Bay Area transit agencies and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission unveiled new test transit maps and signs designed to help make transit journeys easier to understand for both existing and new riders at the Santa Rosa Transit Mall and Santa Rosa Downtown Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) station.
The new maps and signs are part of the larger MTC Regional Mapping and Wayfinding initiative aimed at making it easier to ride transit in the Bay Area as residents go to jobs, medical appointments and school. Whether a rider is traveling by bus, rail, ferry or a combination, the signs, maps, screens and other communication systems will be consistent and easy to identify across all nine Bay Area counties.
Santa Rosa is the second to get the new signage. Several test prototype signs and other communication materials also were installed at the El Cerrito del Norte BART station in December 2024.
“Santa Rosa is proud to be chosen as a prototype location for this groundbreaking transit project,” said Santa Rosa Mayor Mark Stapp at the sign unveiling last week. “This marks a significant step forward in our commitment to creating a more seamless, accessible and user-friendly transit system for Santa Rosa and the greater Bay Area.”
Santa Rosa's new directional signs also have been installed to help transit riders navigate the half-mile route between the downtown SMART station and the Transit Mall. The signs provide information that is clear, predictable and familiar across service areas and county lines.
Public feedback on the new test signs and maps will help inform the next stage of the project, in which the new maps and wayfinding materials are expected to be installed at seven additional locations across the Bay Area in 2025 and 2026.
“Starting this week, North Bay transit riders will be able to use the test maps and signs here at the Transit Mall and the downtown SMART station and share their ideas about how to make the new materials work better for them,” said Victoria Fleming, Santa Rosa City Councilmember and MTC Commissioner. “We’re doing this work not only to improve the system for current riders, but to try to encourage more people to ride transit.”
Members of the public who are unable to visit one of the test locations in Santa Rosa or El Cerrito are invited to take an online survey. Full details are available on the MTC website at mtc.ca.gov/MappingWayfinding.
New wayfinding materials for riders navigating the half-mile route between the Santa Rosa Downtown SMART station and the Santa Rosa Transit Mall also are being tested.
“For years, we’ve heard from riders that navigating between SMART’s Santa Rosa Downtown station and the Santa Rosa Transit Mall can be challenging. By improving signage and mapping, we are breaking down barriers and making transit more intuitive,” said Chris Coursey, Sonoma County Supervisor and SMART Board member.
The Regional Mapping and Wayfinding Project is the result of a first-of-its-kind effort — led by MTC with the partnership of transit riders, Bay Area cities and counties, and over two dozen Bay Area transit agencies — to redesign and harmonize maps and signage across all nine Bay Area counties to help people navigate transit more easily. This project is just one piece of a broader effort, outlined by the Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan, focused on making Bay Area transit easier and more convenient for riders of all ages and abilities to use.
The Regional Network Management Council includes top executives from MTC, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, BART, AC Transit, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain, SamTrans and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District as well as three general managers representing all other transit agencies serving Bay Area communities.
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