The MTA voted today to approve the 7 line extension. Only Andrew Saul, also the lone dissenter on the MTA’s finance committee, voted against the one-bid contract, and MTA CEO Elliot Sander said the board would take up the issue of cost over-runs in two years. [Cityroom]
Despite concers that H. Dale Hemmerdinger only knows about transit in New York because he reads the newspapers, the New York State Senate confirmed the Gov. Spitzer appointee as the new Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Say good bye to Peter Kalikow. [Daily News]
MTA board, hearing opposition, to vote on 7 extension today
Generally, when an expansion plan receives a contract bid and this bid is sent to a governing committee for approval, the approval is generally a sure thing. While those in charge — in this case, members of MTA’s finance committee — may voice objections during debate, the end result is generally an all-or-nothing vote. But the 7 line extension plans are proving to be a different beast as MTA Vice Chairman Andrew Saul voted against approving the bid and sending it to the full board for a vote.
In the world of the MTA Capital Construction, this is a very big deal, and while the truncated 7 line extension will probably still pass today’s full board vote, the session promises to be explosive. NY1’s Bobby Cuza has more on Saul’s decision:
Even though there was no competition, agency negotiators announced Friday that they were happy with the price they worked out for the tunneling work – about $1.1 billion, or just barely over budget. But the agency didn’t expect board members to criticize the deal at a committee meeting Monday.
“I can’t, for me as a fiduciary here, sit here and go ahead and approve a contract for over $1.1 billion of state money, or city money, or both, without having competitive bids,” said MTA Vice Chairman Andrew Saul.
Saul, the lone member to vote against approval for the contract, was not alone in expressing his dismay. Andrew Albert, not an MTA board member but a vocal transit advocate nonetheless, was none too pleased about the plans to eliminate the station at 10th Ave. and 41st St. entirely. “More [need] exists now around the 10th Avenue station than around the Javits Center station. Are we saying that conventioneers are more important than our own residents? I hope we’re not saying that,” Andrew Albert, of the NYC Transit Riders Council, said to Cuza.
But while the MTA board debates the contract today, City officials are working to secure funds for that station at 10th Avenue. Maybe we shouldn’t lose hope yet for this plan. According to Eliot Brown of The New York Sun, Mayor Bloomberg will try to cajole the state into forking over another $450 million to secure the station shell at least. Even this month would drastically reduce the cost of building another station on the extension in the future.
So now we wait. In an ideal world, the MTA board wouldn’t approve a contentious contract for a project that received just one bid. But in reality, that outcome seems unlikely, and we’ll be left with a flawed contract and an incomplete extension that will bypass the area that needs a subway station the most. Who goes to the Javits Center anyway?
As for a completion date, don’t expect the 7 line extension to materialize over night. Newsday reports that the line is due for completion in 2013 while NY1 says 2014. Anyone want to bet that something pushes this date back further into the 21st Century?
F Express Plan on the tracks to nowhere
Via Gary comes an update to the F Express Plan, seemingly the official pet project of Second Ave. Sagas.
As we’ve heard for some time now, due to work on the Culver Viaduct, the F Express train won’t be a feasible alternative until 2012 or thereabouts. While the MTA has noted that, should delays befall the rehabiliation, F express service could happen next year, that reality is slowly slipping away. As Michael Rundle reported in Metro this morning, the MTA has now said that the F express train won’t be on the table until mid-2012 at the earliest.
Rundle delivers the bad news:
In a presentation to an MTA committee yesterday, [Connie] Crawford, senior vice president of capital program management at NYC Transit, laid out all the hurdles…
“The deck has essentially failed,” said Crawford, who expects work to start late next year. “Water is streaming through the deck and destroying the steel underneath.”
Crawford said the project will not only include a full deck slab replacement — “pretty intense work” — but station rehabs on the F line, tunnel lighting and the installation of new tracks, switches and signals. One area will be set aside to test different vendors of automated Communications-Based Train Control equipment.
In addition to the poor state of the viaduct, the tracks, sitting unused since the 1970s, are in bad shape as well. “It’s never been upgraded in the elevated section,” she said. “You can barely run trains over that section. Very slowly can they go through, because the track is so old.” Anyone who’s ridden on some of the re-routed trains on the express tracks this fall can attest to that fact.
So what is the MTA to do? Right now, all they can do is sit back and study the problem. The population along the F train is booming, and with the development of Coney Island on tap, the train will continue to suffer from overcrowding.
If the MTA isn’t willing to – or simply cannot yet – run some combination of V local/F express service past Second Ave. and into Brooklyn, they should do the next best thing and increase capacity along the F and G trains. It’s far from ideal, but it sounds like those of us supporting this F Express plan should think in the short term. Even if we have to wait for the express service, the area along the Culver line needs more train service. That is a very realistic goal.
Brouhaha over Hemmerdinger much ado about not too much
When, in June, Gov. Eliot Spitzer nominated his friend and donor H. Dale Hemmerdinger to the MTA chair position, the New York State GOP Chair questioned Hemmerdinger’s credentials. While at the time many assumed Joseph N. Mondello’s statements to be typical partisan blustering, Hemmerding’s appearance last week in front of the State Senat Transportation Committee did absolutely nothing to assuage those fears.
To put it bluntly, Hemmerdinger, a big Democratic donor, made a complete and utter fool out of himself in front of the committee. He remained non-committal on the fare hike — a position he has maintained since June — but worse still was his admission that the extent of his transportation knowledge, as William Neuman reported in The Times, “began and ended with what he had picked up by reading the newspaper.”
Neuman has more from this seemingly disastrous committee hearing:
Asked what the state would do to handle more riders if New York City imposed congestion pricing, Mr. Hemmerdinger replied: “I only know what I read in the papers at this point.”
On his familiarity with the authority’s proposals for a fare increase: “I’ve looked at it as I’ve read it in the paper.”
On whether he had any new ideas that could help avoid a raise in fares: “I’m only on the outside. I can only read the paper.”
On the authority’s efforts to sell development rights to the Hudson Yards in West Midtown: “I don’t know anything about it beyond what I read in the paper.”
That’s comforting, but it’s not the end of the world. Bear with me here.
Now, I could understand that Hemmerdinger was attempting to put forth something of a populist face. “I’m not the transit wonk,” he’s trying to say. “I’m the successful businessman here to put the MTA’s finances in order.” But he failed. He came out sounding like an uneducated Democratic crony who received the nomination because of his close ties to Gov. Spitzer. A few passes through the easily accessible Fare and Toll and Capital Construction sections of the MTA’s Website could have done wonders for Hemmerdinger’s introduction to the subway-riding public last week.
Of course, the subway literati are a bit dismayed by this development. SUBWAYblogger compared the situation to President George W. Bush’s disastrous appointment of Michael Brown to head FEMA; Gothamist notes how Hemmerdinger didn’t even display a limited understanding of the state’s ethics rules during his hearing; Streetsblog amusingly wondered which paper Hemmerdinger reads; and the good folks at Subchat noted that Peter Kalikow, the outgoing MTA chair, was another no-nothing candidate with political ties who wasn’t all that successful in his post.
Respectfully, I disagree with the concerned masses. Sure, it’s alarming to see a political appointee handle himself so poorly in front of a Senate committee. But in reality, it’s not Hemmerdinger’s role to set transportation policy at the MTA. His role — and it’s one for which he is aptly suited — is to pick up the financial pieces and make sure the money’s in order.
When Kalikow was in charge, he was the sole man at the top, serving as both CEO and Chair of the MTA. But Spitzer recognized the mistake in that arrangement, and Elliot “Lee” Sander, one of the nation’s leading transportation experts, has down a masterful job in his first few months at CEO of the MTA. He, along with New York City Transit President Howard Roberts, will set the transportation policy.
With these two exceptionally qualified men entrenched in their positions, the MTA doesn’t need yet another policy wonk in the upper echelons of management. Rather, as I said in June, they need a successful businessman with financial acumen to guide the Authority through what promises to be a few tumultuous fiscal years. We can cringe at his committee appearances this week, but he’s the right man for the guy, all things considered right now.
There goes the 7 line extension
That station at 41st and 10th Ave. will no longer be a part of the plans for the 7 line extension.
The funding battles and plans for the 7 line extension are starting to mirror the tortured history of the Second Ave. Subway. For years, transit officials would plan the Second Ave. Subway, start the project and then stop work when the funds ran out. Stations were omitted from future plans; express tracks axed.
Now, after decades of waiting for a Second Ave. Subway and seeing plans come and go, the 7 line extension is playing out a similar tale. This weekend, the news slipped under the radar a bit, but the story is still the same. Due to funding concerns, the MTA is cutting out one of the two planned stations for the 7 line extension to the Far West Side of Manhattan.
To those of you following this story since the early days of this blog, this news is no surprise. In November, January and February, I wrote about how the MTA did not have enough money to build the planned station at 41st and 10th Ave. Instead, the Authority intended to build a station at 34th and 11th Ave. and a shell at 41st and 10th. While hardly cost efficient, this shell would allow for the new station at 10th Ave. when the money showed up.
Not anymore. The shell, as The New York Times reported, is being discarded. William Neuman writes:
The authority said it had received only one bid for the work, which includes digging the tunnels and excavating the space for the 34th Street station. The work was also to include the creation of a “shell” for an additional station at 10th Avenue and 41st Street. The contractor, the same consortium of companies that will dig the tunnels for the first phase of the Second Avenue subway, had originally submitted a bid that set the price for the work at $1.5 billion to $1.74 billion.
In a summary of the contract prepared for board members, the authority said that to save money, it decided to eliminate the shell for the 10th Avenue station, and the contractor then agreed to do the work for $1.14 billion.
In The Post, Jeremy Olshan reported that the shell would add another $500 million to the project. The MTA would have to cover any cost overruns, and this is money they simply do not have right now.
“The real irony is that there are many more homes and businesses near the 10th Avenue station than near the Javits station,” MTA board member Andrew Albert said to Olshan. “The bottom line is this is going to cost us a lot more later.”
I, for one, do not understand why the MTA, the real estate agents with holdings in the area and the City cannot reach some sort of deal. In the grand scheme of city finances, that $500 million should be fairly easy to come by. Considering that the MTA and the city are spending a combined $2.4 billion to build this tunnel extension and one station, the remaining $500 million really ought to be on the table.
These reduced plans will come back to haunt us later when the MTA builds the new station at a cost well above $500 million. In that future, I’m sure officials will be ruing this decision. For once, foresight should be 20/20 too.
MTA, SAS experience weekend service outages
Much like the MTA, Second Ave. Sagas will be experience some weekend service outages. The blog’s main address at www.secondavenuesagas.com will be unreachable during parts of the weekend. I’m performing some upgrades on the site.
To reach Second Ave. Sagas over the weekend, head to http://secondavesagas.wordpress.com or http://www.secondavesagas.com. On Monday, if all goes according to plan, I’ll have a brand new design and more content for you all.
Without further ado, the Weekend Service Advisories.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, uptown 1 & 2 trains skip 50th, 59th, and 66th Street due to station rehab work at 59th Street
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, downtown 2 & 3 trains run on the local track from 96th Street to Chambers Street due to station rehab work at 96th Street.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21, 3 trains are running in two sections due to track panel installation at Junius Street:
– Between New Lots and Utica Avenue and
– Between Utica Avenue and 148th Street
At all times until Monday, November 12, Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Mosholu Parkway due to station rehabilitation.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 10 p.m. Sunday, October 21, Bronx-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Parkchester due to roadbed replacement at Brook Avenue. The last stop for some Bronx-bound 6 trains is 125th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, free shuttle buses and shuttle train service replace the A between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the Rockaways due to track panel installation south of Howard Beach-JFK Airport station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, downtown A & C trains skip 50th, 23rd, and Springs Streets due to Chambers Street signal modernization.
From 11 p.m., Friday, October 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22 (and weekends through December 31), Bronx-bound D trains run express from 145th Street to Fordham Road due to track/roadbed replacement at 161st Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, there is no E train service between West 4th Street and World Trade Center due to Chambers Street signal modernizations. Customers may take the A or C instead between the West 4th and Broadway-Nassau Street stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, Queens-bound E trains run on the V line from West 4th to 5th Avenue due to electrical and plumbing work at 50th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, uptown F trains skip 14th and 23rd Streets due to ventilation work south of 34th Street.
From 11 p.m. Friday, October 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, there is no G train service between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Smith-9th Sts. due to ventilation work at Fulton Street. Customers may take A or C to Jay Street and transfer to the F.
From 11 p.m. Friday, October 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, G trains run in two sections due to ventilation work at Fulton Street:
– Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and
– Between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Hoyt-Schermerhorn
From 8:30 p.m. Friday, October 19 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, there is no G train service between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to ventilation work at Fulton Street. Customers may take the E or R.
From 1 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, free shuttle buses replace J trains at Hewes Street, Marcy Avenue and Essex Street stations due to NYCDOT bridge inspection work. There are no J trains over the Williamsburg Bridge.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, Manhattan-bound N trains run on the D line from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street (Brooklyn) due to track panel installation at Kings Highway.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 20 to 5 a.m. Monday, October 22, N & R trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to roadbed replacement and tunnel security work.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, October 20, Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Kings Highway due to retaining wall inspection and repair at Cortelyou Road.
That’s 5 C-range grades for the MTA
Well, grades for the 5 train are out, and guess what? Yet another C-minus for the MTA.
The 5 – the lesser half of the duo that makes up the Lexington Ave. express – runs from the Bronx into Brooklyn at rush hour and terminates at Bowling Green all other times during its run. It enjoys new subway cars, overcrowded trains and its very own C-minus grade. I hear long walks on the beach and giant rats in its tunnels are some of its interests as well.
How do the riders want the 5 to improve? Let me count the ways.
- Minimal delays during trips
- Reasonable wait times for trains
- Adequate room on board at rush hour
- Station announcements that are easy to hear
- Cleanliness of stations
- Sense of security on trains
- Sense of security in stations
- Comfortable temperature in subway cars
- Train announcements that are easy to hear
- Station announcements that are informative
Like I was with the 4 train last week, I’m confused about the train announcement issue. The cars on the 5 line are all R142s. It’s not that hard to hear the crystal-clear announcements on the train.
The delays and crowds go hand-in-hand. Trains along the über-popular Lexington Ave. IRT and famous for their crowds. Try getting onto a 6 local at 77th St. during rush hour. It is neigh impossible. So as the express trains get more and more crowded, it takes longer for people to cram into the cars. They block the doors; they hold up service. Thus, delays are a constant problem on the 5 line, and train spacing becomes an issue.
Otherwise, as you’ll see after the jump, it’s the same old grading story for the 5 train. The MTA now should know which areas need the most improvement. As they demonstrated on the L and 7 lines, they’re willing to make the necessary upgrades. Can they do the same on lines that are already maxed out? Only time will tell.
MTA adds service after L, 7 get D grades
Over the last few years, as gentrification and population expansion have spread eastward into Queens and Williamsburg, the 7 and L trains have become notoriously overcrowded. Blogs wrote about it; newspapers wrote about it; heck, even the MTA knew about it. But not until those two lines received bad grades (7, L), in the highly unscientific Rider Report Card surveys did the MTA do anything about it.
Better late than never I guess.
Beginning in December, the MTA announced on Thursday, the L and 7 lines will see more frequent rush-hour service in an effort to alleviate chronic overcrowding. Both trains received D grades in the “Adequate room on board at rush hour” category.
According to the MTA, the service upgrades, tabbed to cost $2.6 million a year, will cover rush hour on the 7 and across the board on the L. The details:
Rush hour service, when both local andexpress trains run every two to two-and-a-half minutes, will now begin at 7:10 a.m. and end at 9:05 a.m. Previously, rush hour service began at 7:20 a.m. and ended at 8:50 a.m. During the a.m. peak hours, service on the 7 will increase by 8-percent. Between 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Main Street-bound 7 local and 7 express service will operate every four to five minutes apart, instead of the current five to six minutes, a 25-percent increase in service.
Service on the L line is being added … to respond to a larger than anticipated growth in ridership on the line. During the weekday morning rush hour, L trains will run approximately 3.5 minutes apart, instead of every four minutes. Manhattan-bound train trips will increase from 15 train trips to 17 train trips, a 13.3-percent increase in service. In addition, two trains are being added to the schedule during the “shoulder hour” between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. During the midday time period, 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., L trains will run every six minutes apart instead of every eight minutes. In the evening hours, between 8:00 p.m. and midnight, L trains will run every five to 10 minutes apart instead of every six to 12 minutes.
The MTA officials, of course, had to find the cloud in this silver lining. In discussing these service upgrades, MTA NYC Transit President Howard Roberts issued something of an ominous statement. “We’ve heard a similar message from riders on other lines, and while we’re looking at what we can do to alleviate congestion I can’t promise we’ll be able to add service on every line,” he said.
So all you folks on the 4 line hoping for more service should just keep waiting — or cramming yourself into cattle-car rush-hour trains.
Roberts also laid the blame for the L train service increases on the seemingly never-ending signal replacement project. “The Canarsie Line has seen a substantial growth in ridership since 1998, but the old signal system prevented us from adding the amount of service necessary to meet demand,” said Roberts. “With the addition of more equipment on the line in the form of new R160 cars, and the completion of Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) signal installation, we can finally provide relief for our riders – especially in Williamsburg and Greenpoint where ridership has grown the most.”
In the end, I’m glad to hear about increased service. For months, all we’ve heard from the MTA all calls about their financial woes and the possibility that service may decrease. Those bad grades certainly silenced those cries. While the East Village Idiot, a frequent victim of the L train, is rightfully annoyed at the MTA, the fact that the MTA is responding to the demands of the riders is a positive sign, even if this move came a few years too late.