[J Church]

hey kids. dave asked me to post some stuff over here. so in the spirit of getting this thing going, a few transit maps i've put together over the last year or so. should be relatively self-explanatory (and large--sorry dialups).

http://www.sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/simplified/system_720.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/vision/vision.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/geographic/2004_rapid.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/diagrammatic/v1/2014.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/NO/2010.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/SAC/2015.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/SJ/2004.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/DEN/streetcars/draft_highlands_option.gif

http://www.sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/DEN/fastracks/2016_system.gif

[Markitect]

Nice looking maps.

What did you use to draw them?

[J Church]

photoshop. never had occasion to learn illustrator.

[Cotuit]

I've always really enjoyed your transit maps, in fact I have one as part of a collage in my subway themed bathroom. :yes:

I gotta get cracking learning how to use photoshop.

[J Church]

hey, thanks.

a subway-themed bathroom?

[CGII]

I got the same question, J-House, because subways are always so dirty....

[Cotuit]

a subway-themed bathroom?

Posters maps and such. No rats, and no peeing on the floor.

[J Church]

no peeing on the third rail i hope.

[SHiRO]

Good job!
Looks very professional.

[dono]

Richmond, very amateurish: (http://www.richmondcitywatch.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=699&start=0)

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ryramsey/misc_images/Richmond%20Transit%20Guide-Commuter%20Rail1.gif

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ryramsey/misc_images/Richmond%20Transit%20Guide-Light%20Rail1.gif

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/ryramsey/misc_images/Richmond%20Transit%20Guide-Subway1.gif

[J Church]

man, that'd be some system for a city of a million.

[danvillain]

dono, are all those conceptual? are there any actual plans for commuter/light rail in the works for richmond? heavy is probably out of the question anyway... that would be quite a comprehensive system.

[dono]

VRE wants to extend commuter rail from DC/Fredericksburg to Richmond, along the line that goes north to Ashland, and there is also a streetcar plan floating around that would represent the Main St Station to Harrison St segment of my Purple Line... that's probably about it in the near future, though I think in the distant future, all five of the bold commuter rail lines and elements of the light rail lines in the city could become reality. The maps are all of my conception.

[VicHockeyFan]

Those are very cool Church.......

[ltsmotorsport]

Very nice. As many have said before, submit these to the different authorities and get paid already!

[CTroyMathis]

JC supastar.

[Cirrus]

All right. I'm game. Some of these maps are suppose to look
good and others are bare bones.

This is an export of a lage map I made for my wall showing all
the transit routes serving my local Metro station.
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/BallstonTransit.jpg

This is a temporary working diagramatic map of my own transit fantasy. About time I get finish that. Been sitting around for a year.
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/diagram-nolabels.jpg

This is the officially proposed system Richmond is studying. Blue
is LRT, teal is commuter rail. Not all these lines would be built
(for instance, LRT and commuter rail lines along similar corridors
are alternate options).
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_richmondrail/system-full-big.jpg

The existing Baltimore system
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/BaltoTransit.gif

The existing Denver system
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/DenverLRT-600x800.jpg

Denver's future system
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/fastracksmap.jpg

This is a little different. How about a screencap of ArcMap?
Commuter rail in DC. Solid lines are existing. Dashed are fantasy.
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/regionalrail-screencap.jpg

[J Church]

^ so good. i really need to learn GIS.

[J Church]

uno mas.

http://sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/comprehensive/comprehensive.gif

[dono]

Cirrus... your pictures are red x's...? :(

[Cirrus]

Should work now. Yesterday I accidentally chmoded my whole website to 600.

[giovanni sasso]

that'll do 'er. :)

JC, have you sold any of those? if not, what are you waiting for?

the following is a map i threw together in about 20 minutes, but i've been meaning to expand on it. you guys may have inspired me ...

http://phillyskyline.com/loveseptamap.jpg

[Cirrus]

Old school awesome.

[J Church]

i hope that took more than 20 mins.

[theodore]

photoshop. never had occasion to learn illustrator.

No Illustrator? Really? I can't even think of how you made those maps without it.

Cartographic genius, I tell you!

[giovanni sasso]

oops, sorry JC. i meant the train part. i have the original map (created in macromedia freehand, embellished in adobe illustrator) in a "shitload" of layers, including streets and parks and such. speaking of which, i see that i left the green thingy for parks in the legend then didn't leave the parks layer turned on. brilliant.

anyway yeah. just the train part took 20 minutes. almost as long as it took me to explain this.

[Xing]

Wow, these are fantastic. I have to find myself a better copy of illustrator. The one I have no doesn't seem to have all the correct tools.

[MSPtoMKE]

Here is a little diddy i put together from seperate Maps. It is a complete Track Map of the Chicago L, compiled from segmented maps available from Chicago-L.org (http://www.chicago-l.org./maps/track/index.html). I basically put them together in Photoshop and adjusted a lot of the spacing so that it would match up, added colored stop indicators, subway sections, and cleaned up a lot of text, etc... Here is a small version:

http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/ChicagoTrackMap3Small.jpg

And here is a link to a much larger legible version (~1 meg): http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/ChicagoTrackMap3_reduced.jpg

[Born Pure Philly]

Wow thats really cool, it looks really professional.

[Cotuit]

BOSTON | MBTA

http://homepage.mac.com/jefnickerson/.Pictures/Scheme007-003cropped-WEB.gif

[Xing]

http://home.comcast.net/~ralphmoran/MetrolinkSystem33b.jpg

[Cirrus]

My vision for expanded MARC/VRE service:

http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/-VisionMaps/regional-diagram.png

[Xing]

NICE!! ^

Here's a new updated St. Louis map I'm doing. I'm going to do my own symbols and things later. For now I just used some from Illustrator.

http://home.comcast.net/~ralphmoran/MetrolinkFutureSM.jpg

[CTroyMathis]

Very nice indeed.

[Smiley Person]

Are there any transit systems that don't use the bold colored lines and sans-serif font style on white background style?

[J Church]

^ i may have seen a serif font and pastel bg here and there.

haven't checked this thread lately, but very, very nice.

gnix, i esp. like your stuff.

[J Church]

uno mas.

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/HSR/2004.jpg

[Cotuit]

Are there any transit systems that don't use the bold colored lines and sans-serif font style on white background style?

I've mostly seen Montreal's Metro map (http://www.stcum.qc.ca/English/metro/a-mapmet.htm) on a black background.

Also, Toronto (pdf) (http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/ttc/pdf/subway_rt.pdf) displays their lines on a black map on their website.

[J Church]

alright, another add. i like this one cuz it's 3-D--ohhhh... ;)

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/PHX/system_conceptual/2025.jpg

[dono]

Wow, what programs are you guys using to make these? I'd sure like to procrastinate by making less amateur maps.

Cirrus, a station at the Diamond in Richmond is useless as anything more than a special events station. A better station sequence south of Fredericksburg would be Bowling Green - Ruther Glen - Doswell - Ashland - Glen Allen - Glendale - Virginia Union/Lombardy - Main St. Station. And I still think commuter rail in Virginia from Martinsburg to DC via Dulles is a better solution than an hour+ Metro ride to Dulles, even if Tysons does need heavy rail.

[Cirrus]

You'd have to find a ROW and build new tracks to do commuter rail, and connecting to Union Station would be a major (read: expensive) problem. I agree that Metro out that far is not an ideal solution, but most of the cost savings traditionally associated with commuter trains don't apply in this corridor. A commuter line out that far would be nearly, if not as expensive as a Metro line... and considering the Metro line is actually in planning and well-funded past Tysons Corner, it doesn't make much sense to fight reality.

As far as Richmond: You could be right about the in-town stations. I don't know that part of the city well at all. I don't know about a station in Doswell, though. Unless I'm missing something, it's not exactly a large population center (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?searchtype=address&country=US&addtohistory=&searchtab=home&address=&city=doswell&state=va&zipcode=).

[Cirrus]

Oh, programs. Some of mine are in ArcView (a professional map making program) and some are in Photoshop.

[giovanni sasso]

these are really great, guys.

cirrus, i love your visionary map. i'll eventually expand on my septa fantasy map which will always always always be a fantasy
because by the time it would be built, septa will have gone under anyway.

apologies for the big-ass size of this, but i tried reducing the canvas size and just lost too much on the wording.

this originally started out as a (much smaller) map to accompany the septa daypass photo essay i did two weeks ago, but once i got going ... well, you know. i'll eventually fill in the spaces on this thing and maybe print it out at poster size.

did it in freehand and illustrator.

http://landolove.com/maps/phila_trains.gif

[Cirrus]

Coo'.

Looks like it was done in ArcView. That's a lot of detail for Illustrator.

[Cirrus]

You've reminded to post a couple more.

This is still in "draft" form, but it's a more presentable version of the map I was working on when I took that screencap back on page one:

http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/-VisionMaps/regionalrail-10-15-04.jpg

... And this is just a quick layer export, but the information it shows is cool. My proposals for both regional and local DC service along with official proposals in Harrisburg, Richmond and Baltimore all combined to form one big super Mid-Atlantic service. Of course, it would connect to SEPTA in Elkton, but I had to stop somewhere.
http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/-VisionMaps/regionalrail-l10-19-04.jpg

[J Church]

sasso, that's amazing.

[ajfroggie]

I need to hire either J Church or Cirrus one of these days...:)

[Cirrus]

OK, aj. I'm in a map making mood today.

Pour vous:

http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/NorfolkLRT.png

[ajfroggie]

Nitpick: what you have listed as VA 168 is actually I-464.

A couple weeks ago, I hand-drew some notes on a regional rail system here in Hampton Roads, covering both sides of the water and tying major population and major job centers together. Unfortunately, such a system would cost to the tune of over $8.5 billion, assuming a $40 million/mile construction cost. That type of money simply isn't available.

[Cirrus]

$40 million / mile is pretty expensive. Neither light rail nor DMU should cost that much. They sometimes do, but that's more towards the high end of the range.

[dono]

Path to Union Station - Use the same rail bridge (or maybe a new one... to separate passenger and freight traffic) to VA and then turn to parallel the Potomac to Rosslyn. Parallel I-66 and then the Dulles Tollway out to Loudon and by the time you get to Leesburg, it's pretty much rural anyways.... from there go to Martinsburg to link up w/ MARC and all the West Virginians that have been sucked into the DC area. How would building commuter rail on new tracks be more expensive than Metro on new tracks. (And yes I do realize this will likely not happen, but something tells me quite a lot of the maps on this thread probably won't as well.)

Doswell isn't really a town now, but it's a major rail intersection. One study on improving trip times b/w Richmond and DC has trains branching off the main CSX track at Doswell to bypass Ashland on the way to DT Richmond, on the same train line that would serve trains to Charlottesville should rail service ever be reinstituted b/w Richmond and Charlottesville. As something of a transfer station, it could serve major TOD. And it's near King's Dominion.

[ajfroggie]

$40 million / mile is pretty expensive. Neither light rail nor DMU should cost that much. They sometimes do, but that's more towards the high end of the range.

Once you include planning studies and ROW acquisition, $40 million/mile becomes easily obtainable. Another thing to consider is that any rail system here in Hampton Roads would require a lot of bridging, which in turn would drive construction costs up further.

Furthermore, I was looking at some sort of automated or semi-automated system, which while having an expensive up-front cost (tied into my $40M/mi estimate), would have the advantage of requiring less manpower to operate. This is significant since roughly 80% of transit's operating costs relates to salaries and wages.

One recent rail example: the recently completed Hiawatha LRT in the Twin Cities ran a bit over $700 million for roughly 11.5 miles, coming out to about $61 million/mile. Granted, that included a tunnel section, but there was almost no ROW acquisition involved. Even taking out the tunnel segment, the non-tunnel length was still around $50 million/mile.

I suppose I could have used an estimate in the $30-35 million/mile range, based on planning-level estimates for LRT in Norfolk and on the Peninsula, but that would have been a lowball figure, not accounting for inflation (plus my preference to overestimate costs rather than underestimate them), and would still result in my theoretical system costing over $6 billion.

[Teshadoh]

Just had to say I'm impressed with everyone's maps. I'll try to post one of Atlanta I've doodled on sometime. Cirrus - do you work for some transit activist group?

[danvillain]

cirrus is a transit activist group ;) :haha:

[Cirrus]

Haha. No, but that would be a killer fun job.

I'm just a regular urban planner.

[MSPtoMKE]

In case you didn't see it in the Transportation Forum:

http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/HiawathaLine_Map_Med.jpg

[J Church]

hey, this thread is back from the dead.

i've been sort of obsessing over extension options for the LA red line lately.

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/red_line/alt_A.jpg

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/red_line/alt_B.jpg

(planned)
http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/satellite/existing.jpg

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/satellite/opt_1.jpg

http://sfcityscape.com/forum/transit_maps/LA/satellite/opt_2.jpg

[Teshadoh]

^ You use the same transit station symbol as I do :) I love using that symbol at work for MARTA stations, I typically color them red though & the font black - but white does look better.

... sigh... I think of work too much.

[danvillain]

http://homepage.mac.com/urbaneastbay/.Pictures/east_bay_BART_conceptual.jpg


more in the "bay area BART blowout" thread, with links to the califorum.

[Cirrus]

http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/eastcoast_rail.png

[danvillain]

very nice.

[J Church]

dan, that map just hurts me, on so many levels.

funky compass, btw.

[ajfroggie]

Staten Island has a heavy rail route?

[LostInTheZone]

the staten island rail road. powered by third rail. a shadow of its former self, with several abandoned branches, once operated by the baltimore and ohio railroad.

[giovanni sasso]

the killa revival!

[J Church]

i could probably post this, even tho it's WEAK beside the seaboard ;)

http://sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/regional/regional.gif

[Cirrus]

http://beyonddc.com/nonweb/_maps/DCferries.png

[danvillain]

nice map.

one question though: how is the clearance under the potomac river bridges (e.g., metrorail)--are they high enough above the water to allow the ferries to pass under or do they have drawbridge functions (to rise higher)? also, are these ferries single- or double-decked?

[Cirrus]

The bridges are plenty high enough to allow boats to pass under. You couldn't take an aircraft carrier past the Metro bridge connecting the Pentagon to East Potomac Park, but 100-person water taxis are not exactly aircraft carriers.

I don't know if the ferries will be one or two levels. It shouldn't make much difference, though.

[ajfroggie]

Meh....couldn't even take a patrol boat under those bridges...let alone a frigate or something larger...

[danvillain]

i'm planning on drawing up a track map for BART (nycsubway's BART track map (http://world.nycsubway.org/us/sf/bart/bart-trackmap.html) dates back to 1996). i was curious about how mr. calcagno created that map; i was browsing some of the other systems and found a similar track map that indicated it was created using railsim. it, too, was last updated in the '90s. so i went ahead and looked up this railsim company. their product is pretty comprehensive (and professional), but it's not really something an amateur like myself would make much use of outside of designing a simple map.

so, i did a couple google searches for rail simulation/track maps/simulations and didn't turn up much--mostly those ms fantasy rail operator games (which, btw, i've wanted for the longest time ;)). i'm just wondering if anyone knows of any similar programs with which i could create a track map. i tried photoshop, but that's better for route maps than track, imo. sames goes for paint.

[MSPtoMKE]

^That track map should be pretty neat, but sorry, i don't know about what software to use.


Now it is time for my Chicago Transit Map Mega-post that 4 People Will See :D

I really like Geographically accurate maps, so i have been working on some for Chicago for while, bit by bit.
Only problem is, they are kinda big, sorry. I wasn't axactly too sure what i was going to do with them at first,
then i got too far into them to go back and make them smaller. And I didn't intend to put a Loop inset at first, so i
wanted it to all be legible. Anyways, i will just post the full version of one, and provide links to the other 4.


Ok, first is a full Chicago (and inner suburbs) Rail Transit Map map that covers both the CTA and Metra Commuter Rail (~340k): SCROLL ------>

http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Chicago_Rail_Geographic_Labels2_med.gif

Here is the version overlaid on the satelite image for better context, but no labels because that would be illegible (~1.2meg!):
http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Chicago_Rail_Geographic_2_med.jpg

Next, a slight enlargement of the Loop inset that is more legible, with satelite imagery. I never labeled this one, but oh well. (~550k):
http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Chicago_Rail_Geographic_Central.jpg


Now for a map of something that doesnt exist! It is a map of the Circle Line proposal that has been floating
around in the last few years. It would facilitate transfers between CTA lines and Metra Commuter Rail lines,
and allow for better crosstown travel that doesn't require going into the Loop to transfer. No Key on this one, but
it is similar to the one above (~190k):
http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Chicago_CircleLine_geographic.gif

And again, with the satelite imagery for context (~660k):
http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Chicago_CircleLine_Satelite_2.jpg

for more info on the Circle Line, go here (http://www.chicago-l.org./plans/CircleLine.html), where i got the information.



Enjoy!


EDIT: I changed the first map a little by adding a scale and the coastline. 6/19/06

[danvillain]

fantastic maps :drool:

[Cirrus]

Hey, cool.

[CityGawd5]

Shit shit man, those are good! And they look time consuming.

[Wright Concept]

Here's a fantasy map for LA done in Microsoft Paint. I did a route and track map on AutoCAD and export it as a tiff. but I can't find it.

http://tinypic.com/i78qbs.gif

http://tinypic.com/j7gl6p.gif

[MSPtoMKE]

^Cool! Any chance of seeing a bigger version?

[Wright Concept]

^Cool! Any chance of seeing a bigger version?

I hope this helps.

http://tinypic.com/6prl8p.gif

[MSPtoMKE]

Here's another one! I studied abroad in Milan my junior year, so i figured i would do a map of it for my next project.
The Metro is only 3 lines, not spectacular by European standards, but Milan has a huge Tram system. There is also the
'Passante Ferroviario' that is like a German S-Bahn, a link for Suburban train lines that is mostly underground through the
city. I showed it as being every station that is within the city limits of Milan that you can ride with the same ticket as the
metro and trams, etc. There is still a link that is under construction, so not all the S-Lines are running yet. Everyday, I took
the Metro Line 2 from Porta Genova to Cadorna, then transfered to the Regional line to Bovisa Politecnico for school. I also
never once took a bus in Milan, everywhere i went could be reached by Metro, Tram, Train, or foot. Enjoy!

http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Milano_Transit_White_med.gif

and a link to the one with the satelite image included:
http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Milano_satelite_Transit_Med.jpg


EDIT: Fixed mistake with link

[Goody]

YAY for awesome maps. Alright who as the tax money though? ;)

[someone123]

Here is a map I made for Halifax:

http://www.pbase.com/image/47597920.jpg

It is not really a "fantasy" map but rather a combination of existing transit lines and future proposals. The solid lines except for the light blue are BRT and are under construction with the Portland corridor to begin service in 9 days (purple/blue). The BRT basically consists of better buses with fewer stops, better stations, some dedicated roadway and advanced signalling. The light blue line is a proposed diesel light rail line that would run along existing track.

The broken lines are for ferry routes. The Alderney and Woodside ferries already exist and the Bedford ferry is being planned. The Purcell's Cove ferry is something that would come in the future. The Shannon Park ferry stop has been proposed as part of a new stadium development.

Rapid transit around the core of the city is notably absent and isn't really figuring into any municipal plans. If I had the choice I'd create a light rail system (probably a loop) on the peninsula initially with a line out to Clayton Park on the mainland.

[Lucius Kwok]

http://www.svmetro.com/septawatch/maps/img/LK-SEPTA-Map_medium.gif
Philly today.

http://www.svmetro.com/septawatch/maps/img/conrail-redrawing-medium.png
Philly circa 1980.

http://www.svmetro.com/septawatch/maps/img/phila-rail-map-v4-medium.gif
Philly in geographic terms today.

[MSPtoMKE]

Excellent quality maps, Lucius. I have seen the first and third map posted elsewhere, but the second one was new to me. Interesting, and stylistically very nice. I took the liberty of finding the large sized version on your website :)

[danvillain]

PracticalVisionary, nice fantasy map. a few questions for you: what's the difference between the regular LRT lines (e.g., blue) and the "LRT trunk line(s)" (e.g., vermont)? is that an extension of the red line a short distance south along the river? or merely the existing yard? finally, is the distinct linear corridor slicing southeastly across long beach from willow and long beach blvd. on the blue line an old PE ROW? it appears to head toward seal beach/orange county. know if there are any plans or ideas (maybe yours? ;)) to run transit along that corridor? actually, looking at google maps, it does appear as if it runs all the way to seal beach. maybe an old freight line? or indeed PE? old rail rights of way fascinate me, as i wonder what it must have been like when trains actually ran there. the east bay in the bay area has several abandoned ROWs, some converted to trails, some developed over. bye bye, history.

and if you ever find that track map, i hope you post it here.


Lucius, what program(s) did you use to create those maps? very sharp, professional.

[Wright Concept]

...what's the difference between the regular LRT lines (e.g., blue) and the "LRT trunk line(s)" (e.g., vermont)?

The difference is in how they'll operate. I'm thinking of a hybrid of sorts. The Blue Line has that potential, but it will run down one corridor with no potential for extra branches. Where as here, they utilize Light Rail Vehicles and operate them in Heavy Rail capabilities. Having the corridor run longer trains (up to 6 LRV's) in Subways or in Elevated sections in dense areas. Then breaking off into smaller units to run in other lower-density and at-grade portions/areas. The one thing that is missing are the other smaller route branches done in a lighter line. To increase coverage using available and street Rights-of ways

is that an extension of the red line a short distance south along the river? or merely the existing yard?

It's merely a cute name for the existing yard with an actual station on it that hasn't been planned.

Finally, is the distinct linear corridor slicing southeastly across long beach from willow and long beach blvd. on the blue line an old PE ROW? it appears to head toward seal beach/orange county. know if there are any plans or ideas (maybe yours? ) to run transit along that corridor? actually, looking at google maps, it does appear as if it runs all the way to seal beach. maybe an old freight line? or indeed PE? old rail rights of way fascinate me, as i wonder what it must have been like when trains actually ran there. the east bay in the bay area has several abandoned ROWs, some converted to trails, some developed over. bye bye, history.

They paved and developed over that entire ROW. So no use there. But there are others that is in another map. I'll work on that soon because I need to start over cause the map is getting too pixelated.

[MSPtoMKE]

Here's another map I have made, kinda random this time. A Toronto geographic transit map:

http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Toronto_Transit_White_Med.gif

Along with a link to the version with a satelite image overlay (http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Toronto_GeographicTransit.jpg) (680k)

[VivaLFuego]

Hey MSPtoMKE,

I loved your Chicago maps from a while back, but now when I click the links it gives me a 403 Forbidden error :(

[MSPtoMKE]

Thanks, I'll work on getting them back up. I had to get a new Credit Card and Check Card a while back (lost wallet), which messed up the billing for my webhost. I might take this little speed bump as a chance to get a new webhost, we'll see.


EDIT: Fixed!

[MSPtoMKE]

Wheeeee, another one!


http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Boston_GeographicTransit_White2.gif


...and the requisite link (http://www.boomspeed.com/atucker7/Boston_GeographicTransit_Satelite_large.jpg) to the larger one with a satelite overlay. (~1.7 megs!)

[J Church]

MSP, i'm ripping you off here.

http://sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/alternatives/south_bay/BART.jpg

http://sfcityscape.com/transit/rail_maps/alternatives/south_bay/CME.jpg

[ajfroggie]

Now that I finally have ArcGIS, I might need to hunt down some data (plus a good ArcGIS for Dummies book) to see if I can top these two...

[Lucius Kwok]

Lucius, what program(s) did you use to create those maps? very sharp, professional.

I'm using Adobe Illustrator 10. I'm still using it even though it's an old program. Also, never underestimate the power of Helvetica. :) Thanks.

[pdxstreetcar]

I have a big Portland region transit map that I've been working on forever, something tells me I'm probably not doing it the most efficient way... I'm using Illustrator and some screenshot maps and tracing the rivers and routes. Is this how other people do it?

where does one get data for GIS thats somewhat inexpensive? our regional government sells portland metro GIS maps for $900/yr

[ajfroggie]

where does one get data for GIS thats somewhat inexpensive?

I've generally just searched around on the various government websites looking for what often are free shapefile downloads. Last night I finally found and hit the gold mine for Mississippi...:)

Never been to their site, but my first thought is searching around on ODOT's site (assuming you haven't been there already looking for GIS data).

[ajfroggie]

Rough maps so far, but this page (http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/minnesota/rant/transit/overall.htm) has the general corridors for my fantasy Twin Cities system.

[pdxstreetcar]

thanks for suggesting odot they have free high quality maps on there with different layers and dont mind other people using them... only problem is the maps are in microstation .dgn files and i need to convert them to autocad .dwg

[ajfroggie]

Added another map (http://www.ajfroggie.com/roads/minnesota/rant/transit/lrt-overall.htm), fleshing out my theoretical LRT system in the Twin Cities.

[Wright Concept]

Fantasy Part 2 of LA

http://i1.tinypic.com/mjmve1.gif

http://tinypic.com/jsdkw8.gif

[Swede]

I made a map of plans for Stockholm's rail net. All of it is based on on actual official plans/studies, Only one little thing I've added (but then, it makes so much sense:))

Today:
http://static.flickr.com/41/79817428_7a1daebe11_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com)

2030?:
http://static.flickr.com/38/79817429_3d6bb4bef6_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com)

[The Cheat]

http://svmetro.com/drawings/popdensity/rail-pop_density.gif


High density development has generally followed rail transport, including streetcar/trolley networks, which aren't shown in this map.