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Way back in my second year, I created a map showing off all of Metrolinx’s planned projects from Toronto’s relief line, to planned LRT’s in Peel, Waterloo and Hamilton, to existing BRT’s in York. I revisited the map and wasn’t satisfied with what I did. I liked the idea of a unified transit map for the region but couldn’t bear to look at the map I created a few years ago; so I reworked the thing from the ground up. And I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out.

I learned that you have to tackle the hardest parts first, the hardest parts being stations that have an absolute clusterfuck mess of lines running through them in every direction; stations like Union, Dundas West, Kennedy, and Pearson fit the bill.

I also learned that you really have to let go of geography if you want to produce something that looks nice. Sure it’s easy to straighten most of the Bloor-Danforth line when it mostly travels in an east-west direction but what about when you want the five stations on Kipling and their respective cross-streets to line up in perfect vertical harmony; it’s not gonna happen without ruining the even spacing between stops you’ve established on each line.

I could hardly call this new map an updated version of the old; it is in effect a whole new map. I added all the stops, not just the lines. I added or removed stops where I thought they should be; which is a great lesson in urban planning in terms of stop spacing, community needs, desired service provided.

Metrolinx was also rebranded; I didn’t like how generic and sterile the name felt so I took it upon myself to find it a new name. I wanted some reference to geography, the name needed to show that this agency serves the Toronto area but I also didn’t want the name to be Toronto specific. So in the vein of the Boston MBTA or the Philadelphia SEPTA, I came up with SCOUT, SCOUT being South Central Ontario Urban Transportation. It’s a simple term to learn and it references geography without giving too much weight to Toronto. I made its logo a square knot, ties the region together jokes welcome, with each end of the knot as a form of transportation (commuter rail, metro, light rail, and bus rapid transit). The colour gold references the Greater Golden Horseshoe which is the area served by SCOUT while the lime is a nod to Metrolinx.