WMATA lights things up

Metro's got big plans to light up the stations in the system and to make audio announcements more understandable, as staffers discussed in a Wednesday presentation to the Riders Advisory Council rail subcommittee meeting.

You may recall that Interim General Manager Dan Tangherlini has made improving station lighting one of his top short-term priorities. Kevin Donahue, who works in the general manager's office on strategic issues, explained Tangherlini's thinking. As head of DC's Department of Transportation, Tangherlini worked with D.C. police to identify high-crime pockets of the city. Those areas received lighting upgrades, which then led to a noticeable decrease in crime. Though Metro harbors little violent crime (at least in stations; parking lots can attract robbers and car thieves) Tangherlini also thinks that better lighting has good psychological effects. It helps people feel better about riding Metro. Furthermore, Tangherlini says that strings of burnt-out light bulbs signal to riders that Metro is not on the top of its game.

So Tangherlini formed a team to work on improving station lighting. Many station lights have deteriorated over time and they produce much less light than they used to. But members of the team looked at lighting from a fresh angle to determine how they can improve lighting while maintaining the architectural beauty of the stations.

Maintenance team steps up light bulb maintenance
While Donahue considers making long-term plans to improve lighting, David Knights, head of track structures and system maintenance, told the committee about some short-term improvements that are in the works. Nine stations, for example, have lights with covers to protect them from dust. These covers got dirty with age and Metro workers discovered that the stations were much brighter after removing the covers from the lights. So Metro plans to remove more covers. (I would think the covers were there for a good reason, so I have been wondering if there are any long-term disadvantages to taking those covers out.)

Also Donahue will change some of the light bulbs that are in the big brown pylons that point to the ceilings of the stations. They found a new bulb that is five percent brighter--a difference that is, they say, more significant than it sounds. Metro will also change burnt-out bulbs more quickly, which can be challenging because many bulbs are inaccessible when trains are running. On a longer-term basis, Metro is considering changing the management structure for the maintenance department and maybe organizing it by rail line, as the customer service teams are now oriented.

Long-term changes to lighting planned
Ed Riley, Metro's chief architect, explained some longer-term design changes they are considering in lighting. Originally Metro was designed to have soft lighting that would provide dramatic effects as trains entered and left stations. Designers succeeded at this; I've often delighted in the interesting patterns of light that emerge in Metro stations. Riley hopes to brigten stations while preserving that architectural integrity. New specifications for lighting have resulted in three new above-ground stations (New York Avenue, Morgan Boulevard, and Largo Town Center) with very brightly lit platforms. You can also visit Woodley Park and Cleveland Park on the Red Line, where Metro has already upgraded underground lighting. They installed new lights for the area of the platform that is directly underneath the mezzanine--an area that can sometimes get quite dark.

Metro is also looking at greater use of LEDs. Riley says the technology changes "almost weekly, it seems." There are already some LEDs in stations: see the handrails at the three new above-ground stations. New mezzanine lighting might throw light upward as well as downward (current mezzanine lights only shine down.) Metro also has replaced the flashing platform edge lights with LEDs at Rosslyn, and is considering doing so throughout the system. Riley is considering using more of the LEDs in the handrails in the platform areas beneath escalators and stairs.

Metro has hired a consultant to study lighting, who will recommend not only ways to brighten stations but also ways to decrease the manpower required to change lights. But some actions can have unintended consequences: some stations have been painted. This brigtens them considerably, but is also causes increased reverberation from passing trains because the paint fills little holes in the concrete that used to absorb vibrations from trains.

Announcements in stations
To address another common annoyance, Dave Couch addressed the committee about audibility of announcements in stations. Stations originally had very cheap speakers that sounded horrible, but speakers have been upgraded. Metro has also placed additional speakers in the stations: originally, underground stations had speakers only in the coffered ceilings and in the ceilings of the platform areas that are underneath a mezzanine. Additional speakers were placed on the pylons (Couch called these "ears") which helped with audibility. Also, at some Red Line side-platform stations, Metro placed speakers along the side of the platform, in the area between the platform and the wall. Look for these on the Red platform at Metro Center, for example. However these speakers tend to send sound bouncing off the walls, which actually lowers audibility. So Couch considers other possibilities for future improvement, like mounting more speakers along the walls.

Announcements on trains
Then Dave Halen addressed the committee on audibility of announcements on vehicles. Newer 6000-series rail cars, which Metro will start receiving soon, have an additional microphone in the operator's cab that will allow the operator to address passengers even while on the left side of the cab. (At center platform stations, operators must stick their heads out of the window on the left side of the train, so the only microphone in today's cars, on the right side of the cab, doesn't do much good then.) New cars will also have two new intercoms at areas designated for wheelchairs. Future cars (beyond the 6000-series ones, I guess) will be linked into what Halen called a "total communication system." This will allow station announcements about, for example, service delays, to be beamed into rail cars in addition to being heard in stations systemwide.

Metro staff knows that some announcements are inaudible because operators can be hard to understand. So they are training operators to speak more clearly. They're considering automating announcements as well (I know this has caused debate in the past; previous general manager Richard White said that making announcements helps keep train operators engaged in their jobs.) They're also considering LED strip maps inside the cars to show which station is next, similar to the maps you'll find in many newer train cars in New York.

I'm tapped out for tonight so later this week I will write more about a spat at the meeting about, of all things, trash cans.