Second Ave. Sagas - Page 373 of 536 - A New York City Subway Blog

Oct

MTA grades F poorly in internal report

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (17) ·

The F line, much maligned and often overcrowded, is near and dear to my heart. I live nearby the stop at 7th Ave. in Brooklyn and often find myself relying on it for travel to and from home and parts of Brooklyn or Manhattan. A few years ago, securing F express service became a cause célèbre for me and a few Brooklyn transit advocates.

During our discussions about F express service, the MTA informed us that the option would not be available until after the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation is finished in 2013. We were prepared to wait, but our efforts aroused the attention of a State Senator from the area. With complaints mounting about the F service, Daniel Squadron asked the MTA to perform a comprehensive study of the 27-mile F long. The agency released report — available here as a PDF — on Friday, and it is a rather critical of the current conditions along the second longest subway line in the city.

Citing the fact that parts of the line are 90 years old, the report notes how prone to delays and problems the F is. “Reliability of the F, as on all other lines in the subway, is affected by infrastructure condition, maintenance and renewal; in the case of the F, the need to renew key assets in the coming years is becoming critical, due to their age and condition. As assets age, they become more prone to breakdown, thus adversely affecting reliability,” it reads. Simply put, the F line is falling apart.

The report features a lot of technical MTA-speak. It delves into a discussion on merges and diverges, shared trackage and component replacement plans. It discusses the mean distance between car failures and talks about who the F rolling stock features five different classes of cars — many of which are slated for retirement in 2010. It analyzes controllable on-time performance and absolute on-time performance. It examines ridership numbers and a passenger environment service.

In the end, though, the report boils down to a few main conclusions: The F is a patchwork line made out of parts of varying ages and varying quality. Its oldest sections — between Ditmas Ave. and Ave. X — are 90; its youngest piece — South of W. 8th St. to Coney Island — is just five years old. Because of these discrepancies, the F line is overtaxed and in need of maintenance, oversight and investment.

The report, however, doesn’t make too many out-of-the-box recommendations. In fact, many of the suggestions are in the process of being implemented and capital investment projects are already underway. It urges the following and notes the implementation timeline:

Reorganizing line management, to provide greater accountability over multiple disciplines (July 2009).
Establishing a task force of senior managers to review F line operations and develop strategies for improvements (Fall 2009).
Reviewing the schedules and service design of the F to assess potential operational and service changes, including modifications to Queens/Manhattan service (underway) and express service in Brooklyn (to be undertaken prior to the completion in 2013 of the ongoing Culver Viaduct project).
Undertaking a train load analysis to provide line management with critical information for evening out train loads (underway).
Assigning more reliable cars to the F (July 2009), reducing the number of separate car classes operating on the F from 5 to 2 (July 2009), assigning a dedicated car maintenance manager to the F (September 2009), and continuing to place new cars into F service (underway).
Modifying delay management strategies to reduce reliance on skipping stations (July 2009).
Renewing aging infrastructure, including, but not limited to, reconstructing the Culver Viaduct (underway), rehabilitating key stations like Jay Street (underway), and modernizing critical components of the signal system (planned for the 2010-14 Capital Program).
Developing strategies to reduce the impact of maintenance and infrastructure renewal work on operations (underway), including coordinating previously separate maintenance activities, establishing a “Scheduled Maintenance System” for signal repairs and heavy maintenance gangs for track repairs, and installing track barriers during long-term projects to reduce the need to slow down when passing work zones.

New York City Transit President Howard Roberts noted that many of the projects are already in place. “While we are already in the midst of several capital projects aimed at improving service for F Line riders, there are measures underway that will move our customers closer to the type of service that they pay for and that they deserve,” said Roberts.

To me, this report doesn’t say anything new. The MTA knows the F is a problem, and the authority already had measures in place to fix those problems. Why did they fulfill Squadron’s request for a report? How much did it cost them? Would we see similar results if this investigation were repeated on, say, the J or the R line? Is adding another layer of management going to solve these problem?

Transit should certainly be praised for a critical self-examination, but Straphanger Joe and Jane could just as easily evaluate the F line. We know it’s a subpar line. Now, we have to see if a report produced at the behest of a State Senator can improve these poor conditions.

Categories : F Express Plan

Comments (17)

Oct

Weekend service impacted everywhere

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (42) ·

Earlier this week, I dropped a short post about how bad this weekend’s service changes will be. Now that Friday is upon us, we can see for ourselves the carnage, and it’s bad. If you’re planning on going anywhere this weekend, leave a lot of extra time for travel.

Remember: These service advisories come to me via the MTA and are subject to change without notice. Listen for announcements on board and check the signs in your local station. The Subway Weekend map will be particularly helpful this week.

Because there are so many updates, I’m going to stick them after a jump so the rest of the SAS content from this week doesn’t get buried.

Click through for the myriad service advisories.

Categories : Service Advisories

Comments (42)

Oct

The TWU doth protest much

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (23) ·

TWUProtestPoster As the MTA continues to work on its appeal of the TWU’s arbitration victory, the union is fighting back. Although the transit agency claims it cannot afford to give its workers a mandatory 11 percent raise over the next three years, the union is urging the authority to respect the law. Until now, protests have largely been directed at MTA headquarters and Mayor Bloomberg, who supports the appeal, but next week, Straphangers will begin to fill the effects of a disgruntled TWU.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, TWU members are going to participate in what leadership is calling “A Day of Outrage.” Union heads are calling for the participation of “all divisions, all members,” and the transit slowdown could make for a messy commute. The TWU says they are not asking their members do anything illegal or even anything at all, but that excuse seems far too convenient to me.

Pete Donohue has more about the potential protests:

Straphangers beware: your commute could take longer next Wednesday because of the simmering contract dispute between transit workers and the MTA. A text message urging bus drivers to “slow it down” during a “day of outrage” circulated among drivers in at least four depots on Thursday. “Do everything by the book,” the text message making the rounds urged. “Slow it down. Pass it on.”

Some subway workers told the Daily News they hadn’t received the call to action – but said it wouldn’t take much for underground workers to go on the offensive. “There’s an awful lot of anger out here right now,” a motorman said…

A spokesman last night said the union is not involved in the current texted call to action. “These texts are either made up or intended to misrepresent,” the spokesman said. “They did not originate from TWU directly or indirectly.”

Still, track worker and TWU presidential candidate John Samuelsen said he wouldn’t be surprised if there’s “a spontaneous fight back against what transit workers see as an attack by the MTA. I think the MTA underestimates the resolve of transit workers to take action into their own hands.”

I’ve said this before, and I will say again now: If the TWU starts making life miserable for commuters, they will quickly lose any public support they may have right now. Although I don’t believe the arbitration ruling was a fair one for the MTA and I firmly believe in the MTA’s procedurally and substantial right to seek an appeal, the TWU can make a strong case for public sympathy. The decision, after all, was supposed to be binding. Yet, once the TWU starts messing with the public, riders will respond in turn.

For now, I’m not buying the TWU’s argument that this direction for a slow down didn’t come from the union. They’re actively promoting it on their website. I see that, and I assume a connection as most people would. This is a dangerous game the TWU and MTA are playing against each other, and no matter who wins, the straphanging public may be the biggest losers.

Categories : TWU

Comments (23)

Oct

Paterson: MTA capital plan ‘unaffordable’

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (5) ·

Every five years since the mid-1980s, the MTA has presented a five-year capital plan to Albany for approval. Designed to keep the subways up and running while allowing for necessary improvements and expansion, these five-year plans have been vital for the renaissance of the New York City subway system. Coupled with a generally sunny economic outlook, the MTA has never had a problem securing the billions it asks for every half a decade.

Now, though, the MTA is in trouble. Already enjoying the fruits of a multi-billion dollar bailout package that covers its operations budget deficit, the MTA has a giant $10 billion hole in its $28.1 billion 2010-2014 capital plan. When the transit authority went to Albany for the bailout, the state legislatures were well aware of this capital problem, and instead of passing a package that would have funded the capital plan, they put it off for another day when the economy improved.

As the credit markets have not improved as quickly as Gov. David Paterson’s economic team had hoped they would, the governor is now warning that the MTA’s capital plan — and NYDOT’s own five-year $25.8 billion capital plan — are “unaffordable” right now. In a statement about DOT’s plan, he lobbed a grenade at both of these capital programs:

“Today the State Department of Transportation submitted their proposed 2010-2015 five year capital program as required by the MTA financing legislation I signed into law earlier this year…

Unfortunately this plan, and the plan the MTA submitted on October 1, are simply unaffordable given New York’s current fiscal condition. I will not agree to raise taxes, which would be required to fund these plans, as Congress has not renewed the federal multi-year transportation program and State revenues continue to decline.

If the Legislature does not work with me to address the budget deficit, it will become increasingly difficult to enact a necessary and affordable road and bridge plan for New York. We cannot afford a multi-year plan until the economy improves, the federal government provides adequate multi-year funding, and the Legislature joins me to seriously address the structural imbalance in the state budget. This plan must be need based; fiscally prudent without relying heavily on bonding; balance transit, rail and highway needs; and support the economic growth of New York.”

For coverage on the non-renewal of the federal transportation program, check out Transportation for America and Streetsblog Capitol Hill. We’ll focus on what Paterson said about the state’s commitment to its transportation infrastructure.

Now, Paterson’s comments are alarming for the simple reason that he is deeply unpopular and shouldn’t be afraid of a using his veto. He may face a primary challenge next year, and electorally and politically, he may be a lame duck right now. If he doesn’t feel the state can afford these programs, he can veto the eventual Senate and Assembly approval.

For their parts, Assembly members are more willing to explore funding alternatives. Although upstate Republicans were complaining about preferential treatment for the MTA at the expense of roads, downstaters recognize that both systems need to be funded and maintained. “Our infrastructure is the backbone of our economy, and we cannot allow it to be crippled,” Westchester Democrat Richard Brodsky said.

The Senate Transportation Committee too sounds as though it will pass both spending plans. “While I understand the state’s fiscal predicament, and applaud Governor Paterson’s efforts to remedy it, I cannot condone actions on his part to undermine the legislature and be both the judge and jury on an issue as important as statewide transportation,” Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) said. “If the Governor wanted a ‘need-based’ priority plan, he should have asked the executive agency responsible for drafting one to do so.”

I am hopeful that the MTA will not be left out in the cold, but if the state fails to guarantee its spending plan, it may be left with having to make some hard choices. The agency will either have to reduce the plan to around three years from its current five-year term or choose to cut some projects. Threatening to eliminate station renewal plans could spur political action as constituents complain to their representatives.

When push comes to shove, Paterson is probably engaged in a bit of politicking. It is, however, dangerous to play with the infrastructure upon which this city is so dependent. Playing with funding will only get him burned.

Categories : MTA Politics

Comments (5)

Oct

Infographic of the Day: The subway infrastructure

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (7) ·

GoodMagazineGraph

A few weeks ago, GOOD Magazine unveiled a new series called Cities, Rethought. The feature, created in collaboration with IBM, explores the problems urban areas face and the ways in which these systems can be fixed through novel uses of technology.

As part of the introduction to the series, GOOD posted the above graphic on its website. The Oliver Munday creation delves into the pieces and systems that make up New York City. For a bigger and more interactive version, click here.

As you can see, the subways feature prominently in New York’s make-up. They cost nearly $8 billion a year to run and ferry 7.4 million people per day. Although the subways come in fifth in expenditures to government, health, education and utilities, this graph helps to underscore one of my overarching themes on Second Ave. Sagas: We need a more forward-looking transit policy in this city because the subways are vital to the economic well-being and future success of the New York Metropolitan area.

Without the subways, the city would cease to function. Yet, politicians begrudgingly fund the MTA, and New Yorkers treat it as though it is an unloved but necessary part of the day. With the right level of investment, with the right leaders pushing for the right reforms, the system could be faster, smoother, cleaner and more vast than it is today. To stay atop the global economy, New York will need a sensible transit plan for the next few decades, but until people — the 7.4 million of us who ride the subway every day — start urging our politicians to invest, we’ll be stuck with what we have.

Categories : View from Underground

Comments (7)

On station agents: to miss them or not · With the station agent cutbacks now in effect for three weeks, Michael Grynbaum of The Times hit the subways to pick up some anecdotal feedback about the impact of the cuts. The results are as we would imagine: Some people are concerned about safety; some people with big items can’t navigate the turnstiles and locked emergency exit gates; others — mostly non-English speaking tourists — are getting lost and cannot find anyone to give directions while snack vendors and newsstand workers are reluctantly turning into de facto station assistants. Still others are not bothered by the lack of station agents and note that life underground will continue as usual.

It is, of course, an interesting debate and one we’ve had on numerous occasions here. Yet, still the same questionable claims are being made. Norman Seabrook, an MTA Board member, heaves the terrorist argument. “We just witnessed a sleeper cell that was taken down for possibly contaminating the subway system,” he said to Grynbaum. “It’s imperative that we have as many eyes and ears as possible.” The NYPD and federal agents, though, intercepted this threat long before anyone working at a station booth could see something.

Earlier this week, Straphangers guru Gene Russianoff called upon Jay Walder to restore the agents. Walder though noted that with tough economic times and fare technology that no longer relies on someone selling tokens, the agents became expendable. Until the cash is there, the agents will not be. In the end, I am left where I always am. In cases of crime, the station agents have a duty to call for help but no legal duty to interfere. Their mere presence can do serve a deterrent purpose, and they do serve a customer assistance and relations purpose. Although many station agents knew little to nothing about the neighborhood above them, people often need the help to navigate around or into and out of the system. To miss them or not, the debate continues. · (7)

Oct

With money in place, Fulton Hub progressing apace

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (12) ·

FultonHubFinal

Over the last three years, I’ve rarely had the opportunity to post good news about the Fulton St. Transit Center. Originally set to be completed two years ago but now planned for 2014, the massive Lower Manhattan project is now seven years and 100 percent over budget. Yet, earlier this year, when MTA Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu promised an on-time completion date, I believed him.

Those comments from Horodniceanu came four months ago. Although there is still plenty of time for the project to yet again fall behind schedule, the latest dispatches from the MTA present us with a glimmer of hope. The MTA earlier this week told Community Board 1 that the Transit Center is still on time, and with stimulus funds supporting the project, it is in fact humming along quite nicely.

“We’re doing very well in terms of progress on the construction,” Uday Durg, the MTA’s project manager, said this week. “We have the funding for those projects and we’d like to use the current market conditions to get them built as quick as we can.”

Matt Dunning from The Tribeca Trib had more:

Often touted as the “Grand Central Station of Lower Manhattan,” the new Fulton Street Station will be partially funded by $424 million in federal stimulus money, a little less than 40 percent of the $1.1 billion grant that the agency was first promised from the federal government. A year prior, it was revealed that the original price tag of $755 million had almost doubled. Without the federal money, the station’s unique oculus design would have been scrapped.

Since the money was delivered in August, Durg said the agency was able to finalize several contracts earlier than expected, including deals for construction of a new mezzanine and elevators for the A/C and J/M/Z platforms, as well as new entrances to the station on Williams and Dey Streets. Those projects are expected to be complete between May 2011 and March 2013.

Crews will finish later this year pouring the foundation for the new station’s vaunted main concourse, which will encompass a balcony of retail stores and restaurants and topped with an angled, cone-shaped dome to allow natural light to reach even the lowest levels of the complex. The next part of the station to be returned to everyday service, Durg said, would be the northbound platform of the Cortlandt Street R/W station, closed in 2005 due to work on the adjacent World Trade Center site.

While the cost of this project is questionable considering its final utility — after all, does Lower Manhattan really need Grand Central without an airport connection? — this development is definitely good news for a delay-plagued project. Barring any unforeseen troubles, the MTA should be able to wrap up the Fulton St. Transit Center by 2014.

At some point, Jay Walder should tell us what exactly went wrong here. This hub should have been finished two years ago, and now we’re celebrating the news that it’s still on pace to open in four years. For now, though, we’ll just recognize that Horodniceanu is sticking to his word. If he can keep this up for a few more years, perhaps the MTA really can turn over a new capital construction leaf.

Categories : Fulton Street

Comments (12)

Gearing up for a bad weekend · Although I won’t receive this weekend’s service advisories until tomorrow afternoon, the MTA has given us a sneak peek at the weekend, and it ain’t pretty. According to the weekend service advisories, every line except for the M and the two Shuttle trains will be diverted this weekend. With 24 different advisories in place, shuttle buses will be running along parts of various subway lines in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens this weekend. According to Deirdre Parker, a spokesperson at transit, the agency is trying to wrap up major work on outdoor tracks “before snow, cold and high winds set in.” I’ll have more on this on Friday, but forewarned is forearmed. · (11)

Oct

For the ALDS, a Nostalgia Train and more Metro-North trips

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (8) ·

YankeeStadiumLoVNostalgia

New York City Transit will roll out the Lo-V Nostalgia Train for an afternoon ride up to Yankee Stadium. (Photo via NYCTSubwayScoop on Twitter)

With tonight’s and Friday’s 6:07 p.m. start for the first game of the American League Division Series between the Yankees and Minnesota Twins, the MTA is facing something of a logistical challenge. In the past, playoff games have started toward the end of the evening rush, and the MTA never really had to juggle service. This week, though, Metro-North is beefing up its pre-game service, and New York City Transit is rolling out the Nostalgia Train for a ride to the Bronx.

We’ll start with the fun news. At 3:45 p.m., the four-car Lo-V Nostalgia Train will leave Grand Central Terminal en route to the Bronx. It will make all express stops along Lexington Ave. and should arrive at Yankee Stadium at around 4:20 p.m.

These Lo-V cars were first put in service in 1917, six years before the first Yankee Stadium opened its doors. They were retired in the 1960s and have been retrofitted for Nostalgia Train rides. They provide quite the counterpoint to the R142 series cars in use along the 4 line. The ceiling fans and rattan seats are far cries from air conditioners and molded plastic.

“Taking the subway is always a great way to get to the ballgame, but being able to travel there on the nostalgia train makes an already enjoyable trip extra special,” Steven Feil, senior vice president of subways for NYC Transit, said. “These cars were in operation back when Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth were wreaking havoc on the American League and now they’re back again for fans to see Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez patrol the Yankees’ infield.”

Meanwhile, to meet demand, Metro-North is adding special direct stadium trains along the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven lines tonight and Friday. Three extra Yankee Clipper trains will run on the Hudson Line, and the Harlem and New Haven Lines will both see one extra direct Yankee Clipper train. The stadium shuttle from Harlem/125th St. will run every 20 minutes starting at 4 p.m.

Howard Permut, Metro-North’s president, noted the difficulties of scheduling these extra trains. “Despite a game time that is in the heart of Metro-North’s evening rush hour, the railroad wants to give fans the opportunity to try our great game day service and experience the ease of beating stadium traffic,” he said. “Although the railroad does not have a lot of extra train cars or a lot of extra track capacity on a weeknight at 6 o’clock, we felt that this playoff home stand series will allow us to attract fans who we hope will become regular customers.”

The times for these special trains follows:

Hudson Line: Depart Croton-Harmon at 3:55 p.m. and 4:57 p.m. from Poughkeepsie at 3:30 p.m.
New Haven Line: Direct train departs from New Haven’s Union Station at 2:45 p.m. and makes major New Haven Line stops and then runs express from Stamford to Yankees – E. 153rd, arriving at 4:21 p.m.
Harlem Line: Direct train departs Southeast at 3:20 p.m. and makes all local stops to Mount Vernon West at 4:31 p.m. then operates non-stop to Yankees – E. 153rd Street, arriving at 4:52 p.m.

For up-to-date information, check out Metro-North’s Playoff Schedule website, and for all of your Yankee needs, you can find me at River Ave. Blues.

Categories : Metro-North, New York City Transit

Comments (8)

Oct

With buses a priority, Walders wants camera enforcement

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (11) ·

During his New York introduction on Monday, new MTA CEO and Chairman Jay Walder spoke at length about buses. Surface transit, he believes, is one area in which New York could see massive improvement in short order. As the MTA attempts to rescue its buses from the travels and travails of surface congestion, Walder could make an immediate impact on the commuting landscape in New York City, and bus lanes are the key.

Right now, New York City buses are the third wheel in the transit picture in New York. For many, they are a convenient way to transverse the city, but for the vast majority of people, they are slow and inconsistent. They rarely arrive as scheduled; they stop every two blocks; and they are sometimes slower than walking. Many might wonder why should we judge the buses in the city as anything other than a failure.

Elsewhere, though, buses can serve as the complement to a vibrant rail system. It’s true that buses will never be as fast as subways, and without running at super-high capacity levels, buses will never service as many people as subways can. But with a little bit of innovation and some dedicated lanes, buses can be an integral part of an integrated rapid transit system in any urban environment, including the congested streets of New York City.

When the MTA first started implementing bus rapid transit — known here as Select Bus Service — the city appealed to Albany for a home rule measure that would allow them to enforce bus-only lanes. David Gantt, an upstate representative from the Rochester area, blocked this effort, and NYCDOT and the MTA have tried to figure out ways around this Albany denial. At the time, Gantt worried about the civil liberties concerns behind red-light camera enforcement of bus lanes. Recently, though, Albany has seemed more amenable to granted the city the ability to enforce bus lanes.

To that end, Jay Walder believes bus lanes are key to improving the city’s bus-centric future. In an interview with WCBS TV, Walder talked about his belief in the power of bus lanes. “You and I would never think of stopping our car on a train track, but some how the idea of stopping a car in a bus lane seems acceptable. It’s not,” he said.

Walder stressed his belief in bus lane enforcement. “You go through a process of saying you recognize the license plate, you issue tickets and when you begin to prove to people that a bus lane is meant for a bus and that there’s actually an enforcement that takes place people respond. They respond,” he noted.

Although the CBS coverage features man-on-the-street comments from New Yorkers who know little to nothing about public transit, the truth is that bus lane enforcement — or even physically separated bus lanes — could revolutionize bus transportation in New York City. Imagine bus routes with prioritized signal that do not need to fight with cars and taxis for lane space. Imagine buses that don’t have to worry about parking in bus stops or double parking in traffic lanes. Imagine buses that can go three times as they fast as they currently go.

Jay Walder understands that buses are a more cost-efficient way of adding transit capacity. He understands that while projects such as the Second Ave. Subway cost billions of the dollars, the entire city could be outfitted with select bus service for just that cost. Bus lane enforcement is just the first step, and if Walder can deliver that, we can look forward to numerous transit improvements under his watch.

Categories : Buses

Comments (11)

Page 373 of 536« First «...371 372373374 375...»Last »

MTA grades F poorly in internal report

Weekend service impacted everywhere

The TWU doth protest much

Paterson: MTA capital plan ‘unaffordable’

Infographic of the Day: The subway infrastructure

With money in place, Fulton Hub progressing apace

For the ALDS, a Nostalgia Train and more Metro-North trips

With buses a priority, Walders wants camera enforcement

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