A-train yet again passed over

According to today's New York Times, the MTA will provide additional service on 9 subway lines to ease crowding starting in July. The affected lines are the 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, B, J, M, N, Q, W and the shuttle between Times Square and Grand Central Terminal.

The Times states that "the changes include having the B and W trains run until 11 p.m. on weekdays, an hour and a half later than they currently run. And the No. 3 train, which currently shuts down from midnight to 5 a.m., would run during those hours between Times Square and 148th Street. "

Alas, the A-train continues to suffer from limited express service ending daily at 10:30 p.m. and on-going construction late nights and weekends that seriously inconveniences all individuals traveling north of 168th St.

A few pet peeves

Here's my equal-opportunity list of pet peeves:

Pedestrians:

• Not looking before crossing the street
• Walking and congregating in bike lanes (treating bike lanes as an extension of the sidewalk); the Prince St. bike lane is particularly bad in this respect as is the Hudson River Greenway, where runners and walkers persist in using bicycle/skater-only lanes in stretches where there is a beautiful adjacent pedestrian path
• Crossing the street while plugged into an iPod or yacking on a cell phone and not paying attention to other pedestrians and street traffic

Mass transit riders:

• Standing and/or sitting at the top or bottom of subway station stairs, thus impeding taffic flow
• Playing music (or games) on a portable device without headphones or playing the music with headphones so loudly that it still can be heard by other passengers
• Preventing the subway doors from closing
• Littering in the station and in cars
• Hustling other passengers for money
  

Cyclists:

• Riding the wrong way up a one-way street, particularly in a narrow bike lane: this is a recipe for collision with a cyclist going in the correct direction
• Blowing through red lights without checking the intersection first
• Not being mindful of pedestrians

Drivers:

• Driving, standing, stopping, or parking in a bike lane (a sadly rather frequent occurrence in New York). It forces cyclists to dart out into faster-moving traffic and makes conditions more chaotic and dangerous for everyone.
• Not checking for cyclists before opening a car door (the biggest danger to cyclists in an urban environment)
• Not checking for cyclists before executing a turn
• Excessive speeding on city streets
• Displaying general obliviousness to cyclists and pedestrians while driving

What are your pet peeves?

A vision for transportation reform

As part of a longer comment today about congestion pricing on Streetsblog, George Haikalis of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility proposes the following bold vision for transportation reform:

I think it is time to calm down, get over the blame game and devise a winning strategy for transportation reform that includes disincentives for driving to the core, including very substantial levels of cordon pricing, closing key single-occupant arteries to the core like the Central Park loop roadways and converting the entire upper deck of the Queensboro Bridge to bike and pedestrian use, eliminating fares entirely on subways, buses and commuter rail lines and creating a grid of pedestrian streets with surface rail transit, using vision42 as a prototype.

Mm, wait. A car-free Central Park, unfettered bike and pedestrian access to the Queensboro bridge, free public transportation, and pedestrianized streets? This sounds like a New York we would all enjoy living in.

Today's response from the MTA

Response (Melissa Glasgow) - 05/21/2008 09:50 AM

This is in response to your recent e-mail message to MTA New York City Transit offering service suggestions for the A line.

We greatly appreciate your interest in improving mass transit, and thank you for your suggestions. Please note that your e-mail have been referred to supervision in our Department of Subways for review and consideration. The feasibility of your suggestions will be carefully studied and evaluated in the context of our system wide service requirements.

If you have any further transit-related questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact Customer Services at (718) 330-3322, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or write to Customer Services at 2 Broadway, Room A11.146, New York, NY 10004.

We thank you for your interest in our transportation system.

Pedro M. Mojica
Associate Transit Customer Service Specialist

Today's letter to the MTA

Since I've already blogged about extending express service on the A line, why not take it up with the MTA? Here's what I emailed them via their Web site:

As a daily user of the 207th St station in Manhattan on the A line, I write to ask for extended express service on my line and to reduce the number of stops during express service.

I make this request because I commute almost daily from Inwood to midtown and downtown Manhattan for business and entertainment. Currently, express service on the A stops shortly after 10:30 p.m. It can be challenging to make it to the station in time if I'm working late or attending an evening event (such as the theater) and I frequently miss the last express train. Given the number of local stops between the Central Business District (or even Brooklyn) and Inwood, this considerably lengthens my commute time home.
The problem is at its worst when the late night local train inexplicably travels at a very slow pace between stations or stops completely for several minutes. This can almost double the time of my commute. I have heard other riders here in Inwood voice similar complaints.

I would propose the following changes to A express service:

1. Lengthen the hours of operation for express service--at the very least, run the A express until midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Even better, run it express 24 hours per day, like the D train. This will require, of course, keeping the C train in operation during extended hours.

2. Eliminate unnecessary stops that are already covered by local service and do not provide significant transit interconnections: 145 St, Canal St, Chambers St.

3. Ultimately, as transit funds come available to make line improvements, build local tracks up to 207th St, then cover all stops between 207 and 168 streets with the C. In other words, the first four stops on the A express would be: 207th St, 168th St, 125th St, 59th St.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I would appreciate a response to my request.

Stay tuned for their response.

Don't take the A-train

Re-blogged from Inwoodite: Inwoodists, take note that according to the MTA, weekend suspensions of the A-train from W. 168th Street to W. 207th Street will continue periodically until 2009. If you're in a hurry, you're probably better off taking the 1. Sigh.

Mind the gap

Many of us are still smarting from Sunday's MTA fare increase that punished loyal riders affected regular users of New York's transit system (86% of all MTA riders, according to the New York Times) by increasing all discounted fares while maintaining the sacrosanct base fare of $2 per ride to reward tourists. So let me engage in a little fantasy that the MTA would actually take this extra money and put it towards infrastructure expansion, which this city's mass-transit riding population sorely needs.

An ideal mass transit system provides smooth transfers between various modes of public transportation, such as trains, boats, buses, and planes. For example, the Staten Island Ferry terminates at South Ferry, where passengers can walk down stairs and board the 1 train. In Europe, many cities have co-located the bus and train stations (and provided plentiful bicycle racks).

Here are some gaps in our city's transit system that leap immediately to mind:

1. No direct rail link between Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal
2. No rail service to LaGuardia airport
3. No uptown rail connection between the east side lines (2/3/4/5/6) and the west side lines (1/A/B/C/D)
   
4. No direct rail link from Manhattan to JFK (requires a transfer to the Air Train at Sutphin Blvd or Howard Beach)
5. No rail service to the Bronx from Inwood (except to Riverdale along the 1 line)

Why is this a problem? Try getting to the following locations from Inwood:

1. LaGuardia airport (can't be done; your best bet via mass transit is the A to 125 St, then take the M60 bus and a good book, though taking a cab here is almost worth the time saved)
   
2. JFK airport (A to 42nd, E to Howard Beach, Air Train to JFK -or- A to 34th, LIRR to Howard Beach, Air Train to JFK)
   
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (A to 125, C to 81, cross-town bus to Met or hoof it across Central Park if it's a nice day and you're not in a hurry)
   
4. The New York Botanical Gardens (can't be done without unreasonable contortions; take a bus or a cab)

The Inwoodist's solution involves two above-ground rail lines:

• a northern line running across 125 St that connects the 1, A-D, 2-3, 4-6, and future 2nd Ave subway lines, then stops at Astoria, LGA, Shea Stadium, Forest Hills, Sutphin Blvd, and JFK
• a southern line connecting Penn Station, Port Authority, Grand Central in Manhattan, then Long Island City, Middle Village, Crescent St, Euclid Ave, Howard Beach, and JFK in Queens

Above-ground rail lines are proposed to account for variations in topography (the 1 line at 125 St is elevated) and the significantly greater cost of underground tunneling as compared to light rail. In addition, the intention is for these lines to be integrated with the Air Train, such that a passenger can remain on one train all the way from, say, Penn Station to JFK. Of course, I'm neither an engineer nor geologist, but it's a start, right?



The MTA CEO has also put forth an expansion plan to be realized in 2050 (translation: don't hold your breath).

Adopt a station?

Yesterday, the Gay Recluse observed here that the MTA could do us all a huge favor and renovate some stations, which leads me to today's post.

Inwoodists, Upper Manhattanites, and those from the boroughs are likely to spend significant amounts of their time (and, ultimately, lives) underground, especially if they work in midtown or downtown. While I would prefer to spend my precious daylight hours above ground enjoying the air and scenery--my favorite form of urban transportation is the streetcar--the subway is our best option at present for rapid commuting around the city:

• Elevated trains are lovely to ride as a passenger (light, views), but they mar the street landscape, block light to houses and businesses, and make a lot of noise.
• Buses are useful for local door-to-door service (example: 207 St. to 231 St.) and for transporting the elderly and disabled (given that so many subway stations are not elevator-equipped or wheelchair accessible), but they get mired in Manhattan above-ground traffic just like every other automobile. I remember taking the BxM1 express bus one morning to the East Side. It was a cushy bus that flew right along, almost making a convert of me--until it got to 125 St., which point it crawled along with the rest of the traffic to 42 St.
  
• Any subway alternatives--monorails, light rail, PRT--would require massive planning and infrastructure investments that are highly unlikely to emerge any time soon, if ever.

Considering that much of the Manhattan underground constitutes a vast civic space, can't our city show it some love, work a little beautification magic, and brighten our lives? Wouldn't it be an uplifting experience to walk into a reasonably clean station with some aesthetic and historic interest? Riding the 1 train, it's clear that the IRT designers paid attention to station aesthetics: beautiful mosaics can be found at several points on the line, including 191, 168, and 66 streets. On the 4/5/6 line, there's some delectable glazed ceramic at Astor Place, and City Hall is allegedly the crown jewel of the system, although, alas, it has been closed to the public since 1945 (the folks at Forgotten NY manage to get in there occasionally).

So, what could the city do to help us aesthetically deprived subway riders out?

• More aggressive station cleaning: who wants to watch rats forage among trash-laden tracks while sniffing eau de pissoir? And is there a reason why everything has to look so dirty? I thought tile was supposed to be easy to clean.
• Installation of durable artworks (mosaics, metal sculpture) by local artists in stations; this would have the side benefit of supporting and promoting local artists. Tom Otterness's Life Underground installation at 14 St. is one fine example.
• Renovation that respects a station's design history and intentions by preserving architectural details and other aesthetically significant features (such as mosaics and art tile), while installing visually pleasing and easy-to-clean materials where possible. (On a side note, making all stations accessible to the elderly and disabled is a must.)
• Renovation that adds interesting visual details to otherwise aesthetically challenged stations (175 St).
• With the surfeit of architectural and design talent floating around this city, why not hold design competitions that would encourage talent to submit plans for low-cost station beautification? It could even be a reality show--send in the Fab 5, some ambitious students from Parsons or Columbia, or whomever--to give your favorite decrepit station a makeover.
• "Clean up your station day" initiatives
• An "Adopt a Station" program that would encourage businesses and prominent individuals to fund station maintenance and beautification in exchange for in-station promotion such as a wall plaque, posted ads, etc. Heck, I could live with a McDonald's-branded station if it was tastefully done. An example is the Columbus Circle station, which has an entrance maintained by the Time Warner Center.

How do you think the city should go about beautifying its stations?

Take the Super A Train

So let's kick off this series with my pet peeve favorite topic: the A train. I love it, except when I hate it.

The A runs close to my door and gets me to just about anywhere I need to go in Manhattan. And it's express. When all is right with the world, it gets me downtown in about 35 minutes, which is a beautiful thing.

But there's a catch: starting at (the rather early hour of) 10:30 p.m., it runs local. And it runs local every time the MTA does track work on the line, which is, oh, about every weekend (2007, anyone?). For some reason, they also like to run a special shuttle periodically between 207th and 168th streets, which can really slow you down, or just shut down that part of the line entirely and run free buses.

Have you ever noticed the train engaging in other strange behaviors late at night? Like traveling at half-speed, or stopping inexplicably for several minutes when you're halfway through a tunnel, or waiting interminably at a platform with its doors hanging open? Or not showing up for 40 minutes when they're supposed to be running every 20? Any of these unfortunate events can suck the joy out of even the most ardent Inwoodist's life.

Now, I don't want to risk getting killed or seriously injured or simply suffering through train break-downs and delays every time I hop on the subway (which is just about every day, multiple times a day), so I understand the need for maintenance, but can't the MTA do any better?

Go visit Paris and see how a world-class subway system can run. Their trains are clean, efficient, and run on time.

So here are my proposals for improving service on the A train, running from smallest to largest:

• FASTER, PUSSYCAT: Lengthen the hours of operation for express service--at the very least, run the A express until midnight Su-Th and 1:30 a.m. F-Sa. Even better, run it express 24 hours per day, like the D train. (Have you ever experienced 145 St. envy?) This will require, of course, keeping the C train in operation during extended hours.
• DROP STOPS AND ROLL: Eliminate unnecessary stops that are already covered by local service and do not provide significant transit links--145 St, Canal St, Chambers St
• EXTEND IT: Build local tracks up to 207th St, then cover all stops between 207 and 168 streets with the C.

Now we have it: the super A train. It runs 24 hours and services the following stops: 207, 168, 125, 59, 42, 34, 14, 4, Broadway-Nassau. Imagine, all of Manhattan in just 9 stops, with Midtown only 4 stops away.

Since I believe in self-determination, I'll let the Brooklynites figure out where the Super A should stop in their borough.

Improved mass transit

With all the buzz about congestion pricing as a solution to Manhattan's traffic woes, I've been thinking about ways to improve getting folks around in this city and the quality of life for those who make this island their home or place of work. Ultimately, to get more cars off the road, we need to do more than just charge drivers more money to negotiate our streets. When prices for everyday commodities rise suddenly and dramatically, many may grumble or protest at first, but they go ahead and pay the higher price and soon mentally adjust to the situation as "normal." For example, have significant price increases at the gas pump really reduced the number of drivers on the road in any meaningful way?

To get people out of their cars, we need to make mass transit not just a viable but desirable alternative to driving.

Now, I admit, living in New York, I'm spoiled. I gave up my car when I moved here and have never looked back. I can get anywhere I need to go within the city 24 hours a day using subways, buses, my own two feet, and, if I'm really desperate, a cab.

And yet...

How many of you living in Inwood and the Heights have encountered the following situations?

• You cut short your fun evening out downtown or in Brooklyn because it's 10:25 and the A is about to turn into a pumpkin and you don't want to spend 75 minutes getting home when you have to get up at the ass crack of dawn to get to work the next day.


• You discover that yet again, for the 20th weekend in a row, the A is going to be running local (which seemed to be the case for almost all of 2007). Oh, and just to slow you down even further, the MTA is running a "special" shuttle between 207th and 168th streets. You'd better bring a good book or some rocking tunes for that 90-minute commute to the East Village.


• It's 2:20 a.m. and you're ready to slit your wrists at 50th St. because it's taken the A 40 minutes to show up (despite the MTA's claim that they run every 20 minutes late nights).


• You're in the 'Wood and you need to get to the East Side... don't get me started.

Is it any wonder why some people persist in driving their cars around this island?

So in the next few entries, I'm going to put out some ideas for improving our mass transit and quality of life on Mannahatta. I'm just getting started with this blog, and I may not be able to post all that frequently, so be patient, okay?