Metro upgrading aging route signs

Maybe it's the aging population. Or maybe it's the aging signs.

Metro plans to replace all 9,400 of its bus signs over the next three years, making the route numbers bigger and easier to read.

"They were getting old-looking, and we were hearing from customers that they don't provide enough information," said Gary Larson, chief of information production for Metro. "We want to make our signs more user-friendly and informative, not so intimidating."

One sample sign was on display downtown last week, and Larson said the reaction was positive. The numbers were 2 inches high, almost twice the size of those on existing signs.

And more information is being added to the signs. There will be directions on how to get to the airport or the Amtrak station, and if the bus is going to Kent, for example, "Kent" will be on the sign.

Larson said Metro has 9,200 of the smaller signs, which are in King County neighborhoods, and 200 of the larger signs in park-and-ride lots and other areas with heavy traffic.

Designing the signs was easy, he said. The hard part was listing destinations on all major routes. "It takes a major creation of a database," he said. That job should be completed by early next year, and the signs can be installed then.

The signs are expected to cost $3.6 million over a three-year period, he said.

The colors will be different, too. Larson said Metro will try to design signs in various colors to match the colors of the buses; they will no longer be yellow, black and white.

"What's really special is that about half of our signs don't have schedule information," Larson said. "All you see is a sign with the route number, but no schedule information or Web address for more information." That will change with the new signs.

Metro also plans other changes in how it conveys information:

• As each bus stop gets its new route signs, it also will get and display an identifying number. Stops already are numbered by Metro, but the numbers aren't publicly displayed. Once they are, riders will be able to call Metro, give the number of the stop they're at and get schedule information.

• There will be "enunciators" on the buses by 2010. A recorded voice will tell riders what the next stop is, which Larson said will be a huge boon to the visually impaired.

• Also by 2010, a sign inside each bus will scroll through the stops as the bus travels its route so riders will know what the next stop is.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com