New York City - Transit News

[mrnyc]

more sbs bus routes coming:

http://www.amny.com/transit/new-sbs-...ays-1.11945003

[chris08876]

Support Grows For Jamaica-LIC Light Rail

At last week’s Community Board 6 meeting, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Glendale) presented her proposal for a light rail, which she announced has now expanded and will take up a portion of the Long Island Rail Road track between Jamaica and Long Island City.

After meeting with several borough presidents and community members, Crowley decided to expand the study to Jamaica.

“The sentiment was there,” Crowley told the Queens Tribune. “Half the people, who live in Queens, work in Queens and spend about 40 minutes-a-day getting to work.”

According to Crowley, the majority of Queens workers rely heavily on the east and west bound 7 and E trains, which have become ‘completely congested’ due to the increase in population.

“I care deeply about the communities I represent and I want for each and every one of my constituents to have the best quality of life they can possibly have,” Crowley said.

She is proposing that the city do a comprehensive study on what it would take to get this rail back up and running for commuters.

“The first step is undergoing the zoning process to see what the capacity is for the businesses that already occupy the property, along with how many more square feet of space can be generated,” Crowley said.

According to Crowley, this area doesn’t have good transportation and the light rail study can maximize the growth, along with the corridor.

“There’s a demand in this city for commercial industrial space that’s close to transportation,” she said. “We can provide greater opportunities for development and more opportunities for people to get around the borough.”

The study can show how much commute time would be or would not be reduced.

“When you ask people what’s important to them, other than education and affordable housing, the next thing they might say is that they are wasting a lot of time during the day getting to and from work,” Crowley said. “In order to change that, we need to expand our public transportation. The Queens population is increasing more and more and it’s becoming difficult because of how many cars are on the road causing congestion. I think this is a win-win type of project.”

What is currently the freight train line, will run north of the Newtown Creek and through Maspeth, Ridgewood, Glendale, Woodhaven and Richmond Hill.

Of the community boards that she had already met with, Crowley said she has received good feedback and support and will continue to finish the tour as she continues to gain more grassroot supporters.

“I am in support of the light rail study for obvious reasons, it helps a lot of people who live in areas without transportation,” said Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills). “Crowley has been working extremely hard for this project for quite some time and I will continue to support her.”

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http://queenstribune.com/support-gro...ic-light-rail/

[Arthururban]

^ I found out this article that explains why it can't happen. The author also made a map because there isn't one online. I also updated the my first post

http://ltvsquad.com/2015/10/22/disas...the-mall-plan/

She doesn’t even know how much a train car costs.
You can’t make this stuff up: “The cost of one of these light rail cars is about the same as a city bus,” she said. . Again, she is lying to the public. A new bus generally costs between $300-500k. A new light rail car costs more like $2-3 Million.

And she doesn’t want platforms?!!!
Again – you can’t make this shit up: “What’s more, light rail stations does not require the infrastructure associated with subway stops. Often, light rail cars simply mimic the streetcars and trolleys of the early 20th Century, picking up passengers at assigned stops.“ Half the reason the LIRR stopped running passenger trains here was the complete lack of anything resembling a station (at every stop except Richmond Hill). Just look at the photo at the top of this post – that was LIRR’s Glendale stop. Do you see a station there? Would you stand there expecting a train to pick you up??!!!! Nevermind the ADA regulations.

What she is advocating here is a station used by low level light rail cars that very likely would not be FRA complaint and would be completely incompatible with literally every other MTA property.

How is this person in office?!
By now you might be asking asking yourself, “how do incompetent people like Elizabeth Crowley get elected to office?” Let me answer that – in her case, she’s cousins with Queens democratic party boss and congressional representative “Virgina” Joe Crowley. Joe Crowley lives in Virgina while pretending to represent Queens (how that is legal or how he gets reelected is beyond me). It wasn’t hard for Liz Crowley to get elected – she displaced a man who only served a few months in office after their predecessor, Dennis Gallagher, raped a women in his district office.

Crowley has more baggage than an airport carousel, and her idea is seriously flawed in many many ways. Simple stated, she is the wrong advocate for this project. All she has is an idea (not an actual plan), and the ear of a few media outlets who unfortunately have parroted what she has said without examining if it is based in reality. Having an idea like this is cute and all, but I’m sorry cute ideas just don’t (fucking) cut it in NYC. It doesn’t cut it when we’re talking about a multi-million dollar transit project with significant constraints to be addressed with minimal economic disruption.

Literally the only good thing about Crowley’s idea that it has gotten people talking. By writing this article, I’m hoping that conversation both continues and grows. Just because her idea is serious lacking doesn’t mean Queens doesn’t need more transit options.

A project like this deserves a better advocate.

Know-nothing elected-by-apathy officials like Elizabeth Crowley are the reason transit projects such as this one are not taken seriously.

Now I kinda regret making a thread about hahahah....

[Nexis4Jersey]

That line is used by Freight and is critical to future Freight capacity projects for Long Island.. You could Electrify it and build a much needed East River Tunnel replacement and run LIRR trains with stops into Penn.. There are so many wacky proposals as of late gaining some traction on the NYC side...and they do nothing to fix the region issues...

[Arthururban]

Originally Posted by Nexis4Jersey

There are so many wacky proposals as of late gaining some traction on the NYC side...and they do nothing to fix the region issues...

.

[Arthururban]

Lots of Extra Getaway Trains on Friday, July 1

June 28th, 2016

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will offer extra railroad service on Friday, July 1, to allow customers to get a head start a long Fourth of July weekend. OnMonday, July 4, subways, buses and Metro-North will operate on a Saturday schedule. The Long Island Rail Road and the Staten Island Railway will operate on a Sunday schedule. More details are below.

Long Island Rail Road & Metro-North Railroad

The LIRR and Metro-North will provide additional early-afternoon service from Manhattan on Friday, July 1, for customers planning an early getaway for the start of the Independence Day holiday. Between noon and 4 p.m., 17 extra trains will depart Grand Central Terminal and 10 extra trains will depart from Penn Station. And the LIRR is offering plenty of extra train service to the East End over the extended Independence Day Weekend, including new Fire Island Ferry connections on top of the railroad’s already enhanced summer Montauk Branch schedule.

For more details, please see this link for Long Island Rail Road and this link to Metro-North Railroad.

New York City Subway

On Monday, July 4, subways will operate on a Saturday schedule. There will be no 5 Subway train service in Brooklyn, and no 6 Subway7 Subway express service. B Subway trains will not run, customers are encouraged to use the A SubwayC SubwayD Subway and/or Q Subway instead. M Subway trains will not run between Delancey-Essex Sts and 71 Ave; Q Subway service is suspended between 57 St-7Av and Ditmars Blvd; and Z Subway service is suspended, take the J Subway instead.

There will be increased subway service on the 4 Subway7 SubwayA SubwayC Subway[F Subway and S Subway 42nd Street Shuttle prior to and following the Macy’s fireworks celebration, which will originate from five barges on the East River: four between 23rd and 37th Streets, and one south of the Brooklyn Bridge Park from 9:20 p.m. to 9:45 p.m.

http://www.mta.info/news-july-4th-ho...ad-metro-north

[chris08876]

New subway cars will bear Cuomo's color stamp

Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed details of a new fleet of subway cars Monday, part of a “redesign of the MTA on every level” that will bear the unmistakable mark of Albany.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced plans to build 1,025 new cars, which will feature Wi-Fi and USB jacks and connect openly to one another. A rendering of the new train showed a diagonal stripe of yellow and a panel of blue along the cars’ exterior, the latest sign that Cuomo is color-coding his legacy into the city’s transit system.

New buses that Cuomo deemed “Ferrari-like” in March and an e-ticket app that debuted this month feature the colors that New Yorkers might recognize from a state trooper’s car or all of Cuomo’s materials—blue and what this reporter mistakenly referred to as yellow at a press conference at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

“The state color is not yellow,” Cuomo corrected. “Gold.”

Cuomo’s office has previously denied a rebranding of the MTA in the state colors, but Cuomo said Monday it is “fair to say you’re seeing a redesign of the MTA on every level, and when you’re building new cars and you’re building new buses, you’re building new stations, etc., colors schemes are a part of that, and the attractiveness is part of that.”

The new cars, announced as Mayor Bill de Blasio was heading to Italy for a week-long vacation, are part of the $27 billion, five-year MTA capital plan. The transit agency will also rebuild 31 subway stations across the five boroughs. Granite floors will replace concrete, and iron bars will be exchanged for glass barriers, according to the preliminary designs. At new subway entrances, the classic green globes are out, and electronic boards showing train status are in.

The governor has previously touted plans for Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad, but at Monday’s press conference he emphasized that the subways are a priority for him as well, though he would not expressly confirm his signature on the new cars.

“I’m sure [MTA] Chairman [Thomas] Prendergast, when he’s done, is going to put on every door and every train, ‘Thank you New York state for the $27 billion,’” Cuomo joked. “As long as the train is on time. If the train is not on time…”

==========================
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article...os-color-stamp

[chris08876]

^^^^^

Extra Renderings:










Credit: http://www.6sqft.com/governor-cuomo-...d-car-designs/

[mrnyc]

hat's off to matthew ahn, who beat his own subway ride record -- he hit up all stations in under 22hrs:

http://nypost.com/2016/07/23/nycs-fa...-speed-record/

[streetscaper]

and he'll have to do it all again next year when the Second Ave subway opens up (hopefully) if he wants to keep the record

[mrnyc]

L train decision -- here we go:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/26...ww.google.com/

[chris08876]

MTA to raise fares systemwide, including Metro-North

It looks like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be sticking with its biennial fare hikes.

At Wednesday morning's MTA board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Robert Foran presented the agency's preliminary 2017 budget and four-year financial plan. It outlined its work to find $2 billion in system-wide savings while providing more than $1 billion in enhancements across its network of subways, buses, bridges, tunnels and commuter rail systems.

But, Foran said, without pressing on to find savings — and raising fares next year and in 2019 — the MTA could be left with a deficit greater than $1 billion by 2020.

“The biennial fare and toll increase needs to be pursued,” he said. “If all of our costs are growing with inflation, and we’re not able to raise fares and tolls," there will be deficits.

After the meeting, MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas Prendergast stressed that the fare hikes — 2 percent in 2017 and another 2 percent in 2019 — are just projected at this point.

"It’s something you’ve seen before," Prendergast said, referring to the biennial fare increases included in the MTA budget for the last four years. "It’s our way of being able to, in a very transparent way, show what our latest intelligence has in terms of predicted revenue coming forward.

"In November we’ll have an update to this financial plan," he added. "We’ll see what our needs are.”

To implement a fare hike, the MTA would first have to hold public hearings, which the agency said would happen in the fall after more specifics were released.

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http://www.lohud.com/story/news/tran...ease/87616402/

[mrnyc]

yep that $3 per ride fee has been on the horizon for awhile.

sounds its officially in the works now.

[mrnyc]

the mayor is thinking about closing busy cross street 14st to all but busses while mta is closing down the L train for sandy-related repairs:

http://nypost.com/2016/07/29/de-blas...rain-shutdown/

[mrnyc]

build your own subway for ny:



August 2, 2016 11:11 a.m.
I Fixed NYC’s Subway System in 43 Minutes

http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/08/t...ert-moses.html

[mrnyc]

testing has begun on the new countdown clocks





more:
http://www.mta.info/news-countdown-c...ract-new-pilot

[mrnyc]

new artwork coming to 31 subway stations

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/mt...artwork-564626

[scalziand]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

build your own subway for ny:



August 2, 2016 11:11 a.m.
I Fixed NYC’s Subway System in 43 Minutes

http://nymag.com/selectall/2016/08/t...ert-moses.html

This is pretty neat, but a major flaw is that it only seems to take into account pop density, and ignores job density. Another is that it ignores potential transfers from other transit systems-NJtrans, PATH, LIRR, MN, etc.

[chris08876]

Well this is gonna suck when it happens:
===================

L train to shut down for 18 months, starting in 2019

The MTA will shut down the L train between Brooklyn and Manhattan for 18 months starting in 2019, in order to repair damage to the East River tunnel caused by Hurricane Sandy. While the shutdown will come as a bitter pill for residents who live along the line, which handles some 400,000 passenger trips each weekday, the transit authority concluded that it was preferrable to a staggered repair, which would have reduced service by 80 percent for three years. “This is the, ‘Get in, get done, get out’ option,” Veronique Hakim, president of New York City Transit, told the NYT. The line will continue to operate in Brooklyn between Williamsburg and Canarsie during the shutdown.

======================
TRD

[chris08876]

Brooklyn Bridge Study Sizes Up Expansion

• Video Link

A seven-month engineering study will assess how much weight the Brooklyn Bridge can carry and consider options for expanding its walkway and bike lane.