Well in the meantime you should probably move to Brooklyn;)

^ I work in Bayside. Sadly he suffers so that I may enjoy my 25 minute commute.

trump to gateway drop dead:

https://nypost.com/2019/10/26/headin...th-the-hudson/

the pa funds lga airtrain and newark airtrain:


Port Authority approves billions for airport rail projects

Board members moved to fund new AirTrains at LaGuardia and Newark airports

By Caroline Spivack Oct 25, 2019, 2:00pm EDT


The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is pushing ahead with plans to build a long-awaited AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport.

At a Thursday board meeting, the authority green-lighted more than $2 billion for the 1.5-mile-long project and another $2 billion to rebuild the AirTrain at Newark Liberty Airport.

Board members also approved $445 million for construction and planning work at John F. Kennedy International Airport, which is about to undergo a massive, multi-billion dollar overhaul, and another $35 million toward work to replace a terminal at Newark’s airport.


more:
https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/25/209...train-projects


https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/p6pe...5DS20685.0.jpg

celebrating the new lga delta terminal

https://www.amny.com/news/soaring-ap...ction-project/


***


the gov sez no rush for lga rikers island expansion

https://www.amny.com/news/seven-year...sland-closure/


***


upgrades underway to coney island yard in prep for another superstorm

https://www.amny.com/transit/mta-muc...y-level-storm/

So, quesiton, I took the 7 to Hudson Yards on Sunday. I know the station is new but we traveled incredibly slow between Times Square and Hudson Yards. This was around 1PM, so do y'all think this was due to heavy train traffic?

I dunno, I figured taking the 7 to Hudson Yards from Times Square would be fast. Could this have been because of trains moving into the actual yards underneath the plazas, parks, and skyscrapers?

Last I was in NYC was 2013 and the 7 was my zippy way into, and out of, Manhattan. Getting to my hotel in LIC via the E was wonderful, very fast; I was just surprised I how the 7 had slowed after the 6 years.

PS: I'm aware that there is a lot of maintenance going on along many lines (I saw a lot of it along the E this past Saturday night).

EDIT: Laguardia Link (while a great idea) sucked...

I recall reading that there are issues with that curve that were causing very excessive premature wear on rolling stock wheels and that it was planned to be fixed. Kind of amazing but not shocking the contractors could screw up something so simple.

That makes sense. I was just so taken aback that it took SO long to get from Times Square to Hudson Yards. I mean, it'd been 6 years since I'd last visited New York, and things change. I just figured new rials, tunnels, station would mean faster service.

How on earth is it $2B to replace Newark's AirTrain? It's 3 miles of elevated structure. For that amount of money, they should be able to replace it AND extend it to Newark Penn with an intermediate stop in the Ironbound.

i notice this about the 7 train too from ts to hy, that its slow for seemingly no reason, but i notice no problems at all with the E train. in fact i just took it end to end back and forth from manhattan to jamaica tuesday and it was excellent. :tup:

also, for the record, my spouse is sitting in lga at this moment waiting for her plane to leave. she just took the q70 lga link bus from jackson hts around 11am today and said it was super fast. i've never had a problem with the lga busses either. :shrug:

then again, i actually liked lga as it was, so. :haha:

Yea, I hopped on a Jackson Heights as well. I think my negative perception of it is stems from me just not liking buses in general. With all the construction at LGA, it took forever to get to the D terminal. The terminal itself was quite nice. My only criticism of the terminal is that it took a bit too long of a walk to get to the restrooms from my gate. I was flying all over the country last week (Detroit, Seattle, Juneau, Anchorage, New York) and all airports I flew to or through had restrooms that were quickly accessible from the gates, all except LGA and JFK (though, I really didn't spend much time in JFK since my flight got in so late, so I might have overlooked some of the conveniences).

EDIT: I agree about the E, once I got on it, it was no time before I got off at Court Sq.

Well at half the cost per mile of the LGA Air Train it's a relative bargain...

Besides extending it to Newark Penn would deprive the PA the opportunity to spend another $2B+ extending PATH to the transfer station.

How that agency spends money is unreal even by NY standards.

^ that said, they definitely do need to extend the path train to the airport someday.

its a gimmee of a project. that is, easy to do and bang for the buck in convenience, if not cheap.

Many moons ago they thought it would cost $400M which is about what it should cost in anyplace that isn't NY/NJ. If the money is destined to be spent I think extending a new AirTrain to Newark Penn, as ardecila suggests, is functionally the superior option since there are more connection opportunities to existing rail services.

New York not having a one seat ride to the airport is a joke.

Not every major city in the country has a one seat ride to the airport.

The PA has already funded the PATH extension to the airport. It cannot happen until the Airtrain is rebuilt, though.

The Newark Airtrain is currently one of those dinky low capacity airport monorail lines, and they're replacing it with a JFK-style system (heavy rail, dual track, theoretically usable by existing rail systems).

All three airports will have heavy rail systems, with the track compatability, once Newark and LGA are completed, so that accounts for the costs. They aren't building standard airport circulators. You could, theoretically, run LIRR to JFK, right now, if they purchased new vehicles (but that won't happen anytime soon, because of capacity and regulatory issues).

The new PATH station for EWR is going on the west side of the existing NEC station so would not conflict with the replacement Air Train. They can and will be done concurrently. EWR AirTrain replacement is supposed to be done 2025 and the PATH extension 2026.

It used to be pretty rare, actually.

Rail to Airports for US Cities

One-seat
Chicago Loop to ORD via CTA Blue Line
Chicago Loop to MDW via CTA Orange Line
Chicago Loop to SBN via South Shore interurban train
San Francisco to SFO via BART Yellow
Seattle to SEA via Red Line Light Rail
Portland to PDX via Red Line Light Rail
Denver to DEN via A Light Rail
Minneapolis to MPS via Blue Line Light Rail
St. Louis to STL via Red Line Metrolink
Washington to DCA via Metro Yellow/Blue
Baltimore to BWI via Lightrail
Cleveland to CLE via RTA Red Line
Philadelphia to PHL via Septa Airport Line
Dallas to DFW via Orange Line light rail
Fort Worth to DFW via TexRail
Atlanta to ATL via Marta Red/Yellow lines
Salt Lake City to SLC via TRAX

Multi-Seat
Oakland to OAK BART Blue/Orange/Green to Beige
San Francisco to OAK via BART Blue/Green to Beige
New York to JFK via A/J/Z/E to Airtrain
New York to EWR via PATH Newark/Journal Square to Airtrain
Newark to EWR via PATH to Airtrain
Chicago to MIK via Amtrak Hiawatha to airport shuttle
Milwaukee to MIK via Amtrak Hiawatha to airport shuttle
Washington to BWI via Amtrak or MARC to airport shuttle
Baltimore to BWI via Amtrak or MARC to airport shuttle
Boston to BOS via T Blue Line to airport shuttle
Miami to MIA via MetroRail to airport rail shuttle
Miami to FLL via TriRail to airport shuttle
Fort Lauderdale to FLL via TriRail to airport shuttle
Fort Lauderdale to MIA via TriRail to airport shuttle
Phoenix to PHX via Yellow lightrail line to airport shuttle

Airports I don't know how to categorize
San Jose - Caltrain and streetcar stops technically within walking distance
San Diego - Streetcar stops technically within walking distance
Boston's BRT Silver Line goes from downtown to BOS single-seat, but is not rail

^ yes and btw the cleveland rapid was the very first rail to the airport service.

the path extension was approved for the pa's latest ten year planning, but it isn't funded. only $15M was set aside in 2018 for the estimated $1.7B two and a half mile extension project. and that was at the time, so likely the costs are a lot higher now and will be even more so as time goes on.

The PA is counting on about $700M in federal dollars via grant which hasn't been obtained yet. I wouldn't expect to hear much about this until after 2020 assuming a certain someone is no longer in office stopping up the works. Should they receive the money the PA ought to be able to bring the extension online by 2026.

LOL, ny should be compared with Paris, London, HK, Tokyo, not SF, Miami, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, etc. All of those alpha + cities have a decent one seat ride and ny has the airtrain.. it's a big embarrassment that a city with the global clout of a NY, a prime city of the world along with London and Tokyo, (America's face to the world) never ponied up for a proper rail link and went with half measures (air train).

A "one seat ride" very much depends on your destination. Odds are lots of people will have to use another form of local transit to reach their final destination.

JFK AirTrain isn't inherently bad IMO its just implemented poorly like so much else here. The subway transfers blow, the fare purchasing/collection is a nightmare, and the PA reduces frequency outside of what they consider rush on an automated system because reasons.

pretty sure the airtrain was a very purposeful plan to separate from local transit to help manage those transit rider folks access to the airports and to help counteract "the tehr" as that fake texan bush used to say.

its fine in and of itself, but the connections are turrble. :shrug:

Not to change the subject but what's the status of the double decker bus program?

^ good question. i think its still a pilot program with a bus from staten to manhattan:

https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs...-new-york-city

just a guess, but i bet adding more double decker busses are a bit on the backburner.

i think the mta has its hands full right now with the new fare payment system and putting in the card readers in the subway turnstyles and so you are able to enter from any bus door.

Hmm, I don't know, seems like they ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. I like the concept of DD on some routes, especially replacing some of the dopey MCI coaches on the express routes. I do have some criticisms though. In general I don't dislike the Alex Dennis buses, I think they look pretty slick but I don't think it's necessary at all to have these luxury liner looking buses operating express routes. I'd much rather prefer something a bit more modest in appearance and much less rockstar tour bus. I love the MAN double-deckers in Berlin, something like that would look fantastic. Also I think it would be brilliant to run double deckers on one or more of the Fifth Ave routes (M1-4), maybe even one in special livery to reflect the historic connection to the old Fifth Ave Coach. I could see it becomming a tourist thing giving the benefit to the MTA and away from the tour bus co's.

^ ha well yeah that's true. andy byford has certainly been ratcheting up a multi-pronged approach to modernize and speed things up.

bringing back double decker busses down fifth avenue is a great idea.

they would probably need a different model than the long distance model they have though, which is hard to get up and down on as there is only one stairway. like a london type bus with two sets of doors.

next up for the new 14th street busway are boarding platforms.

temporary at first, then permanent.

these will be great to have and speed things up even more. :tup:

https://ny.curbed.com/2019/11/6/2095...n-improvements


btw somebody with what looks like one of those corrosive russian military troll farmer accounts is whining in the comments there that 15st and 13st are now swamped with cars. not true.

funtime is over — ticketing on the way for 14st busway:


https://gothamist.com/news/bus-mount...offlaw-drivers

dubz

I was back in NY last week for a bit and walked 14th from Union Square to 9th Ave. The change is incredible. Trucks making deliveries easily, no traffic blocking pedestrian crossings, busses moved quickly. It was almost like a dream.

That the city doesn't immediately implement this on at least 34th and 42nd seems like a crime.

On a different subject why are sidewalk sheds slowly taking over the entirety of midtown even on buildings that clearly have no work being done or staged? I assume there is some very NY explanation for this. They are a real menace to pedestrian flow.

^ as someone who lives on the street i can highly confirm we are living the dream. it's like night and day. no noise, no schmutz in the windows. it's absolute peace and quiet on a major through street, who would have imagined?

i cannot wait for the boarding improvements, signage and this crackdown on the straggler cars.

much to my surprise i believe those midtown cross streets are next up for busway conversions (i would have guessed easier uptown cross streets like 110th or 116th would be next).

as for the midtown construction sheds, they certainly are a nuisance and often a menace for pedestrians and worse than ever. however, in their slight defense i do notice actual work on most of those sites these days as compared to the past when there would be nothing doing for like years. :shrug:

Yeah the sheds with construction versus no construction seemed like about 50/50. Some buildings were even sporting nicer white sheds with lighting. Just the sheer number of them overall is jarring coming from Chicago where they are only utilized during actual work and removed swiftly when done.

They just bottleneck walkers something fierce which is not great in midtown where pedestrian volume is high and a lot of sidewalks not especially wide except on the avenues.

There was a NYT article sometime ago that was the definitive explanation for the sidewalk shed phenomenon, I'll try to find it. To no ones surprise many are erected for litigation prevention purposes.

EDIT: Just google "nyt sidewalk sheds" and most of the relevant articles show up

^ yep its from last year i found it:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/r...ily-count.html


^ if you don't want to bother reading, basically it says there are 8k sheds across the city, with half in manhattan alone, and most in midtown, with almost all having been up less than a year (one has been up uptown for 12yrs+ lol).

so usually that just goes to show the amount of construction going on in hectic midtown, which also includes upkeep stuff like pointing, painting and renovations, as well as additions and conversions and the like.



yeah, for sure construction or reno work is intermittent sometimes.

usually visitors from chicago and other places are mostly shocked about trash day streets when they visit!

the complete idiocy of subway surfing is just sad:


https://nypost.com/2019/11/24/subway...ain-in-queens/

I'm used to it but that NYC refuses to solve the trash problem that cities the world over have dealt with is a very NYC thing. Greatest city in the world if you can peer at it around the giant mounds of sidewalk garbage bags.

I've seen some reports in other cities from different countries, and it seems that some of those subway surfers suffers from some mental health illness.

• Video Link

^ that would make sense, then add in that teens and younger twenty somethings tend to think they are invincible.

today i noticed the 14st busway has seperated bike lane in union square now and the temporary boarding pads are being installed:


http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psgyafrgdn.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psvdkusqak.jpg

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psquoiwgmy.jpg

I mean, solving it generally requires more frequent pickups and more garbage trucks on city streets. Hard problem to solve unless you tackle congestion first...

Part of the problem is how removal is handled in NYC with dozens of separate companies doing over a given area which creates a problem all its own with safety, there have been some deaths. It’s pretty absurd.

Also like take out some parking here and there to use the big bins like they’ve got in Spain so the garbage can come off the sidewalk.

This is good stuff

brewer wants more busways -- starting with uptown next:


Manhattan beep wants to bring ’busway’ to Harlem and Washington Heights

By CLAYTON GUSE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 24, 2019 | 6:49 PM


Manhattan’s first-ever “busway” on 14th St. is such a success that Borough President Gale Brewer is pushing to give two uptown streets the same treatment.

Brewer last week sent a letter to city Transportation Commissioner Polly Trottenberg to request the agency study the possibility of kicking cars to the curb on 125th and W. 181st Sts. to make way for buses.

Brewer says traffic restrictions on 14th St. that took effect in early October have been “transformational," and Trottenberg should look uptown to repeat their success.


more:
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...d6i-story.html

Question for New Yorkers... apart from the issues with ADA access, why is a 14th St busway needed when the L train runs directly down 14th?

Wondering more generally the wisdom of car bans when there's already subway service. If NYC bans cars on 125th St, is that a plausible replacement for 2nd Ave Subway - Phase 2?

^Not a NYer but this 14th St busway push all stemmed from the L train shutdown scare and maybe would not have happened without the threat/fear that the L shutdown was going to be commuter hell.

Right, and I'm not saying these busways are a bad idea!

I'm just wondering if they should be focused on the many underserved corridors in NYC instead of duplicating existing high-capacity subway service. And the related question, can a new busway substitute for a subway extension in some cases?

The 14th Street corridor is one of Manhattan's busiest crosstown routes, and connects areas like the East Village/Lower East Side to the major north-south subway trunk lines. The L train is mostly Brooklyn traffic, and doesn't compete with the 14th Street buses.