Here is the unabridged version of my Grid
idea to improve Toronto, which I titled “Toronto sUXs.”
The morning commute via the southbound Spadina
streetcar is a terrible user experience (UX for short). It doesn’t have to be.
Inside the Spadina subway station, three long snaking
lines of people waiting for southbound streetcars block the flow of transit
commuters exiting northbound cars. A few hundred dollars in vinyl floor signage
could indicate the optimal line-up configuration so people don’t have to guess.
Built into this signage would be strategic gaps where perpendicular commuter
traffic could pass through the line. Currently people have to poke their way
through the fence of people between them and the subway stairs. That sUXs.
This is not rocket science – just a bit of design
thinking. Step One: Observe how people actually use Spadina station. Step Two:
Offer a solution that respects natural human instincts. Design thinking doesn’t
have to involve visionary, Bruce Mau fantasies of iStreetcars powered by
unicorn laughter. UX does the most good when it invisibly solves the major
problems that people face on a daily basis.
