MTA and NYC DOT Introduce Uniform Neighborhood Maps

MTA and NYC DOT Introduce Uniform Neighborhood Maps

August 12th, 2014

 

Neighborhood Map at 3 Line station in Brooklyn

It will soon be easier for subway customers to orient themselves and learn what a neighborhood has to offer as they step out of a subway station.  That's because the MTA and the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) have teamed to install new way-finding maps throughout the city, This next generation of the subway system’s helpful neighborhood map is being installed in all 468 subway stations.

Previously, the MTA had 68 different neighborhood maps in stations around the system. The same map was used in several stations and covered a radius between 15 and 30 blocks.  At 46 by 59 inches, the new maps are identical in size to the old neighborhood maps, but with a coverage radius of about 12 blocks, they provide each station with a unique map centered on the station.

The new maps use the same base map as DOT’s WalkNYC way-finding signage program, which provides detailed, location-specific maps and directional information to people navigating the city’s streets. However, they have been adapted to the subway with lighter base colors; subway lines and station footprints; and local, limited, and Select Bus Service (SBS) routes.

So far, DOT has employed the maps on its pedestrian way-finding signs, on Citi Bike kiosks, and at prototype installations of the new SBS totems, which provide real-time bus arrival information at SBS stations using MTA’s BusTime data feed. With the addition of these new neighborhood maps in the subway, there will be a standard way-finding map for pedestrians, transit riders, and cyclists alike for the first time in New York City history.

“This partnership with the MTA allows for consistent maps above and below ground, making it easier for users to reach their destinations,” said NYC DOT Commissioner and MTA Board Member Polly Trottenberg.  “We’re excited to provide this resource to New Yorkers and tourists to find their way in the city.”

“Though we’ve kept the MTA’s neighborhood maps up-to-date, this is the first redesign since the original set created more than 20 years ago and will be extremely helpful to subway customers as they leave the system and look for neighborhood points of interest,” noted Paul Fleuranges, Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications.  “With this new map, everyone will rely on one way-finding system, both above and below ground.”

The first five stations to get the new maps intersect the B44 SBS route:

Bedford-Nostrand AvsG

Nostrand Av 3

Nostrand Av AC

President St 25

Sterling St 25