Cincinnati Metro unveils $6.5 million revamp
DAAP faculty and students design fresh, accessible Metro signage
The region’s largest public transportation agency is launching bus stop glow-ups across the county with the help of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP).
The Cincinnati Business Courier and other local media highlighted the ribbon cutting for the first new bus stop on April 9. The sign represents the interdisciplinary effort across design, planning, engineering and public policy that DAAP faculty and students helped realize.
Situated on the corner of Clifton Avenue and Clifton Court, right by the DAAP building, the unveiled bus stop is the first of 3,700 Metro plans to update over the next two years.
Larger text and high contrast colors make the signs easier to read from a distance.
These new signs feature larger route numbers, a fresh layout and reflective material for clear visibility in the dark. Up close, they have QR codes for online tracking and braille text.
Cincinnati Metro will also install new benches, shelters and real-time updates at hundreds of these stops. Local 12 reported that the revamp makes the signs easier to read from a distance.
“Students come to DAAP here at UC because they want to use their creativity and their imagination to change the world, to make it a better place,” said DAAP Dean Stephanie Pilat on WVXU. “This partnership with Metro has given them the opportunity to do that in ways they can point to all over the city and say, 'I had a part in that.'”
The project was led by Muhammad Rahman, assistant professor for the School of Design, with contributions from students Micah Shannon and Hoang Xuan Nam Anh. The team worked closely with Metro employees and patrons as well as the School of Planning’s Danilo Palazzo and Vikas Mehta.
Spectrum News reported that Dean Pilat was joined by Metro Board Chair Blake Ethridge, Metro CEO Andy Aiello, U.S. Representative Greg Landsman and Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece in delivering remarks.
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Featured image at top of the ribbon cutting by Metro, DAAP and Cincinnati representatives. Photos/Kevin Bolanos Gonzalez
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