Color for next MARTA rail line?

Currently, MARTA in Atlanta has four colored lines - Red, Gold, Blue, and Green. If MARTA decides to introduce a new rail line (whether light or heavy rail), what color should it be?

For me, my first choice would be the Pink Line. However, if the line were to serve the gay communities, then I would instead choose the Brown Line, since Pink would be promoting gay stereotypes. Remember that the Asian-American communities objected to the Yellow Line, since the term "Yellow" is a derogatory term for Asians. That is why the line ended up being renamed as the Gold Line instead.

I can only speculate but here's what I consider fair game (Based on other rapid transit systems):

Purple
Grey/Silver
Light blue
Aquamarine
Magenta
Light green

And the colors you mentioned

It will certainly be interesting, I could see an Orange line, but the only non-extension line even in range is the Clifton Corridor from Avondale to Lindbergh, all the other expansions are planned as extensions of existing lines, specifically the Red and Green lines for GA-400 and I-20 East respectively.

Also, Black and White are not good options due to potential racism complaints, just as what happened with Yellow. If Brown is chosen then perhaps MARTA should try to avoid assigning it to Hispanic areas.

Moderator's Note: Would you mind citing an article about the Yellow line controversy you mention? This isn't RACE-AND-RAILROADS.NET, so I don't want to go too far down this particular rabbit hole, but I'd like to see what you're referring to.

mtuandrew wrote:Moderator's Note: Would you mind citing an article about the Yellow line controversy you mention? This isn't RACE-AND-RAILROADS.NET, so I don't want to go too far down this particular rabbit hole, but I'd like to see what you're referring to.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/1 ... 59391.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2010/02/10 ... eeing-red/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

deathtopumpkins wrote:

mtuandrew wrote:Moderator's Note: Would you mind citing an article about the Yellow line controversy you mention? This isn't RACE-AND-RAILROADS.NET, so I don't want to go too far down this particular rabbit hole, but I'd like to see what you're referring to.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/1 ... 59391.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2010/02/10 ... eeing-red/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you, DTP.

I find it interesting that in Minneapolis & St. Paul, they opted to use the colors "blue" and "green" first. There is a Red Line BRT service, but it doesn't serve the major Native American communities around the Minneapolis AIOIC in Seward, in Shakopee, or in Mendota. However, in Washington, DC, the Yellow Line serves the Chinatown district - next time I read The Great Society Subway I'll check whether there was any controversy about that.

Moderator's Note: Tread lightly - any profiling based on ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, etc., well-intentioned or not, will get your post deleted and this thread locked. So far though, thank you all for showing restraint and respect.

Also, in Chicago the Yellow Line serves Skokie, which has a fairly significant Asian-American population (though not a majority). There was never any controversy about it as far as I know. I wonder why would there be such complaints in Atlanta but not other cities.

Pink Jazz wrote:Also, in Chicago the Yellow Line serves Skokie, which has a fairly significant Asian-American population (though not a majority). There was never any controversy about it as far as I know. I wonder why would there be such complaints in Atlanta but not other cities.

I guess the yellow N/Q service in New York has a similar situation. It carries some of the asian-american population to the 7 line to Flushing, which has a large Asian-American population. AFAIK, no one has cared.

Even if a transit agency was to do that, it would probably be accidental/coincidence because I highly doubt that someone at that high a position nowadays would do something like that.

Pink Jazz wrote:Also, in Chicago the Yellow Line serves Skokie, which has a fairly significant Asian-American population (though not a majority). There was never any controversy about it as far as I know. I wonder why would there be such complaints in Atlanta but not other cities.

PJ:

Chicago's CTA Yellow Line is also known by its distinct "given name" - the Skokie Swift...

I believe that the color used may have a reference to the term "Yellow Bird" - which was a
popular song title from some time ago - the 1960s I believe...This route uses a distinct
bird logo which dates from when this line began operation in 1964...

I am all for color coding of rail transit lines but in the case of Chicago the CTA re-named rapid transit
lines that had distinct and established names for colors which I feel was a mistake - when you use up
the few primary colors that is when you run into problems using color names...Transit agencies will not
use the color black - or for that matter white - because the terms and lines when used on maps - are
just too generic...

On a related matter CTA's Pink Line name was selected by a vote of elementary school students from
schools adjacent to what was once known as the Douglas Line...

See: http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/yellow.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MACTRAXX

4400Washboard wrote:

Pink Jazz wrote:Also, in Chicago the Yellow Line serves Skokie, which has a fairly significant Asian-American population (though not a majority). There was never any controversy about it as far as I know. I wonder why would there be such complaints in Atlanta but not other cities.

I guess the yellow N/Q service in New York has a similar situation. It carries some of the asian-american population to the 7 line to Flushing, which has a large Asian-American population. AFAIK, no one has cared.

Even if a transit agency was to do that, it would probably be accidental/coincidence because I highly doubt that someone at that high a position nowadays would do something like that.

4400WB:

The big difference here is that NYC Transit has not re-named Subway routes - which use their letters and numbers
alongside established names - in favor of colors...I believe that may have been the thought at one time - the 1980s
after the Subway map was redesigned using colors to designate distinct routes but I feel that riders would have not
accepted those changes so it was never done in NYC...

Example: No one refers to the #7 Flushing Line as the "Purple Line"...

MACTRAXX

deathtopumpkins wrote:

mtuandrew wrote:Moderator's Note: Would you mind citing an article about the Yellow line controversy you mention? This isn't RACE-AND-RAILROADS.NET, so I don't want to go too far down this particular rabbit hole, but I'd like to see what you're referring to.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/1 ... 59391.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2010/02/10 ... eeing-red/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Everyone:

What I find interesting about this subject is that the use of the term "Yellow Line"
as it was used by MARTA in Atlanta had become controversial...I found a press release
dated October 1, 2009 mentioning the move to re-name MARTA's rail routes color names
in the MARTA website...

See: http://www.itsmarta.com/color-coded-rail-line.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I now think that political correctness even to name transit routes with color names has just gone too far here
even though I do feel that "Gold Line" is a better line name then "Yellow Line" is...

MACTRAXX

Well, I would admit that I am kind of guilty of trying to be politically correct as well. In my dream light rail system for the Phoenix area (exact lines mentioned in another thread), like MARTA I used Gold Line instead of Yellow Line, as the line would serve a segment of the Dobson corridor which has somewhat of an Asian population. Also, I tried to avoid Hispanic areas with the Brown Line (which would serve Scottsdale), and the Pink Line would be routed mostly through politically conservative areas (most of Chandler and all of Gilbert and east Mesa) which probably have a lower than average gay population for the Phoenix area.

I'm just trying to avoid controversy as what happened with MARTA.

Given the political tensions about transit development in greater Atlanta, a scheme where lines are referred to by numbers (as NYC has and Toronto is moving towards) or cardinal/ordinal directions rather than names might be best in the long run.

MACTRAXX wrote:

4400Washboard wrote:

Pink Jazz wrote:Also, in Chicago the Yellow Line serves Skokie, which has a fairly significant Asian-American population (though not a majority). There was never any controversy about it as far as I know. I wonder why would there be such complaints in Atlanta but not other cities.

I guess the yellow N/Q service in New York has a similar situation. It carries some of the asian-american population to the 7 line to Flushing, which has a large Asian-American population. AFAIK, no one has cared.

Even if a transit agency was to do that, it would probably be accidental/coincidence because I highly doubt that someone at that high a position nowadays would do something like that.

4400WB:

The big difference here is that NYC Transit has not re-named Subway routes - which use their letters and numbers
alongside established names - in favor of colors...I believe that may have been the thought at one time - the 1980s
after the Subway map was redesigned using colors to designate distinct routes but I feel that riders would have not
accepted those changes so it was never done in NYC...

Example: No one refers to the #7 Flushing Line as the "Purple Line"...

MACTRAXX

Disturbingly, and at the risk of going off topic, I do know people who do that. I actually had a friendly argument with someone from SW Connecticut the other day who insisted that he had always referred to NYC subway lines by their colors and thought that was correct.