Archive for October, 2011
Oct
03
Thoughts on spending on design vs. capacity
Posted by: | Comments
A $3.8 billion PATH station will not bring increased capacity to the rail system.
As the United States’ economy remains in a slump and the MTA has been forced to scramble for construction dollars, how the authority spends its billions has often come under the microscope. Along the East Side, Phase 1 of the Second Ave. Subway will deliver three stations for $4.5 billion. While those costs are high, at least SAS is increasing transit capacity. The same cannot be said for other projects.
Down in Lower Manhattan, various stakeholders — the federal government, the Port Authority — have contributed billions to two projects that are more ostentatious than functional. The Calatrava PATH terminal has been billed as part of the rebirth of Lower Manhattan after September 11, but for $3.8 billion, all we’re getting is a giant porcupine. The Fulton Street Transit Center will be a hub for the subway in name only as the $1.4 billion renovation includes a fancy above-ground entrance and some reconstructed walkways.
For over $5 billion, then, New York is getting a few buildings that may or may not be visually appealing, and no added transit capacity. I’ve long believed that to be a waste of precious resources, and I’m not alone. Over at Forbes, Stephen Smith of Market Urbanism fame writes about spending priorities. Starting his argument with a nod toward Japan’s train system, Smith notes that the country’s rail hubs are not architecturally attract. “Shinjuku doesn’t even seem nice by modernist Japanese standards,” he writes, “and the most extravagant post-war station I can find is Nagoya, which doubles as the skyscraper headquarters of the country’s biggest Shinkansen company.”
Moving along, Smith says that the spending patterns in New York are “indicative of our warped priorities” when it comes to transit spending. A greater proportion of dollars are funneled toward aesthetics rather than capacity. He writes:
Spending a lot of money on flashy stations is also not something that Spain, the world leader in cheap and efficient tunneling projects, recommends. In a report on railway expansion in Madrid, tunneling expert Manuel Melis Maynar writes: “Design should be focused on the needs of the users, rather than on architectural beauty or exotic materials, and never on the name of the architect.” And it makes sense – the point of transit is to transport. Money buys movement, and funds are finite. When a system is running well, people aren’t sticking around to stare at the ceiling, anyway.
As always though, America must be the exception. Spain would never spend $3.8 billion on a single starchitect-studded station, but its own Santiago Calatrava was happy to build one if New York was footing the bill. Calatrava’s original design called for an enormous bird-like World Trade Center PATH station whose walls would open up in a sort of flapping motion, but it was scaled back for security and cost reasons. The wings were clipped and evolution was set back a few hundred million years – the bird will now be a ”slender stegosaurus.” Even the originally projected $2.2 billion cost would have been more than Paris spent on its entire new 9 km-long Métro Line 14.
And then just one block away from the WTC boondoggle, we find the $1.4 billion Fulton Street “Transit Center” (a.k.a., subway station). Back in 2002 there was talk of selling off air rights above the station, the largest undeveloped parcel in Lower Manhattan, but that never happened…If American cities are ever going to grow beyond their currently stunted sizes, they’re going to need new transit infrastructure. But no amount of government subsidies will ever be enough to build more than a line here and there until we get our astronomical costs under control.
Expensive design isn’t the only driver of cost in the U.S., but particularly in Lower Manhattan, design gives transit spending a bad name. It’s tough to justify spending billions on two projects within a few blocks of each other that do next to nothing to increase ridership, but that’s what politicians want. It doesn’t make much sense.
Oct
03
A livery cab bill awaits resolution in Albany
Posted by: | Comments
An NYC taxi medallion has been a better investment than gold or a house since 1980. (Via Bloomberg News)
Getting stuck in Albany is no one’s idea of a good time. It’s even worse when the thing stuck is not a person but rather a bill designed to improve transportation options in New York City, but that’s exactly what’s happened with the Mayor’s plan to expand livery cab access outside of the core area of Manhattan.
The plan, as we know it, is not without controversy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has made it a goal to improve taxi access for everyone who wants to travel from one point outside of Manhattan to, well, everywhere. With 97 percent of yellow cab rides originated within Manhattan south of 96th St. or at an airport, millions of New Yorkers are left searching for cabs in vain. In April, Bloomberg proposed a plan to legitimize street hails for livery cabs. By granting 30,000 limited medallions to livery cabs, Bloomberg’s plan would allow these cabbies to pick up passengers anywhere in the city but in Manhattan south of 96th Street. It would raise $1 billion for the city — a key point — and provide increased transportation access.
But the best laid plans often run into politicians beholden to powerful lobbyist groups, and the City Council, under the influence of medallion owners, was destined not to pass the bill. Bloomberg went to Albany, and while the Assembly and Senate approved the bill, they have reportedly yet to present it to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his signatured. Residents want to see the changes, but fleet owners have been looking to kill the bill since mid-July. After all, if a taxi medallion is a better long-term investment than gold, why would these medallion owners — who generally are not the drivers — want to risk competition even if the 30,000 new medallions would go to drivers who wouldn’t compete with the yellow cabs?
The bill’s opponents have mounted some rather convoluted offenses as well. Take, for instance, this letter from Public Advocate Bill De Blasio. As Public Advocate, De Blasio is supposed to advocate for the people of New York City, but it appears as though he’s trying to shore up support from powerful and wealthy medallion owners as he eyes as the 2013 mayor race. He says:
This plan likewise threatens the livelihood of livery cab base owners and drivers. For decades, livery cab companies have offered reliable and legitimate pre-arranged cab service throughout the five boroughs of New York City. However, the current taxi plan will place substantial barriers in front of those providing legal, prearranged car services. If the Mayor’s plan becomes law, the existence of newly-permitted livery cabs capable of picking up street fares will no doubt significantly decrease the demand for prearranged car service. This plan will also likely increase the incentive for non-permitted livery drivers to pick up street hails illegally.
Apparently, De Blasio seems convinced that limo companies that guarantee pick-up service will find their customers waiting endlessly as drivers get needlessly distracted by street hails instead. I’m not entirely positive how one draws that conclusion from a plan that would allow street hails; it seems anathema to the workings of the car service market which relies upon good service and good word-of-mouth to gain popularity. But De Blasio’s words suggest exactly who is opposing the taxi measure.
As recently as ten days ago, it appeared as though the bill would die a death at the hands of powerful interest groups who have been lobbying Albany for months. Yet, the allure of the dollar is a strong one indeed, and Gov. Cuomo is pushing Bloomberg and the bill’s opponents toward a compromise. If the city could indeed realize $1 billion from the sale of new medallions, it is better to find a solution to the impasse than forego easy money in tight times. “When you can find revenue without raising taxes, grab it,” Cuomo said last week.
For now, we can glimpse the basic contours of a potential resolution. Facing criticism by U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat who has championed the rights of the disabled, the old bill will give way to one with more protections for riders and yellow cabs. One Assembly representative — Micah Kellner — wants to sell 1500 new yellow medallions for handicapped accessible cabs in addition to 6000 new “outer borough” medallions. Of those, 1200 would have to be handicapped accessible. State Senator Martin Golden wants to cut the number of new medallions down from 30,000 to just 10,000 to placate the yellow cab industry.
And that’s where things are now. Powerful interests are fighting against a plan that would help millions of New Yorkers who would benefit from increased access to street hails. The resolution will drag on through the fall, but I’m optimistic that something positive will emerge. The bill and the debate, both nearly dead ten days ago, live on.
Oct
01
Weekend work impacting 15 subway lines
Posted by: | CommentsA little late with these. Sorry.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. October 3, free shuttle buses replace 3 trains between Franklin Avenue and Flatbush Avenue due to repair work on circuit breakers south of President Street. Note: 2 trains operate between 241st Street and the Utica Avenue 3, 4 station.
From 1 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, 4 trains skip Fulton Street in both directions due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center. For alternate service, take the 2, 3, A, C or J shuttle instead. Note: J shuttle train operates between Fulton Street and Chambers Street-Brooklyn Bridge.
(Overnights)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, October 3, uptown 4 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street-Union Square due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection.
From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, October 1 and from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Sunday, October 2, 5 trains skip Fulton Street in both directions due to work on the Fulton Street Transit Center. For alternate service, take the 2, 3, A, C or J shuttle instead. Note: J shuttle train operates between Fulton Street and Chambers Street-Brooklyn Bridge.
From 6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Saturday, October 1 and 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sunday, October 2, 5 trains every 20 minutes between Bowling Green and Dyre Avenue due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, uptown 6 trains run express from Brooklyn Bridge to 14th Street-Union Square due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 2, Manhattan-bound 7 trains run express from 74th Street to Queensboro Plaza due to track panel work south of 33rd Street-Rawson Street.
(Overnights)
From 12:01 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2 and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m., Monday, October 3, uptown A trains skip Spring, 23rd and 50th Sts. due to track work south of Canal Street.
From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, uptown C trains skip Spring, 23rd and 50th Sts. due to work on the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer connection.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, Bronx-bound D trains run on the N line from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street due to structural repair and station rehabilitation from 71st Street to Bay 50th Street and ADA work at Bay Parkway. Note: At all times until Friday, October 28, the southbound D is bypassing 71st Street due to stair reconstruction. So, there is no D service at 71st Street this weekend.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, D trains operate local in both directions between 34th Street-Herald Square and West 4th Street due to work on the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, E trains run on the F line in both directions between 36th Street, Queens and 34th Street-Herald Square due to work on the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization. Note: Trains travel the 63rd Street and 6th Avenue corridors, stopping at F stations. Trains originate and terminate at 34th Street-Herald Square. For service between West 4th Street and WTC, customers should use the A or C.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, Brooklyn-bound F trains run on the A line from West 4th Street to Jay Street-MetroTech due to electrical and substation work at Jay Street-MetroTech and the Broadway/Lafayette-to-Bleecker Street transfer.
From 11 p.m. Friday, September 30 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, there is no G train service between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avs due to deep well rehabilitation north of Bergen Street. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 10 p.m., Sunday, October 2, Queens-bound J trains skip Hewes Street, Lorimer Street and Flushing Avenue due to track panel work north of Hewes Street.
From 1 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 3, shuttle trains run between Fulton Street and Chambers Street-Brooklyn Bridge due to work at Fulton Street Transit Center. Note: there are no 4 or 5 trains at Fulton Street.
From 6 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 2, L trains run in two sections due to fencing installation at the Canarsie Yard:
- Between 8th Avenue and Broadway Junction and
- Between Broadway Junction and Rockaway Parkway (every 24 minutes)
From 4 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 2, M trains run every 20 minutes between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue due to track panel work north of Hewes Street on the J line.
From 10 p.m. Friday, September 30 to 5 a.m., Monday, October 3, uptown Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street-Herald Square due to platform edge rehabilitation at 34th Street.
From 10 p.m. Friday, September 30 to 5 a.m., Monday, October 3, Manhattan-bound Q trains run express from Kings Highway to Prospect Park due to NYC DOT column repair along the Brighton Line.
From 6 a.m. Saturday, October 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 2, Brooklyn-bound Q trains run express from Kings Highway to Brighton Beach due to overcoat paining of the Brighton Line bridges.
