Here is a interesting way of looking at L.A. County’s rail and Bus Rapid Transit systems. Martin Leitner at Torti Gallas and Partners architecture firm did a “map hack” showing how long it takes to walk from each Metro station to the next. From Leitner:

We took a cue from Transit for London’s new tube map and hacked Metro L.A.’s rail map by adding walking time between stations.

We found that some stations are only a few minutes apart, 7-12 minutes in Koreatown and East LA, they are a stunning 104 minutes apart on the Green Line (Long Beach Blvd – Lakewood Blvd) and 79 minutes apart between on the Red Line (Hollywood/Highland – Studio City). Some long walk times also on the Gold Line.

The optimal distance between stations is not some engineering constant, but a reflection of the grain of a neighborhood coming up against all kinds of opportunities and constraints in real-world planning processes. Some of the longish distances seem to make sense. Nonetheless, some of these 7-minute gaps – including those at USC and East L.A.’s Civic Center – do seem a bit less than ideal. Stations further apart in those areas might have been more optimal in supporting more cost-effective and speedier transit systems.

What do you think readers? What insights do you glean from the Torti Gallas map? What map hacks would you like to see to shed light on L.A. transportation systems?