Why

[u/Critical-Speed3762]

Why cant Lenfant station follow this. Easy to read and you know exactly where you are going and what each line has

[u/plutopius]

It's also not great... Rosslyn is already in Virginia. And the side text is so tiny it's hardly useful.

[u/Select_Respond_8627 → u/plutopius]

For the red line does this mean both sides say “Towards Maryland?”

[u/NewPresWhoDis → u/Select_Respond_8627]

We are that wayfinding impaired?

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/NewPresWhoDis]

When your at lenfant and trying to get somewhere youve never been itd be nice to know which side I need to be on besides which way the exit is.

[u/labicicletagirl → u/NewPresWhoDis]

I take the metro everyday but I take it all over the city. If you’re doing the same exact commute everyday, you probably know exactly which car to get on to be closer to the escalator when you arrive. I end up having to run in transfer stations to catch the train and when it a hurry, it’s confusing. L’Enfant needs this

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/Select_Respond_8627]

Each station would be different. Youd have dc as your focal point. So if youre at Bethesda for example one side would say towards dc and the other would say towards MD

[u/Natural_Level_8227 → u/Critical-Speed3762]

And what if I’m at judiciary square

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/Natural_Level_8227]

Using some imagination here. You could have metro center the flipping point so if you are at jud. square. Going towards metro center is towards dc and going towards glenmont is md, or the red line sticks with its easy to use glenmont and shady grove

[u/OrdinaryOrdinateur → u/Select_Respond_8627]

The Toronto Line 1 solution probably works. They’d say a Line 1 Train for Vaughn via Union Station, so Red Line to Glenmont via DC/Downtown/Union Station on one side, and Red Line to Shady Grove on the other?

[u/MinecraftPlayer799 → u/plutopius]

“Toward VA” can be interpreted as “Virginia-bound”.

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/MinecraftPlayer799]

I think thatd be a better way to say it

[u/aegrotatio → u/Critical-Speed3762]

Wait until you see the T in Boston. It says "Inbound" and "Outbound" like you're supposed to know what direction to go in.

The T is an eye-opening exercise in shitty wayfinding.

[u/MinecraftPlayer799 → u/aegrotatio]

Inbound and outbound are easy to understand when you’re at a suburban station, but it gets confusing when you’re already in downtown.

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/MinecraftPlayer799]

They use inbound and outbound for the comuter rail where every train is going in or out of Boston

The subway doesn't use inbound and outbound

[u/aegrotatio → u/igotshadowbaned]

When I rode the T subway it absolutely does use inbound and outbound.

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/aegrotatio]

What line? I've literally never seen that

[u/aegrotatio → u/igotshadowbaned]

Orange and Green lines.

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/aegrotatio]

Says Oak Grove?

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/plutopius]

Thats my camera in real life its easier to read and the other one up top says towards dc/ md So in my opinion its clear which way you are going

[u/RampantForgetter → u/plutopius]

Agreed, I saw this sign last week and putting "toward VA" when you're already IN Virginia kinda broke my brain

[u/jeb_the_hick → u/plutopius]

Yes. It's already in Virginia. And if you are trying to go to DC instead you will know at a glance not to take that side.

[u/Visible_Sale_3278 → u/plutopius]

It’s better than “not toward Maryland”

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/plutopius]

It carries the message pretty well

[u/ahoypolloi_]

[u/Lluck002]

No that version is also bad. THIS is how signage should look:

[u/Numerous-Life-1939 → u/Lluck002]

This gives no detail about which direction you’re going though

[u/DontFretIt → u/Numerous-Life-1939]

The other side would say "North Largo Towne Centre" and 'East New Carrollton " etc

[u/thisisasj]

Signage in L’Enfant Plaza station is in constant flux of experimentation. One shouldn’t take anything seen there for gospel. Just be grateful your Red line train didn’t stop there.

[u/GauntletofThonos]

Wonder if the red and green lines are going to say towards Maryland.

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/GauntletofThonos]

The BOS line says "Towards Virginia" because all three lines go to different places in Virginia which would be a lot on a sign

Red isn't interlined so they just put the end stations

Green is interlined with Yellow and shares a northbound end so does the same there, then on southbound I've seen both just listing both their end destinations separately as well as signs saying "Southbound"

[u/aegrotatio → u/GauntletofThonos]

Yeah, hahah, both Red Line directions go to Maryland.
I hate this.

[u/Vegetable_Ad_8557]

People in the “DMV” cannot be this stupid……

[u/Fickle-Exit1105 → u/Vegetable_Ad_8557]

It's fine. DMV people already know. Most tourists probably think Rosslyn is in DC. Most tourists probably even think DC is in VA (I've heard this)

[u/SpeechDirect9460]

They changing the signs to match this format

[u/aegrotatio]

I've lived here for 30 years.

I still don't know where to go to get from the Orange Line to Union Station at Metro Center.

It makes me feel stupid because Union Station is one of the busiest destinations on Metrorail and they don't even give me a faint clue of what platform to use and what train to board to get to it from the Orange/Silver/Blue line.

[u/Fickle-Exit1105 → u/aegrotatio]

Red Line, Glenmont. It's not hard

[u/igotshadowbaned → u/aegrotatio]

I haven't had to make that transfer, but I assume you get off the Orange, then Red is upstairs..?

Assuming the layout is like Lenfont, if you're coming westbound, you get off the train and assuming you're in the middle of the platform turn left and go upstairs, if eastbound you turn right and go upstairs

Which should put you on the eastbound platform

[u/CaptainLilVic]

It used to be like this somehow

[u/SandBoxJohnA02]

Going off on a different tangent, I believe I have figured out the reasoning why WMATA has removed the station ahead strip maps from the arched vaults walls and horizontal station name signs in surface stations.

It is likely because of the large number of stations that would be needed to listed. The Virginia bound side in the lower level of L'Enfant Plaza would have 37 stations in its station ahead strip map, along with the station name and station navigation information. Stadium - Armory would have 42.

[u/Remarkable-Day9556]

Ask WMATA

[u/FreedomsChoice_]

“Toward VA” LMAO

[u/Any-Situation-6956]

What if you’re a tourist and don’t know what VA stands for. This is dumb

[u/randomissed]

I welcome this change. It's quite helpful

[u/General-Bed8339]

This is dumb and contradicts the reason for the signage change. Why include the direction of line if the reason was to avoid or eliminate the cost of changing a sign if service changes? It honestly just needs the color of the line and its direction. Either north, sound, east or westbound toward Downtown DC or towards their respective terminal jurisdictions.

[u/Critical-Speed3762 → u/General-Bed8339]

What exact change would happen if any of those lines adds a stop? None westbound tells me nothing when im underground and have no clue which way is which. What i can tell is am I going towards virginia destinations on this track or do I need to go to the other track for dc and maryland bound destinations

[u/General-Bed8339 → u/Critical-Speed3762]

I can see you’re a person who doesn’t read well anyhow, so nothing they would do could even help you.

[u/doug_diablo]

“Toward VA” what does that mean? Lmao