choose as the winner.”

MBTA and MassDOT sponsored this contest to tap into the creativity of our customers and to build on the public′s interest in mapping. The contest offered contestants the opportunity to develop alternative versions of the MBTA rapid transit (or “spider”) map. Entrants were asked to submit their maps into one of two categories: the Classic Tier and the Open Tier. Maps submitted as Classic Tier met most of the design standards guiding the development of the MBTA’s current spider map while maps submitted as Open Tier could be more creative representations of the MBTA system.

MassDOT convened a panel of judges, representing a range of perspectives—academia, transit planning, urban design, marketing, MBTA customers, map enthusiasts, and the designer of the current MBTA map. The judges rated all maps against the following four criteria—creativity, aesthetic quality, readability/visual clarity, and informative quality.

Map entries were accepted between April 9, 2013 and May 14, 2013. The top six maps as voted by the panel are now posted on mbta.com so customers can decide the ultimate winner. Voting is open from September 9 to September 20. In addition to the six finalists, the MBTA has created a gallery where many of the other entries can be viewed.

To vote, please visit: http://s.zoomerang.com/s/mbtamapsurvey
To view the gallery, please visit: http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/?id=27169

MBTA Contact:
Kelly Smith, 857-202-7715