With Labor Day upon us, summer meets its unofficial end, but New York City Transit’s ambitious work plans continue regardless of the season. For the immediate weekend, train service on Monday will operate on a Sunday schedule. Otherwise, we have some long-term changes to contemplate before jumping into the weekend schedule.
First, Transit has restored express service along the 5 through March 2011. Beginning on Tuesday, 5 trains during rush hour will run express in peak directions — southbound in the AM; northbound in the PM — between East 180th Street and 3rd Ave.-149th Street. The 2 will continue to serve all stops at all times.
Transit had eliminated the 5 train as part of the 180th St. signal modernization project and station rehabilitation, but the agency rescheduled some planned work. The 5 will run local from April 2011 through August 2011 to accomodate the new schedule.
Meanwhile, the Rockaways are gearing up to see some service changes as well. Per Transit, the Manhattan-bound A platforms at Beach 25th, Beach 44th and Beach 67th Streets are scheduled to close for rehabilitation at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, September 7, 2010 until the fall of 2011. Also, the Rockaway Park-bound A/S platforms at Beach 90th and Beach 105th Streets will close until spring 2011. This work includes installing new canopies over the stairs and platforms, repairing the platforms, columns, stairs and tracks, redesigning area around station booth for easier access to trains, replacing the mezzanine and platform floors, replacing the stations’ lighting and platform edges, and installing a new, high-quality public address system. And so it goes.
Now onto the good stuff. These service changes come to me verbatim from Transit. They are subject to change without notice. Listen to on-board announcements and check signs at your local station. Subway Weekender should have the map shortly.
From 12:01 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday, September 4, from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday, September 5, and from 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, downtown 1 and 2 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Chambers Street due to work to replace the roadbed at Franklin Street.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, there are no 2 trains between Manhattan and the Bronx due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 2 trains run between Flatbush Avenue-Brooklyn College and 96th Street, and then are rerouted to the 1 line to 137th Street. Free shuttle buses replace the 2 between 96th Street and 149th Street-Grand Concourse. 5 trains replace the 2 between 149th Street-Grand Concourse and 241st Street. Note: After leaving 96th Street, uptown 2 trains stop at 103rd Street then run express to 137th Street (days).
From 10 p.m. Sunday, September 5 to 4 a.m. Monday, September 6, 2 trains skip Church Avenue station in Brooklyn in both directions due to J’Ouvert Parade 2010.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, there are no 3 trains running due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction north of 135th Street. 4 trains replace the 3 between New Lots Avenue and Nevins Street all weekend. 2 trains replace the 3 between Nevins Street and 96th Street. Free shuttle buses replace 3 trains between 96th Street and 148th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, downtown 4 trains run local from 125th Street to 14th Street-Union Square, then express to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, uptown 4 trains run local from Brooklyn Bridge to 125th Street due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 7, downtown-bound 4 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, 4 trains run local between Atlantic Avenue and Utica Avenue and are extended to and from New Lots Avenue to replace the suspended 3 (switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction).
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, there are no 5 trains between Bowling Green and 42nd Street-Grand Central due to switch renewal at the 142nd Street junction. Customers should take the 4 instead. Note: 5 trains run between the 241st Street 2 station and Grand Central-42nd Street (days) or 149th Street-Grand Concourse (overnights). 5 shuttle trains run between Dyre Avenue and East 180th Street all weekend.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 7, downtown 6 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Brooklyn Bridge due to gap filler replacement at 14th Street-Union Square and the construction of the Broadway-Lafayette Street to Bleecker Street transfer connector.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 7, downtown A and C trains run express from 59th Street-Columbus Circle to Canal Street due to track chip out at 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 7, downtown-bound E
trains run express from 34th Street-Penn Station to Canal Street due to track chip out at 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal.
From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, Manhattan-bound E and F
trains run local from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, Jamaica Center-bound E trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, Jamaica-179th Street-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip out south of Elmhurst Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, Coney Island-bound N trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from Canal Street to DeKalb Avenue due to grouting and track work at Cortlandt Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 6, Manhattan-bound N trains run on the D line from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street due to track panel work north of the Kings Highway station to north of the Bay Parkway station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 7, uptown-bound Q trains run local from Canal Street to 34th Street-Herald Square due to track dig-out north of 23rd Street.
16 comments
yes! the 5 express in the bronx is the best!
For the past several weeks, the E and F have been listed as Local between 71/Continental and Roosevelt Ave. In actuality, the are local all the way to 36 St. For some reason, NYCT refuses to acknowledge this.
The SAS is one of the topics of the most recent “F.Y.I.” column in the Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09.....038;st=nyt
The 2 reroute was actually great for me this evening. I got a one-seat ride on an express train from my home station, which is now 103rd.
downtown 1 and 2 trains run express from 14th Street-Union Square to Chambers Street
Whoops… whoever wrote this service advisory mixed up the 14th St station on the 7th Ave Line with the station on the Lexington Ave Line.
“This work includes installing new canopies over the stairs and platforms, repairing the platforms, columns, stairs and tracks, redesigning area around station booth for easier access to trains, replacing the mezzanine and platform floors, replacing the stations’ lighting and platform edges, and installing a new, high-quality public address system. And so it goes.”
Let me guess. Despite the extensive nature of these renovations, I bet the MTA is claiming that it doesn’t need to make the station wheelchair-accessible.
It’s violating the ADA. Again. And again. And again. I hope someone sues the pants off them.
I don’t know much about the specific requirements of ADA, but is it possible that you’re misunderstanding them? I find it hard to believe that the MTA has been wantonly violating ADA with most station rehabs, and I find it harder to believe that nobody’s filed any lawsuits yet over the issue.
Have other agencies in the U.S. been including ADA with every station rehab? (Outside the U.S., it’s certainly not common practice, but they don’t have ADA.)
The lawsuits are going to be filed. United Spinal has filed a DOJ complaint.
Other agencies in the US have indeed been including ADA with practically every station rehab. Not with stuff like mere repainting, obviously, but if they’re rebuilding the platforms, and replacing staircases and canopies, and doing major structural work, yes they have. Good, comparable examples include Chicago’s CTA and Metra, Boston’s MBTA (“T”), and Phildelphia’s SEPTA. All are well beyond ‘key stations’ by now and approaching total wheelchair access.
To be clear, I know NYC’s system is much larger and so it wouldn’t be as close to total-access as these other cities even if they had been adding accessibility whenever they did a station rebuild. But the fact is they haven’t been and NYC Subway is falling further behind.
Oddly enough Metro-North and LIRR *are* adding access almost every time they do a rehab, with only one exception on the LIRR (which sparked protest).
It is NYC Subway specifically, and NYC Subway only, which has been pouring money into lots of major rehabs without adding access to any of them (excepting key stations, which is a separate legal requirement).
And it’s not even because it’s more difficult; riverside sections of Metro-North on the Hudson Line, requiring multiple elevators, are getting better treatment than outlying elevated sections of the NYC Subway, which would have comparable problems.
I’m not sure of the specifics, but the MTA has a negotiated exemption from the ADA. For some work it does, it must follow ADA guidelines; for others, it doesn’t have to and the government has given that exemption its approval.
Not really. I know most of the rules for this, and they’re byzantine, but NYC Subway is in pretty much the same legal position as Boston’s “T”, Philadelphia’s SEPTA subway/elevateds and light rail, and Chicago’s CTA (“L”). Metro-North, LIRR, NJT and PATH are in pretty much the same position as Boston’s MBTA commuter rail, Chicago’s Metra, and Philadelphia’s SEPTA commuter rail.
The only difference is that NY has a very long time before the key stations deadline. The other rules regarding renovations are the same across all the cities.
The ADA has an exception for these sorts of renovations. AFAIK, only new stations and complete rebuilds have to comply. The alternative would probably have all renovation grind to a complete halt, because there’s simply not enough money to be fully compliant everywhere. Such is the nature of federal mandates which aren’t backed up by the money to actually comply with them.
There’s an (approximately) 20% spending requirement on ADA-compliance in near-complete rebuilds such as these. (This is beyond ordinary maintenance.)
The MTA has been cheating by doing rebuilds of dozens of stations at once, accounting for each of them independently, and claiming that the 20% isn’t sufficient to install wheelchair access at each one.
Unfortunately for the MTA’s legal position, if you add up the costs of ALL the rebuilds, the 20% *IS* enough to add wheelchair access at at least SOME of them. And the ADA prohibits “segmenting” projects to evade the ADA requirements.
Despite which, the MTA is not installing wheelchair access at ANY of them.
Please contrast the Chicago CTA, which is adding wheelchair access to practically every station which receives significant renovation.
For clarity, the ADA has three separate and independent requirements:
(1) key stations, which NYC is slowly getting to.
(2) entirely new stations, which NYC is complying with.
(3) significant renovations, which NYC is *not* complying with.
There is obviously an exception for routine maintenance, but this goes well beyond that. There is an exception for “too expensive”, which is where the 20% rule-of-thumb comes in, but this is where the rule against segmenting projects also comes in.
That doesn’t get to my point that the MTA enjoys statutory protections due to carved-out exemptions under the ADA. Look at Section 37.53 of this FTA ADA document. I’m not an expert on it, but I don’t think the MTA is conducting renovations in a way that leaves them exposed to liability under the ADA.
That applies only to key stations, which is a separate legal requirement from the one which NYC Subway is flouting. See my previous post.
The relevant section of the document you refer to is Section 37.43. I’m trying to dig up all the anti-segmenting rules, which are the critical thing here.
It looks like the anti-segmenting rules may be weak enough that the MTA may be able to win its legal case. It may indeed be possible for them to consider each station independently, reject access at each of them independently, and keep on going. Although in at least one case, they sloppily failed to consider ramps as an option (only considered elevators), when ramps might well have fit within the 20% of the station rebuild costs for that one station. It’s indicative of a bad attitude.
This is a recipe for inflated Access-A-Ride costs. The MTA is already getting hit by lawsuits for not providing Access-A-Ride service comparable to subway service (something which may be impossible without special Access-A-Ride lanes).
…and actually paratransit expense was a major motivation for the total-accessibility drive of the Boston, Phildelphia, and Chicago systems.
I really hope Walder shakes up NYC Subway management and tells them to start saving the MTA money by doing major rebuilds *right*.