VIDEO: Will Metro Do Away with its Mood Lighting?

Depending on your take, the lighting in D.C.'s Metro stations is either insufficient, charmingly subdued, or designed by someone scarred by the energy crisis of the 1970s.

The Metro has heard it all before, and boosting the wattage in its stations is on its to-do list. Hence this mockup, which features overhead lighting:

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is unveiling plans for a 'model station'  as part of its long-range planning process. The transit agency will use the Bethesda Station as a guinea pig on which to test pendant lighting, high-output fixtures, and glass-filled interiors designed to admit and reflect more light.

Or, as the video below puts, it, "customers may notice that Metro Brown has been replaced by stainless steel and light gray."

Metro also announced at its Thursday board meeting that the agency will spend $53 million to improve the lighting in 13 additional stations.

A typically dim Metro station. (photo by Ryan Healy via flickr)