Transit nerds rejoice: Metro is scrapping plans to get rid of the iconic color stripe design on top of pylons marking train station entrances after weeks of fierce customer pushback.
Washington Metro Area Transit Authority announced last month the station markers would lose the striped design in favor of color-coded circles with letters. The change is part of a complete overhaul of signage across WMATA’s 98 rail stations over the next five years.
In a statement to The Washington Sun on Friday, Metro confirmed it’s going back to the drawing board to preserve the stripes beloved among Metro fans.
“Metro is always listening to customers to drive continuous improvement. Customer feedback made it clear that the stripes are a valued part of Metro’s identity, and we adjusted our plans to retain them as we make improvements,” the statement said.
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It’s unclear if the stripes will be used in tandem with new color-coded circles, or if WMATA will keep the current design.
When the update was announced on social media, a barrage of critical comments followed. While the biggest difference in Metro’s signage will be seen trackside, with street intersections being sidelined for labels that correspond closely with mobile map apps, transit enthusiasts treated the replacement of the well-known striped columns as sacreligious.
“You can always tell when an agency has a graphic designer that never gets told no, because what insane person would remove one of the most iconic features of WMATAs branding,” self-described railroad advocate Alan Fisher said on social media after the plans were announced. “The stripes on the poles are a defining feature.”
Other users called the changes “a rare WMATA L” and wondered if Metro would backtrack on the design overhaul based on riders’ obvious discontent.
The agency defended the updated pylons as being more accessible for low-vision customers and pointed out the stripes weren’t part of the original Metro branding. Still, the court of public opinion eventually won out, and, for now, the stripes are here to stay.
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