Metro wants to replace its signature brown floor tiles with concrete at the transit system’s 39 above-ground rail stations to help curb unwieldy maintenance costs and improve rider safety.
The six-sided paver tiles — a staple on both indoor and outdoor Metro platforms since the rail system’s first days 32 years ago — can be a safety risk at outdoor stations because they become slippery in wet conditions, officials said.
They are also prone to coming loose as a result of water damage.
“We’re having a lot more problems in a lot of the stations than were ever anticipated,” said Dave Couch, Metro’s capital projects director.
Metro will keep the brown tile at its 47 underground stations.
Every time a tile comes loose — a common occurrence at outdoor stations, Couch said — the agency must dispatch an employee to reattach it.
“We’ve only got a few people who do spot work on paver tiles,” he said. “You expect a certain amount of maintenance, but this is much more than anyone thought.”
Officials were considering replacing the paver tiles with porcelain ones instead of concrete, but determined porcelain would require too much upkeep, Couch said.
The $36 million tile replacement project is on a $489 million list of Metro’s urgent but unbudgeted capital needs that was presented by Metro staff this week.
The board of directors is slated to review funding options for the projects in the spring.
If approved, the station renovations could begin at some locations this year and continue over the next six years.
