Lex

I'm ashamed that I didn't think of that one. But yes, that's one notable reason. (There's also the fact that, even with the third pair, we'd be two cars short on that proposal, and we'd still have to worry about a train crapping out.)

I completely forgot about the Sea Beach work, hence the attempt at shoving three (basically two, given the circumstances) routes down West End...

That'll quickly fall apart. Manhattan has a handful of crosstowns, Queens is pretty much entirely crosstown (for a certain measure of crosstown), and "Downtown" refers to a specific section of north Brooklyn (most access is from the south and east). That's not even getting into the importance of clearly stating the destinations (or boroughs, if the train has to enter a different borough to reach its terminus) for those with impaired vision and to generally reduce confusion.

In all honesty, the only route I've seen using artics with any real consistency is the 20 (I can't speak for the 40, and I'm deliberately ignoring the 20's Yonkers Avenue short runs).

I mean, you can always go to Union Square...

Next time, don't go for sealed windows, I guess... That makes it sound like Gillig's just rushing the buses off the line, which certainly does no favors for any hopes of securing any MTA orders. (Yeah, it won't happen anyway, but yikes.)

I mean, the B44 serves a different (accessible) station, so there's that.

Bear in mind that Queens isn't the first borough to get this, just the first (and only) to be changed to this.

I'd hope so. Never have I seen worse bus scheduling (and that's taking the City Island BxM8 and general QM3 into consideration)...

Why post that here?

Hi, you must (somehow) be new. Neither sending the B4 to Kings Plaza nor having anything run on Knapp Street beyond what the B4 currently handles is sustainable. The demand for a bus between certain parts of Sheepshead Bay and Kings Plaza simply doesn't exist to the degree of warranting a direct route (using anything that stops at Avenue U/25th Avenue and catching the B3 is more than enough), and much of Knapp Street is either in the vicinity of Gerritsen Avenue or a plot of what is effectively nothing. The only things of note are already served by the B4 and B44.

What in the actual f*** am I looking at, and what does it have to do with general MTA operations?

You'd probably have an easier time finding them at Kingsbridge Road...

So long as they don't use 75-footers or any B Division equipment from before the R44 order, I don't see why it wouldn't be used in any capacity.

Neighborhood and borough names are (often) larger, but transparent (and in a different font). Commuter rail-related info is much smaller, and no rail stations have highlighted names (and yes, the font is different). Some streets have more selective downsizing of their names when compared to previous iterations. As for the colors, they're considerably less robust unless they pertain to MTA services (I should note that the huttles' bullet uses a shade of gray similar to the 's, whereas it previously used what is basically black).

Well, aside from only some of the track existing, there's no way in hell they would use heavy rail for more than just a confined line from St. George to Arlington. 440 is absolute garbage for passenger rail of any kind, the freight alignment is even worse (misses everything between Arlington and West Shore Plaza while cutting through industrial/restricted space), and the Arlington terminus would be a PITA to reach without being on top of it. BRT would be able to bridge the gap and serve West Shore Plaza without missing quite as much, lacking potential, or costing a pretty penny. It could certainly allow for rail conversion at a later date, though HRT is pretty much out of the question -- especially without TOD to help offset the cost.)

Transportation Systems Management, which needs very little -- if any -- dedicated infrastructure. Think of it as a route that's only special because of specific monitoring. It has no real potential, so it was ultimately canned.

They didn't indicate that they were looking to go with TSM. (They considered it early on, but the fact that they're talking about BRT indicates that the TSM proposal was dropped, much like it was years ago.)

The MTA updated the Brooklyn and Manhattan bus maps. Is it me, or do the changes make the maps look emptier than they really are?

That means the will have to run there overnight just to avoid having to either close those stations for a couple of periods or create needless inconsistency with the 's route.

I have to wonder if there's some work between Lexington Avenue and 57th Street...

Thanks for filling in the blank. So we're clear, those trains were signed up as trains prior to Second Avenue opening, so I don't buy that they're somehow trains for a second.

That's literally a single station. It makes sense as far as connecting to Staten Island goes, but it'll stick out like a sore thumb once that's disregarded. (I'd still give it priority for Staten Island, but keep that in mind.) Covering more of the IRT (the part of the subway OMNY started on) is far from an unnatural extension.

The only reference is on the trains themselves. They're trains.

The and do not get priority. (Hell, I've been on trains that waited before reaching President Street, waited at President Street, started leaving, then had to wait yet again because that's when the finally decided to show its stupid ass.