LRG Posted October 14, 2013 Share #1 Posted October 14, 2013 What a day. Because of the half-marathon along Bay Street, a lot of buses were detoured and all the buses that serve Saint George had their terminal changed to Saint Marks Place and Victory Boulevard.Around 11:00, I along with a friend of mine witnessed two buses trying to roll on to the temporary pick up stand along Victory Boulevard get stuck along a tiny street...the reason being was drivers thought they could roll on via Jersey Street > Crescent Street > Westervelt Avenue > Hamilton Avenue > Saint Marks Place > Victory Boulevard. Problem was Hamilton Avenue was closed and the drivers struggled to find a way to get to the temporary stand. The two buses ended up getting stuck along Carroll Place, a tiny two-way street which ended at Saint Marks Place. They couldn't turn left on Saint Marks Place to Richmond Terrace because Richmond Terrace was closed. They couldn't turn right because it was a one-way street. The only solution: go backwards. My friend and I ended up helping both the drivers back their buses up along the tiny street back to Westervelt and even helping them make reverse turns to go back the opposite direction along Westervelt. In a nutshell, my friend and I saved the say.If I'm not mistaken, Department of Buses is responsible for planning detours and communicating with the city in order to find out about street closures, correct? Is it safe to say that they failed this time around? This is the first time I've ever seen Staten Island service affected due to an event and I'm sure it's bound to happen again next month when the ING Marathon takes place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted October 14, 2013 Share #2 Posted October 14, 2013 I've wrote in about problems with detours to the on several occasions. It's ridiculous what a mess these planned detours are. They either have the wrong info down OR nothing down at all. I can never get a straight answer when I file a complaint either. The last answer I got was that they have no control over the detours and that the detour times are approximate. I said to myself well who in the hell is responsible for some of these ridiculous detours? It's almost as if they're made up by people that have no idea how the routes actually normally run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz Posted October 14, 2013 Share #3 Posted October 14, 2013 I've wrote in about problems with detours to the on several occasions. It's ridiculous what a mess these planned detours are. They either have the wrong info down OR nothing down at all. I can never get a straight answer when I file a complaint either. The last answer I got was that they have no control over the detours and that the detour times are approximate. I said to myself well who in the hell is responsible for some of these ridiculous detours? It's almost as if they're made up by people that have no idea how the routes actually normally run. I would think that if the MTA is not in control of the detours, the DOT would be next in line to get an answer from... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamousNYLover Posted October 14, 2013 Share #4 Posted October 14, 2013 I remember 2006 NYC Marathon, Department of NYCT Buses didn't even POST DETOUR NOTICE where to catch bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted October 14, 2013 I've wrote in about problems with detours to the on several occasions. It's ridiculous what a mess these planned detours are. They either have the wrong info down OR nothing down at all. I can never get a straight answer when I file a complaint either. The last answer I got was that they have no control over the detours and that the detour times are approximate. I said to myself well who in the hell is responsible for some of these ridiculous detours? It's almost as if they're made up by people that have no idea how the routes actually normally run. That's ridiculous...the one time I do remember the MTA keeping passengers posted about detours was during the various snowstorms we've had back in 2010 and 2011 that blocked off side streets that buses use...so basically when some bus routes couldn't run at all, so to speak. If it's something sudden that just happened and the MTA has to figure out what to do to get the buses around the mess the quickest way possible, that's understandable to an extent. But this even was planned well ahead of time, there should be no reason buses should be getting stuck because no precise information is being given. I'm going to put the blame on Department of Buses for this one. The drivers and dispatchers are not at fault. DOB should be in charge of being aware of street closures so buses don't get caught in a mess like what happened today. Hopefully it's the last time this happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted October 14, 2013 Share #6 Posted October 14, 2013 That's ridiculous...the one time I do remember the MTA keeping passengers posted about detours was during the various snowstorms we've had back in 2010 and 2011 that blocked off side streets that buses use...so basically when some bus routes couldn't run at all, so to speak. If it's something sudden that just happened and the MTA has to figure out what to do to get the buses around the mess the quickest way possible, that's understandable to an extent. But this even was planned well ahead of time, there should be no reason buses should be getting stuck because no precise information is being given. I'm going to put the blame on Department of Buses for this one. The drivers and dispatchers are not at fault. DOB should be in charge of being aware of street closures so buses don't get caught in a mess like what happened today. Hopefully it's the last time this happens. lol... I can assure that it won't be. All of the complaints that I've filed about detours over the years have been planned ones and the response I got from the is that they aren't in charge of the detours. The last detour that was a mess was during the Brazilian Day parade. They claimed that the detours were "approximate" almost 5 hours after the parade was supposed to be over. Mind you the parade was supposed to be over at 20:00 according to the website. At the bus stop we were at it said the parade would be over at approximately 21:00, so at least 8 - 10 of us were waiting at an BxM2 stop. Then a dispatcher came to the stop informing us that the detour was actually still in affect. We were all livid knowing that the last bus of the night was due any minute at the stop and there was no way we were going to boogie all the way to 8th Avenue in time. I put up a huge protest, saying that it was ridiculous that this detour was still in effect when all of the other local buses were making stops nearby so why couldn't the BxM2? After that he radioed the B/O to make that stop and then continue the detour as planned. The Staten Island express buses are even worse though. Planned detours sometimes are not even put on the website, so you're stuck in a 20+ minute detour with no warning, which used to piss me to the core and the marathon that's coming is even worse. The X10 makes no stops after Slosson Avenue, so if you're waiting at any other stops after that you're screwed. Heads back towards NJ via the SIE. The X1 I'm sure also skips stops too, but the information posted is usually pretty vague. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRG Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted October 14, 2013 Then who's in charge then? I mean someone has to be responsible to make sure their buses make corresponding stops so no one is left without service. I wonder if this is a case of the MTA just pointing the finger at someone else. Your reason given leads me to that conclusion. It is impossible to not know about what's affecting your own agency's service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QM1to6Ave Posted October 14, 2013 Share #8 Posted October 14, 2013 I've had the same experience with the express buses on Sundays when there is a detour for the parade. The signs saying when the detour will end are never accurate, even when the streets have been reopened for hours. There are never dispatchers around to help, and when I've called 511 the phone operators never know anything, either. Occasionally they will call the DOB dispatchers in the command center to get a straight answer, but that is rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Via Garibaldi 8 Posted October 14, 2013 Share #9 Posted October 14, 2013 Some of the detours are supposedly coordinated with the NYPD, but if that's the case then there shouldn't so many "surprises". I really feel for the QM riders because just about all of the stops are along 6th Avenue, so when there's a planned detour, forget it. Not so easy to just go further down the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petabread Posted October 14, 2013 Share #10 Posted October 14, 2013 Actually having had to coordinate with the city for various events, I can tell you that it sometimes is impossible. This is a true story and it is sad this happened. A few years ago, a permit was requested for an event on thanksgiving day, along the parade route. When the permit was requested the party was told that there were no plans for that day. One of our own suggested the parade and the NYC official had then remembered the parade. We discussed times and travel locations and was simply told it will take 4-6 weeks to get info regarding routing and times for an event that is the same every year. It's not over, we got our permit for, however, it was for the exact time, date and on the route of the parade, it came the day before. I have had similar issues with the parks department, where they issue permits on the same time and spot as their summer movie in a park nights. Can some of the blame be placed on the DOB, sure because it requires a lot coordination and patience because the DOT and other city offices are screwed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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