stop delaying 2nd ave!

http://nypost.com/2015/11/02/stop-de...avenue-subway/

It seems that the MTA did little real work planning for a start on phase 2 upon completion of phase 1. So even if the money was still in the budget it couldn't be spent. Nice job guys.

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some sort of good news from amny this morning:


Scrappy subway riders this year are surviving more often than they did last year after being hit by trains, according to MTA data.

Trains have struck 181 straphangers in 2015, leading to 41 deaths.

At this point last year, 171 riders were hit on the rails and 52 died.


http://www.amny.com/news/more-nyc-su...015-1.11063807

more 2nd avenue response:


MTA capital construction head: Agency will try to speed up East Harlem phase of Second Avenue Subway


The MTA official in charge of big projects like the Second Avenue Subway said construction probably could have been started earlier in East Harlem if the capital plan hadn't been so delayed this year.

"We'll do whatever needs to be done to speed up the second phase," said Michael Horodniceanu, president of capital construction.

MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast asked Mayor Bill de Blasio this year to give the MTA $1 billion for the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway, which will bring it from the Upper East Side to East Harlem. The city agreed to give the MTA a total of $2.5 billion for its capital plan, but the MTA moved the construction back last week and slashed $1 billion for the project.

Officials said they didn't expect tunneling in East Harlem to begin until after 2019, because of how long it would take to do the design and environmental review process.

"We have committed that if we can speed up the schedule to begin tunneling the East Harlem phase sooner, we will pursue a Capital Program amendment to do so," said Prendergast in a statement. "Governor Cuomo has made clear that he would like us to accelerate work on the Second Avenue Subway, and we are actively looking for ways to deliver the project faster."

When asked last week about the changes to the Second Avenue Subway's funding, Mayor de Blasio said he was proud of the city's contribution and that "a lot of change is going to happen for our straphangers."

On Tuesday, following anger from local officials about the change in timetable, he said "we were all surprised to hear some of the changes around the Second Avenue Subway." He then praised the MTA chairman on Wednesday for agreeing to look at the situation again, and called it a "smart move."

The MTA's $29 billion capital plan, which runs from 2015 to 2019, wasn't approved by its board until late October.

The plan still has to be reviewed by a state board.


http://www.amny.com/transit/second-a...ial-1.11062467

recent public tour of east side access project -- lots 'o pics:


http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/5/96...al-lirr-access

first of all its a project not a scheme, we are not talking about 1950s england here; second of all its 6.1 miles of tunneling not 4, plus underground concourses, platforms, yadda, yadda; and finally, yes its expensive, but so is the mediocre coffee at starbucks, right? :shrug:

I don't understand the 2nd ave problems. How can the environmental impact not be done for a line proposed for 100 years?
And wasn't the tunnel borer already going north? Doesn't it cost more to stop and start than to just keep going? A three year delay between phases is insane for a city growing as NYC is.

That's terrible. That's not good. It was too extremely dangerous out there. You cannot go beyond the yellow line. You could being killed. You have to stay away from the tracks by approximately 100 feet. Unfortunately, they couldn't get out of there alive. They couldn't survive. No one who need their helps. Keep away from the tracks. Stay in platforms. Stay where you are!

^ totally agree of course, the platforms are dangerous --

but i think many of those may be suicides or suicide attempts.

Phase two isn't using a tbm anyway, it's going to be shallower cut and cover.

I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. Think they need a TBM to dig from 116th St to Lennox Av/125th.

They didn't exactly have environmental impact statements 100 years ago.

But yeah it's completely idiotic. What environment is there even to disturb on Manhattan? You might disturb the rats and pigeons? It's not like there is anything natural in Manhattan, nor has there been in the 100 years you mention. Environmental impact statements aren't about logic though, they are about NIMBYs trying to delay a project into oblivion with hearings and lawsuits.

yes -- actually tbm tunneling is possible 'around the curve' from 122nd st to 3rd avenue. looks like most of the rest is cut & cover. the 1970s tunneling was done between 110st to just above 120st.

see chapt 3 of the feis here, its described at the bottom of pg1 & top of pg2:

http://web.mta.info/capital/sas_docs/feis.htm

two deaths last night -- very sad:

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/su...icle-1.2427158

looking into reviving trolley service:

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny...icle-1.2431840

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^ it certainly is legitimate and believe me i feel your cynicism, but when questioning costs it helps if you correctly understand what is being built rather than underplaying it and guessing.

The answer is simple: unions and bureaucracy.

interesting -- i wondered about this!


Car sharing services like Uber and Lyft will cut MTA profits by $10M a year: officials

BY DAN RIVOLI NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Wednesday, November 18, 2015, 1:48 PM

Fierce competition from Uber and Lyft is taking a bite out of the MTA’s finances, transit officials said Wednesday.

The MTA estimates that the rise of Uber and Lyft will mean a net loss of $10 million a year due to fewer yellow and green taxi trips — which charge a 50-cent fee to support the transit agency.

“It seems that market share is coming away from the medallion cabs, going to the app-based services,” MTA financial chief Bob Foran said. “We were hoping that the whole pie would grow.”

Under the MTA’s 2016-2019 financial plan unveiled at a board meeting Wednesday, much of the lost MTA aid — $68 million over four years — is driven by the popularity of car service apps like Uber, MTA officials said.

more:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2439242