rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] On fantasy mass transit maps, particularly (but not only) of Toronto (Reply)

Wired's Adam Mann wrote an article on maps of imaginary mass transit systems in cities around the world, collected in the Tumblr Transit Maps. (I follow it now, and so should you.)

There’s a whole bunch of daydreamers just like you who’ve considered the additional subway lines, bus routes, and train tracks it would take to bring more people to more places. Some of them have even mapped these ideas out. The internet is full of these fantasy transit maps, where professional transit planners and dedicated amateurs alike imagine how public transit in our cities could look.

“Some are completely imaginary, some show fanciful future versions of real cities (without regard to cost or planning), others show well-considered views of the future, drawing heavily on actual plans laid out by transit agencies and governments,” writes graphic designer Cameron Booth, who collects excellent examples both real and fictional on his tumblr, Transit Maps.

Booth added that people like these fantasy maps because they can spark dialogues about what’s lacking in our real-world transit systems. In the dreamy new movie Her, Joaquin Phoenix’s character is able to travel by train in L.A. from the beach to the mountains. A background transit map in one scene has led to plenty of online discussions.

“It’s definitely got people talking about the role transit plays in L.A.,” writes Booth. “Most people love to comment that this fantasy system has three stations at LAX, while the real world still has none — an issue that hugely affects mobility in such a huge city.”

Just recently, blogTO's Derek Flack shared a thoughtful Toronto transit map, this one hinging on the integration of the TTC and the GO Transit network to make a true Golden Horseshoe network.

TTC fantasy maps tend to be, as their designation suggests, wildly unrealistic visions of transit expansion in Toronto. Typically showing sprawling grids of new subway and LRT infrastructure, one's first reaction in seeing them is less hope than it is mild despair at just how far we have to go when it comes to building a comprehensive transit network across the GTA. That's not necessarily the case with this recent effort from Matthew Canaran of Hogtown Commons. Designed using Jonathan English's CityRail concept, the map envisions an electrified GO Transit network that's merged with the TTC to achieve much wider coverage than what each system currently offers.

Canaran is quick to point out that this is an idealized vision for the entire Golden Horseshoe, not just Toronto -- an important distinction given the pressure suburban commuting puts on our transportation network. You'll also note that there's no Finch West LRT on the map, but the designer confirms that this was an intentional omission. "In designing this map, I decided that any LRT lines that weren't already under construction would be axed, and costs would be diverted to electrifying GO... it's not going to pay for itself."