mark1447 Posted July 3, 2012 Share #1 Posted July 3, 2012 Riders on underground platforms in Washington Heights downed drinks and used fans on Monday to try and stay cool as they yearned for the speedy arrival of their air-conditioned subway cars. "I wish I had an ice pack jacket on," said one rider. But few platforms NY1 visited were as miserable as the one at 181st and Broadway on the number 1 line. On Monday, a thermometer read a very humid 90 degrees, 10 degrees hotter than outside, and it was only 9 o'clock in the morning. "It feels like it’s 200 degrees in this station. It’s very hot in here, it’s muggy and it’s really exhausting," said a rider. The wait might have been a little less of an ordeal if New York City Transit used a "secret weapon," a giant tunnel fan. These fans in the tunnels are meant to remove smoke in case of a fire, but a high-placed source told NY1 several years ago that NYC Transit started to turn on the fans in the two deepest and hottest stations once things got too hot. Riders who had never heard of the fans were not happy the one at 181st Street was not running. "They need to turn on the fans and circulate the air and make it more comfortable," said a commuter. Farther down the line at 168th Street, the platform has a reputation for being among the most unbearably hot ones in the system, But on Monday the tunnel fan was running, keeping customers relatively comfortable. "It's much cooler but it's still kind of hot," said one subway rider. "It's better than nothing," said another. In fact, the temperature was only about four degrees lower than at 181st Street, but the breeze made it feel much cooler. Back at 181st Street, all riders could do was wait for their train to arrive and provide a bit of relief from the heat. Video/Source: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/164132/ny1-exclusive--giant-tunnel-fans-could-cool-down-sweltering-subway-platforms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted July 3, 2012 Share #2 Posted July 3, 2012 I can attest for 168th street being a nightmare. A few weeks ago I did my last tutoring session for the semester up there and had switched from the coming from Midtown to get over to the at 168th street... The wait seemed to be FOREVER and I literally started cursing out loud about how much I hated those stations in that area once we got to 191st street and had one or two elevators broken in the sweltering heat. This is a perfect example of where those letter grades would perhaps make the make improvements to stations like the ones up in Washington Heights. I mean if you have elevators that break down and stations so deep underground they should undertake a project to replace the elevators completely and put air conditioning in them since that is really the primary means of getting out for those folks at those stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadcruiser1 Posted July 3, 2012 Share #3 Posted July 3, 2012 I actually proposed this a while back on the forums. It seems the finally heard my idea of installing fans on subway platforms to cool them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7LineFan Posted July 3, 2012 Share #4 Posted July 3, 2012 I actually proposed this a while back on the forums. It seems the finally heard my idea of installing fans on subway platforms to cool them down. You do realize the article says nothing about fans on platforms, right? I wonder how much it would cost to install cooling systems a la Grand Central at one of these stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadcruiser1 Posted July 3, 2012 Share #5 Posted July 3, 2012 You do realize the article says nothing about fans on platforms, right? I wonder how much it would cost to install cooling systems a la Grand Central at one of these stations. I shouldn't have said on platforms. Just to cool the stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youngblaze Posted July 3, 2012 Share #6 Posted July 3, 2012 Yes, let's circulate the steel dust .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Express Posted July 3, 2012 Share #7 Posted July 3, 2012 That is an interesting idea. I have always used the subway to warm me up in the winter, but these fans could change that if they come into the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadcruiser1 Posted July 3, 2012 Share #8 Posted July 3, 2012 Like I said this is the only option for the NYC Subway so far. Unless if we are willing to install platform screen doors so we can air condition our subway stations fans are our only option for cooling the subway stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MTA Bus Posted July 4, 2012 Share #9 Posted July 4, 2012 Penn Station and Grand Central both have the same problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brighton Express Posted July 4, 2012 Share #10 Posted July 4, 2012 Oh god don't get me started with Grand Central. Sometimes it feels like an oven in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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