Union Tpke

@Trainmaster5 Do you know when the entrances at Eastern Parkway closed? Thanks.

On 7/10/2020 at 8:40 PM, MHV9218 said:

[Eric Oszustowicz photo in Joe Testagrose collection]

Alright what the hell is going on in this one – this looks like a post-GOH R40 (new numberplates) with TA side logos and a completely unrecognizable rollsign I've never seen before? Any ideas?

I think I saw another image of a slant with a circular not in service bullet in a yard  on nycsubway.org some time back.

1 hour ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

@Union Tpke Funny how they have a map of all the old "X" routes that use 5th Avenue, rather than the SIM routes.

My thought as well.

Minor update on 181st Street

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/181-st-broadway-ave-amsterdam-ave-CAB-jul2020.pdf

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18 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

I posted about this some time back. There is a big missed opportunity with a new development going up right there.

Another thing about this transfer is that it would reduce overcrowding at Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue.

4 hours ago, NewFlyer 230 said:

Does anyone else think that Court Square station needs to be connected via the north end of the (7) platform and the middle of the and platform. I always found it quite ridiculous how you need to walk down that long mezzanine, pass the train’s mezzanine just to connect to the Flushing and or Queens Blvd lines. 

Having a train entrance at 44th Dr and a connection to the and would save so much time and I think it would be worth constructing. It would definitely be much easier to build than a connection between the Queensboro Plaza and Queens Plaza stations. 

I posted about this some time back. There is a big missed opportunity with a new development going up right there.

9 hours ago, Deucey said:

All the folks who take the M60 and Q70 might beg to differ.

Just add dedicated bus lanes for them.

On 6/28/2020 at 10:56 PM, P3F said:

What did "motorists" do to deserve such a fate? Road design should be equitable, rather than throwing one group in the pit to satisfy the other.

There are many situations where driving is more practical than taking transit (hint: most of these trips don't involve an endpoint in Manhattan). Not everyone wants to be in the transit system 1.5 to 2 hours each way.

Yes, which is why better transit alternatives are needed. I am not saying ban all cars. That is idiotic.

If electric cars are going to be the norm in decades, the climate crisis argument falls flat. Don't ruin the roads if the cars aren't going to be causing a crisis in the future? 

Not true. EVs are not nearly enough. Even if California electrifies its entire fleet in time, a 15% reduction in VMT is needed to become carbon neutral. This is also predicated on 75% renewable energy.

See https://www.curbed.com/a/texas-california/electric-cars-climate-change-sacramento-california

This is idiotic. The vast majority of drivers do not think like this, and it would take much more than a few minutes' increase to get people to even consider changing modes for that reason, especially considering that switching to transit has the potential to add 30-90 minutes to a commute. This also seems to contradict your earlier climate crisis argument. If a non-EV car is running for longer, it will burn more fuel and contribute more to the issue. It's almost as if having a more efficient road network is actually better.

If you make it more and more inconvenient to drive, people will switch. Making transit more attractive is not enough to reduce car use. You have to incentive drivers to stop driving, whether by increasing the cost or time of driving.  The argument you are saying is what DOTs do across the country. They justify highway widening projects by mentioning how additional lanes will reduce congestion, and therefore burn less fuel. Adding lanes induces people who drive at other times, use alternate modes of transportation, or don't travel at all, to use the new lane, causing more congestion than there was in the first place, resulting in more congestion, and thus more pollution. Inversely, if you remove a lane from cars on a street or highway, some drivers will elect to travel at less busy times, to use alternate modes, or not to travel at all. The increaed emissions for increased travel times by non-EV cars will more than be offset by the fewer drivers on the road.

https://www.curbed.com/word-on-the-street/2019/5/30/18646017/traffic-emissions-transportation-maryland-hyperloop

It comes off as condescending for you to say that people who disagree with your very specific views on things, are not getting "the point", as if your views are only to be accepted and not questioned.

I am sorry for coming off that way, and understand that I need to do a better job of framing my arguments, which are throughly backed up.

May I just point out that I have never said that this road should not receive a bus lane? I simply think that the design presented by NYCDOT is poorly thought out, and a sub-optimal way to utilize the road space.

On 6/28/2020 at 10:56 PM, P3F said:

Think about it, when a car is standing on the road with this design, how are other cars going to go around it? They will go into the bus lane to drive around the double parked car, so the buses still have to deal with cars merging in front of them. Doesn't really seem like an incredible improvement.

The bus lanes are separated by the car lanes by barriers, and are protected.

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Not to mention, the design requires left-turning cars to cross the bus lane to get to the left turn bay, which is a mess from the standpoint of merging. What happens when the left turn bay fills up? The line will back up into the bus lane, meaning the buses will have to merge into the general purpose lane to get around them.

The DOT did analysis of traffic to determine which left turns to ban, and which ones to keep, and presumably looked at the issue you have, and deemed it not to be an issue.

Let's go over the most obvious ones, then.

- As stated earlier, buses are going to get cut off whenever someone is double parked, or wants to get into the left turn lane.

- If someone is on the sidewalk and sees a bus at the bus stop, they may be encouraged to run to the bus stop against the light, since they only have one lane to cross. This is quite unsafe. Compare to this to a more standard setup, where someone would have to be significantly more invested to run across a 6-lane road against the light.

Median bus stops are safer as you do not have to cross the entire width of the roadway if your destination is on the opposite side of the street. There will also be pedestrian islands at intersections to reduce the distance people need to walk.

- What happens when a bus breaks down in a bus stop? Any further buses will have to awkwardly merge into the general purpose lane and block it, and when those buses make a stop, passengers would need to go all the way back to the crosswalk, and then walk the entire length of the bus in the roadway just to get to the bus. Then, surprise, you now have horrible bus bunching and congestion.

The bus lanes are double wide at bus stops, so this is not an issue.

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- This lane is planned to be 24/7, which is frankly unnecessary at low traffic times such as overnights (when the bus is running once an hour).

You will have the Bx11 and Bx35 running via the roadway overnight. The Bx11 runs every 40 minutes, and the Bx35 runs every hour.

You're forgetting the most important part, which is an actual reason for the bus lane to exist. I have been on 164th Street on both weekdays and weekends, and it never appears to be particularly congested (on the wide part, anyway). If this is how 164th Street generally is, there is no point in having a bus lane, since most cars move faster than the bus, therefore the bus is not getting held up by them.

I was giving 164th Street as an example of a wide street. Also, the only reason the street is so wide is because space was taken away from a streetcar line, which had a dedicated right-of-way.

 

I posted the link to the 5th Avenue presentation here:

Here are some sides from the Main Street and Jay Street presentations:

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/jay-st-busway-tillary-st-livingston-st-cab-jul2020.pdf

https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/main-st-flushing-busway-cab6-jun2020.pdf

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Notice the epic fail here:

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This is almost identical to my proposal from 2018, which I attached along with my essays for my successful college application.

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@Via Garibaldi 8 The presentation for the meeting is on the NYCDOT website: https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/5th-ave-e57-st-e34-st-cab-jul2020.pdf

@Bill from Maspeth Thank you for the historical information which was very helpful in explaining the 5/3 set up. 

This does look like Canal. Thanks for sharing the image!

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?38892

25 minutes ago, danig1220 said:

Then follow the path of the Fulton El to Broadway Junction  . Express trains go straight to Atlantic Avenue , then use a viaduct to Broadway Junction  

Did my joke just go over your head?

Thank you once again for doing this exceptional work.

This really struck me, but it is not surprising:

Quote

B1 - Net Reduction due to Artic Conversion

AM rush service will operate every 8-15 minutes instead of every 6-10 minutes
Midday service will operate every 10 minutes instead of every 8 minutes
All PM rush service to Manhattan Beach and late PM rush service to Bay Ridge will operate every 10 minutes instead of every 8 minutes
Saturday Daytime service operates every 8-10 minutes instead of every 7-9 minutes
Slightly more frequent service during the early evening hours on Saturdays
Sunday late evening service will operate every 35-40 minutes instead of every 25 minutes

Bus riders would much rather have crowded buses than have to wait 35-40 minutes. This is inexcusable.

Quote

B11: Omission of Overnight Service

There's no overnight service listed here, as if the B11 won't be running anymore during overnight hours

If this is the case, this would count as a major service change, and should have been brought to the MTA Board.

On 6/30/2020 at 5:01 AM, BM5 via Woodhaven said:

Q49: Weekday Cost Neutral Practices, Introduction of Inconsistent Headways During the AM Rush

• Service to Jackson Heights from 4:30 AM to 6:00 AM will operate every 6-8 minutes instead of every 10 minutes
• There will be one less weekday departure between 6:00 AM and 6:20 AM
• Service between 6:20 AM and 8:00 AM on the full route between towards Jackson Heights will operate every 5 minutes instead of every 3 minutes
• New put-ins from 92nd Street & Astoria Boulevard towards Jackson Heights will be added at 6:57 AM, 7:07 AM, 7:17 AM, 7:27 AM, 7:37 AM, 7:47 AM, and 8:03 AM
• South/West of 92nd Street & Astoria Boulevard, there will be 2 to 3 minute headways followed by 5 minute headways instead of consistent 3 minute headways

They are really trying to ruin the Q49 to justify what they are doing in the Queens Bus Redesign. Color me surprised.

On 6/29/2020 at 5:00 PM, danig1220 said:

The next stop is Rockaway Park/Beach 116th Street. And then follows the shuttle to Broad Channel, and the A line to 80th Street.

The next stop is 76th Street and Pitkin.

Yes. I just did that.

On 6/29/2020 at 8:09 PM, Bill from Maspeth said:

The union did not want them running.  Period.  Since the R32's are supposed to be running Wed. July 1 as per newspaper reports, I suppose the union lost their "appeal".  If they went to an arbitrator IDK. Maybe the union just expressed their concerns and transit is blocking off the front of the cabs to the satisfaction of the union, IDK.  But management has a lot of power.  For example if the union does not like a new work program ( jobs/schedules the workers pick) they can complain all they want, but management has the final say.  The union has given up a lot in RTO for recent contracts.  "If you give this and that up you get your raise" .  RTO gives it up and the fruits go to every TWU represented worker in the company.   Train Operators and Conductors always vote "NO" on contracts.

There's a lot of politics involved with unions anyway.  But no matter how much the workers are disenfranchised with their union (any union) "A lousy union is better than no union".  You young ones will realize this someday.  My advice: never work for a company that has a lot of workers with no union.  I did before transit.  A bank, and the company treated us like sh**, worse than TWU would ever do.  That's the problem with Amazon.  All the company needs to hear or see some guy is trying to organize one, he'll get fired with some trumped up BS charges.   But I'm getting too far off topic......

Thank you. I really hope that Dems, if they take the Senate and Biden wins undoes one of the most damaging pieces of legislation in American history, the Taft-Hartley Act of 1946, which allowed states to pass right-to-work laws.

6 hours ago, Around the Horn said:

That ship sailed as soon as the government failed to pass recurring stimulus checks or hazard pay for essential workers. The financial reality for many people (including railfans that I know personally) is that they have to be out there working and earning money so might as well do some fanning while they're at it.

I would imagine that criticism of the government for putting us in this position was the point, especially when it takes minimal effort to go on social media and see what measures other countries (especially South Korea) are doing to encourage quarantining, especially early on in the pandemic to crush the virus. Meanwhile at least a third of our country thinks its all hoax and if the government here to were to propose the same effective measures, it would be derided as socialism.

Concerning the first point, if you have no other choice but to make a living, I get it. But for those people here who have the luxury of working from home, or are young enough not to need a job, they should not be riding the train.

7 hours ago, Lex said:

As much as I hate the notion, I can't say it's completely unfounded. The past couple of times I went out (the first one was the first time I did at all since I went to the dentist in March -- and all I did was check my MetroCard -- while the second was to go vote, no thanks to the Board of Elections for incompetence), I saw a bunch of people improperly wearing or simply not wearing masks. Many appeared to be around my age or younger (for context, I'm 25).

Most young people are not wearing masks. While they are less likely to get the worst symptoms, since they are more likely to "hang out" and see other people, they will get more people infected.

8 hours ago, trainfan22 said:

I remember seeing an article a couple days ago that the various NYC protests did not cause a spike in Covid-19 cases in NYC.

 

Those states where cases are going up, they opened too early and that's why they are spiking in cases. NY/NJ/CT handled this situation very well.

 

Also I don't have an A/C at home, so hot and humid days are miserable to me. Quarantining during the spring was easy peasy due to the trash weather well into May. On hot and humid days it's more comfortable to be on an NTT with it's cool A/C than being at home burning up with only a tower fan to keep cool. Or hanging out in the park or beach to keep cool as at times it's cooler outside than it is inside my apartment during warm weather days.

NY did not handle the situation well. Tens of thousands of deaths would not have happened had Cuomo shut things down earlier. He has blood on his hands.

2 minutes ago, trainfan22 said:

The city is pretty much back to normal, many stores are reopen, restaurants have outdoor dining, beaches are officially reopening in a couple of days. Even then, CI beach was busy the two times I went there this season.

 

I agree with you that they shouldn't crowd the first car, the RFW is roped off  but I have a feeling buffs will crowd the first car anyway. Also I assume multiple sets will be in service at the same time so that should help a bit.

COVID19 cases are going up around the country. You should not be out unless YOU HAVE TO BE OUT. Cases will go up in New York soon.

3 minutes ago, R32 3838 said:

 

you know that we are in phase 2 going into phase 3 right. lots of people are outside and going to work and etc. While i do agree with the crowding at the front but you can't tell people to stay home. we have stayed in for 3 whole months, That whole essential worker stuff is out the window since non essential jobs are back open. It's the summer and its 80+ degrees outside. no one is staying in. as long as people wear a mask and socially distance themselves, It should be fine. Railfans are gonna fan, as long as they do right by wearing a mask and socially distance themselves from others, It should be fine.

 

Plus Beaches are opening for swimming on the 1st so you gonna have crowds regardless.

Yes you can. Do you want more people killed? It is not a great sacrifice to stay home for longer to make sure vulnerable do not die.

2 minutes ago, vioreen said:

I think  rushed the installation of the CBTC system along the Queens Blvd line which messed up the fleet pattern between   and .  

No. It is delayed.

As much as I love R32s, and would do almost anything to ride them again, I am not railfanning due to the pandemic. I do not recommend that you guys go out fanning, for the safety of essential workers and train crews. Crowding at the front is not safe for anyone, and makes trains unnecessarily crowded. There is no way to railfan things like this and be socially distant. STAY HOME. STAY SAFE.

7 minutes ago, Calvin said:

The Brightliner R32s will be making a comeback on the first day of July. On the Jamaica  lines as 90% of the line is outdoors.

Where did you hear that?

Never mind: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-l-train-normal-service-covid-19-20200628-lntxyjbwdbhizky4sw5i6dbjgq-story.html

27 minutes ago, B35 via Church said:

I'm the last person you need to preach a pro-transit talking point to, fam......

Well aware. Some people in this discussion do not get the point.