shiznit1987

In regards to the how many people do you think backtrack from 104/111/121 sts to Jamaica Center for the ? A significant amount of riders?

Well, the Pelham skip-stop went down in flames I see, lol. Anyway, here's one for a Third Ave bypass line: The new Third Ave line would start with two branches in The Bronx. Branch one would run straight up Third Ave the same way the old Third Ave el did to Gun Hill Rd. The second branch would start at Co-Op City and run down Pelham Parkway with a stop at Jacobi, then turn and follow the line to East 180st where after stopping there it would follow the Sheridan to Hunts Point Av () and then run along the Bruckner/138th St making a stop at 138th/3av. It's at 138th/3av that the two branches meet to form a two level 4 track subway right down Third Ave making no stops until 60th st (connections to ). Then stopping at 52nd St (connections to ) and 42nd St (connection to ). After 42nd St, the line continues straight down 3rd Ave with it's next stop being 14th St (connect to ) then straight down 3rd-Bowery-Water St to the Seaport District with a stop there then a stop at Wall/Water Sts. It's here things get interesting. The line splits into two again with one branch to Brooklyn and another to Staten Island. The Brooklyn line crosses the river at Atlantic Ave and uses the old LIRR tunnel to make a stop at Barclays/Atlantic (connect to +LIRR), then continues down Atlantic with stops at Nostrand (connection built to Fulton/Nostrand for ) and Utica (Connection built to Fulton/Utica for again), then the line runs down Utica to Kings Plaza. The Staten Island line runs under the battery then reaches NJ right around the Liberty Science Center. It runs under I-78/I-440 to Constable Hook and then goes under the Van Kill to St Georges Ferry terminal. I would not connect this line to the existing SIR as it would make it too long, but free transfers would be available.

My proposal is a / skip stop on the Pelham Line. The skip stop would work as follows: / trains make all stops between BB/City Hall and Lex/59th Sts. Then: 68st 77st 86st 96st 103st 110st 116st 125st 3rd Av/138th Brook Av Cypress Av 143st 149st Longwood Av Hunts Point Av Whitlock Av Elder Av Morrison Av St Lawrence Av Parkchester Castle Hill Av Zegera Av Westchester Sq Middletown Rd Burke Av Pelham Bay Park Currently, it's a 26 stop ride on the from Lex/59th to Pelham Bay Park. It's 12 stops on the but that's only capable of peak direction express. Plus, you have to factor in the fact that most people are using local stops which means you're losing time waiting on the transfer and not saving as many stops. Since this is both skip stop in Manhattan and The Bronx, you're saving time across the entirety of the route. Everyone gets a one seat semi-express ride across the entirety of the line at all times**. It's a 15-16 stop ride on the from Woodlawn so this plan will make the competitive with the in terms of time. Also, since the can run up to 2min headways, even with skip stop you're still looking at 4-5 min waits at skipped stations. **(except late nights, which I'd have the make all stops)

I think when the TA decides to send everything express in a certain direction on Queens Blvd they should compensate by at least sending either the or or both local in the other direction to help out the . It's a real pain to wait for a every 12-15 minute train to go backwards then wait for something going the way you're actually trying to go. At least with a second local or all three being local your wait times get reduced.

I for one will look forward to being able to grab the to Bryant Park-42nd and being able to walk weather-free to the to Penn when the proves too crowded for my taste.

I've always been of the mind that one of the drivers behind the borough bus redesigns was this very thing (Cost Savings). At some point, the MTA is going to need to do with way way less managers, less internal staff and the such. One thing that'd help is to get back to expanding SBS. Faster buses means carrying more people with less buses.

Any idea on when Platform F at Jamaica will see any usage, or is that part n' parcel of when ESA opens? As for Cuomo, the problem is once you get past him and perhaps Letita James, the state level Democratic Party is quickly being taken over by the DSA crowd. Centrist/Moderate Dems are just about gone outside of some of the working class sections of the city like SE Queens or Staten Island. What's being brought forth nowadays is this: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-democratic-socialists-abolish-private-property-albany-primaries-20191007-gtpqefrosrfybpdul4dbvaf6ym-story.html Hopefully the NYS Republican Party gets a clue and dumps Trump and embraces the Bloombergs and Herman Badillos of the world who were centrist in their world view.

My fear is that Woodside service will be seriously cut now that there will be little to zero LIRR to traffic. Taking the Q53 to catch the train to Penn is a favorite mode of getting to the city when the QM15 isn't an option.

What is everyone's thoughts on having the Q52 turn up Yellowstone Blvd and terminate at 71st-Continential? I think that would definitely balance out the ridership between the Q53 and Q52 since riders looking for an express subway can get the Q52 to 71st for the while those still heading for the mall/Jackson Hts/ train/Woodside can grab a Q53.

I just have to say that since moving to Middle Village the QM15 is heaven-sent. It runs like water during the rush but the fact is has reverse-commute service and Saturday service is amazing. Is there any chance the MTA will consider running the Saturday schedule on Sundays as well? Should I write to the MTA directly or to my local council member?

I'd be fine with that, provided the TA built a passageway between 63rd/Lex and 59th/Lex. Otherwise, the screams from riders would be deafening. It seems the two "untouchables" about QB is 1) There must be a Broadway line and 2) Something must go to the East Side on the Express. The MTA screwed up not building a Queens Plaza stop along the 63rd St line around 41st Ave/28th st in LIC, and connecting it to the current Queens Plaza. Otherwise people to this day would just take to trips rather than wait for the . Truthfully, the "63rd st" line should have been built at 61st St with a connection at Lex/59th but obviously that ship has more than sailed.

Do you think once the CBTC work is done on Queens Blvd the MTA will consider adding a second weekend local like the or even

Thank you for your response! I'm glad you like the majority of it, and let me answer your points: to Bay Parkway: I don't mind this at all. If the cars are there for it then I say why not. I just thought there wouldn't be much interest from West End riders due to the already providing express service. to 57th St-6th Ave: I'm totally good with having the run to 57th-6th Av full time instead of the . I just wanted riders from Cypress Hill/Eastern Bushwick to have better Manhattan options. / Express/Local swap on Queens Blvd: I do understand your points about merges, but one thing to consider is that the current makes the same three merges as my proposed between 47-50 Rock Ctr and Queens Plaza. The does have the to contend with but then again the has a flat junction @ Myrtle Ave so all in all it's a wash. Yes, this does create another "Mega Local" line ala / / but if run properly it might not be such a poop show. The bigger issue is that the mixture preserves the same balance on the QB Express the current does today. My fear is doing a through 53rd St will undo all the efforts made at easing congestion at Lex/53rd + 5th/53rd. Alot of folks might take the first that slides in at Roosevelt rather than grab the right behind it due to it getting them to 6th Ave. Unless a QB Local is willing to be cut to say 10 TPH so the 53rd St can go 20 TPH I think it's a precarious situation. All in all, I like my setup for Queens Blvd, but thank you for your feedback

My thoughts on untangling Broadway while helping improve Queens Blvd Local service (Which I admittedly have a personal stake in): 96st-2nd Ave to Coney Island via the Broadway Exp + Manhattan Bridge -> 4th Ave Express -> Sea Beach 179st-Hillside to Coney Island via Queens Blvd Exp -> 63rd St -> Broadway Exp + Manhattan Bridge -> Brighton Same route, no late night service Astoria-Ditmars to 9th Ave, Brooklyn via Broadway Local + Lower Manhattan, late nights runs to 95th-Bay Ridge to replace 71st-Continential to Coney Island via Queens Blvd Local -> 53rd Street -> 6th Ave Local -> Culver No changes Extended to 57st/6th Ave all times via 6th Ave Local To Broad St, Manhattan All times So Broadway looks like this: Express Local with zero merges Queens Blvd looks like this: Express Local This will give the Queens Blvd local two major trunk lines at all times (late nights run local) which IMHO is needed. An additional benefit is the is extended up 6th Ave all times giving more of Brooklyn full time Manhattan access.

We don't know Gates, Musk or Bezos personally but I do know their billions in philaphropy will do far more good than I ever will. As far as slavery and a race to the bottom is concerned, that's the job of local and national governments to build social safety nets to ensure we have the infastructure and systems in place to make sure people don't fall through the cracks. I'm not a "Tea Party" type who thinks people should just sink or swim but we should have fully functioning healthcare, education, social services systems to help individuals. The difference is that I also know that Capitalism has built far more prosperity and personal freedom than any "planned" system ever will. All of those European welfare states everyone gushes about are Capitalist as well. Sweden has twice as many billionaires per capita as America. Despite what the DSA set will tell you, the means of production are either going to be in private hands or centrally controlled. Saying one is "Socialist" and singing the praises of France and Scandinavia is a cop out. They're both Capitalist countries that happen to have strong welfare nets. You either believe in private enterprise or you don't. You either believe in private property or you don't. I don't see the wisdom in signing over one's freedom to a central authority that will tell you were to live, what to own or what to do. It's never worked out well. The MTA is as centrally planned as an org can be with no profit motive, yet judging by the workers who post here it doesn't sound like the utopia of fairness one would expect.

Violent crime has and sadly will always occur on NYCT, but this isn't just a robbery here or stabbing there. A violent crime increase of 25% against the backdrop of less than half the amount of regular ridership is going to make people genuinely feel that their odds of being victimized much greater. Second, at it's core it's like a kid coming home with a C versus getting an F. Sure, it's better and if I was a parent I would see it as such, but is it good? It's mediocre. Plus, as humans we compare things to what we know. I could use crime stats from the 1920s or 1940s but honestly they're of zero relevance. A good chuck of this message board was not born in 1985 which includes yours truly, so to us things are truly "worse".

....Which *is* the common good. The frank truth is that most people are trying to advance themselves and theirs, which I don't judge them for. Capitalism is a vehicle to channel our innate self interest into productive achievement. Capitalism, long story short, is individual people making individual choices regarding their economic future. If "Capitalism" is racist, greedy, oppressive, exclusionary or unfair that's because people are. The same people so many fundamentally believe are going to somehow create this perfectly planned system in which no one has to work hard, nothing is ever unfair and nothing bad happens.

In all fairness, I can't tell you how many times I've seen 4-5 cops chatting away or on their phones in a big group in a mezzanine somewhere while the trains and platforms are easy pickings. There does need to be a serious discussion about professionalism when it comes to patrolling.

The NYC Subway in the 1970s and 1980s should not be used as a benchmark to say "Things are not bad". That's like saying because less people die of TB or Cholera now than in 1900 we shouldn't take public health seriously. Another thing to consider is that the NYC subway was a perfectly clean, respectable means of mass transit from it's inception to about 1970 when the wheels came off. What people like VG8 are saying is that the conditions of the 70s and 80s didn't happen overnight. It was a year by year increase in disorder and violence thru the 1950s and 1960s that culminated in the "The Warriors" style system that it became by 75' or so. If we don't get a handle on things now, we can't be smugly assured things won't slide back down. Even during Guiliani I remember the windows being unusable due to scratchiti. It took the TA a long time and a lot of work to get the system back to what it has been during the late 90s thru mid 2010s.

I always thought the tradition was if a train is in an outer borough and heading towards Manhattan you'd say "This is a Manhattan-bound ____ train" and if heading outbound or already in Manhattan it's the actual destination that's used. Plus, I think words like "Uptown" and "Downtown" would be a better fit.

Very good post. Kudos to being rational and levelheaded as an MTA worker since some do sincerely believe the agency exists to "provide jobs". I agree that attrition is the way to go and that all crafts and departments need to be made aware that positions simply aren't going to be replaced once folks retire. This balances both the compassion side (not laying anyone off) and the realist side (the math isn't working and hasn't for a long time)

The number of gun arrests conducted by the NYPD has been the highest since stats began being recorded. Much higher than any time under Guiliani or Bloomberg. That doesn't sound like "doing nothing" to me. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-cops-make-more-than-400-gun-arrests-this-year-20210127-vy5qsjmsyjeizpxc4ckcs27mna-story.html Yes, we still clearly have issues with police accountability, I'll give you that. However, allowing people caught carrying guns to simply "go free" is not part of the solution. As far as the abolish police mindset goes, here's Tiffany Caban who was a few thousand votes away from being Queens DA and now running for City Council in her own words: “My goal at the end of the day is to ultimately get to a place where we are no longer funding police – period,” she told the Queens Post. “That is not going to happen tomorrow, that is not going to happen next year, but it’s important to have that goal in mind — understanding that there is no connection between police and public safety and we have to stop pretending that there is.” https://jacksonheightspost.com/tiffany-caban-unveils-plan-to-scale-back-the-nypd-through-introduction-of-community-based-measures Her views aren't some radical fringe. This has been bedrock thinking for Legal Aid, ACLU, activist circles for a while now and George Floyd only made it possible to start to say this openly.

Everyone at this point knows this was a homeless removal initiative. What the service planners need to start doing is finding ways to break up continuous runs so that when a train goes "Out of Service" it truly means OOS. This is what will get the homeless to stop riding the trains consistently.

I'm not sure there's any real answer to this problem... We can take the train going the other way, and have mainstream media resemble Facebook, where anyone with a laptop and a clever pitch can start a "Newsfeed" claiming that QAnon is real and all kinds of ridiculous crap. At least with the corporate media, people generally don't become billionaires by being stupid. Social media is the democratization of media. We are witnessing how well (not at all) it's working out.

Don't you work in tech, what has the bellweathers been from your perspective?