Odds of an infrastructure smorgesborg for the NYC metro just went up exponentially.

It's a great day!

yeah -- build baby build!

Ahh well at least yesterday morning started out good...

The new ticket hall is certainly an improvement as a departure/arrival space, but what is the point when the new Hudson tunnels are yet to materialise, and there is no material change in the platforms which remain dangerously narrow and gloomy by international standards.

You would hope that the Gateway Project is revised with a new emphasis on through-running to cut down costs and enable other projects to be funded. It is absolute insanity that it is projected to cost more than Crossrail.

^ the gateway tunnels will materialize very soon with the biden admin.

any new tracks will be modern and brighter obviously.

penn south/empire station can deal with the remaining gloom.

costs and through running, yeah. welcome to ny. :shrug:

Updated January 5, 2020

With OMNY Installation Complete, MetroCards Will Be Replaced
good news:

This weekend, the MTA completed installation of the OMNY card readers at every subway station in the five boroughs. The program was originally scheduled for completion in October, but was delayed due to complications arising from COVID safety protocols. Now that every station is equipped with the new payment platform, MetroCards will soon go the way of the subway token. The city has proposed a new OMNY card to replace the aging MetroCard system, although they won't begin to phase the little orange swipers until 2023.

I remember reading about this back in the day. I'm glad that it's finally happening. Those MetroCards were okay back in the day, but it was well past the time to upgrade to modern technology.

gateway portal north shenanigans:


https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/...bvq-story.html

I blame the funding process. It's never about where the actual real need is located and more about a way to fund pork and other pet projects.

I don't really care what pot of money North Portal comes out of, just that it gets done.

You may not care, but many others do care where the money comes from.

One of the worst part about the MetroCard is that its magnetic strip is so delicate. I understand the rationale behind charging a fee for new cards (helps the MTA save on costs, and helps keep excess trash from entering the landfills). But it is borderline highway robbery to charge $1 for something that costs the agency (as of 2013, according to this article) about 6 cents to make:

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...icle-1.1342198

The cheapo in me always keeps cards until they can't read anymore, which occurs about 6-8 months after the initial swipe with regular use (if you're lucky). The problem is that the "expiration" dates of the cards are always a year or so later, not a few months. So the MTA knowingly sets these unreasonable expiration dates , even though they know their 6 cent products are going to fail after a few months of regular use.

The most reliable way to get a replacement MetroCard for free is to try to refill a card that is expired or about to expire at the vending machine. The machine will automatically transfer the fare data over to a new card for free.

However, since the expiration dates are well past their actual real-world lifespans, you're stuck with two options. Swallow your pride, and pay $1 for a new card. Or go to a surly subway booth attendant (if you can find one, usually only at bigger stations) and explain that your card doesn't read anymore. The attendants sometimes make you jump through a few hoops before eventually transferring the fare data on to a new card.

"many" is probably overstating it

The feds are about to turn on an absolute gush of cash for transit so it is hard to get in too much of a twist.

A terrible bus accident yesterday. :(



https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6927051b_b.jpg
Bronx Bus Incident by Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, on Flickr

Holy Crap

at last, at last -- fantastic bridge news that will improve safety for pedestrians by moving the terrorist bikers!


Mayor to give Brooklyn Bridge car lane to bikes

https://www.amny.com/transit/mayor-t...lane-to-bikes/




Mayor to sign off on opening Queensboro Bridge outer roadway for pedestrians

https://www.amny.com/news/mayor-to-s...r-pedestrians/

Progresso!

This is good and really needed. Disappointing that the south outer roadway on the Queensboro will take so long to convert but hey.

The BB lane is going to be overwhelmed rather quickly and they're going to need to add one on the other side.

with the blizzard rolling, check out the underground only subway map:


https://mobile.twitter.com/patkierna...351106/photo/1