Longest walkable distance within MTA property

[Porter]

In the past, there have been some pretty long MTA corridors, like the giant underground thoroughfare running from Herald Square to Bryant Park via Sixth Avenue. In light of the new to connection at the WTC opening at the end of this year, it seems as though this narrow link might create the longest walkable distance within MTA property if you were to start at the underground barbershop entrance on Fulton Street between William and Gold streets and end at one of the two street entrances straddling Church Street north of Chambers Street, amounting to about a dozen blocks of varying sizes. It's such a long distance that you are essentially walking between not just two, but three stations entirely underground (although you cannot access the third one at Chambers Street directly, the distance is negligible at just one extra block westward). Granted, this path would force you to swipe in and out of the system twice.

Since y'all know the subway system better than I do, I challenge you to find a longer distance, since this is a big city after all.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

I actually have stopped using such connections. Most of them are so long and winding that you're better off going outside. The Port Authority to Times Square seems awfully long. You can enter at 40th street and 8th Avenue and then make your way to Times Square. The blocks west of 5th Avenue can be particularly long so that one comes to mind for sure, along with the one you mentioned. The other one that's annoying is the 14th street connection. Lots of stairs make the walk much longer than what it is above ground. Is the connection above as straightforward as you have it on the map, or is there lots of meandering involved?

[P3F]

24 minutes ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I actually have stopped using such connections. Most of them are so long and winding that you're better off going outside. The Port Authority to Times Square seems awfully long. You can enter at 40th street and 8th Avenue and then make your way to Times Square. The blocks west of 5th Avenue can be particularly long so that one comes to mind for sure, along with the one you mentioned. The other one that's annoying is the 14th street connection. Lots of stairs make the walk much longer than what it is above ground. Is the connection above as straightforward as you have it on the map, or is there lots of meandering involved?

You go up and down stairs many times if you walk the entirety of that path.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

1 hour ago, P3F said:

You go up and down stairs many times if you walk the entirety of that path.

Smh... I have to say it's rather laughable what we call "underground" paths here.  You go to other cities and see their underground paths. They put ours to shame. In Florence there is no subway, but there's an entire underground shopping area in the Downtown section of the city.  

All of the ones that I can think of are in Manhattan. Are there any in the outer boroughs?

[Porter]

1 hour ago, P3F said:

You go up and down stairs many times if you walk the entirety of that path.

From southeast to northwest:

Down (street > upper mezzanine)

Down (upper mezzanine > lower mezzanine)

Down (lower mezzanine > platform)

Up (platform > lower mezzanine)

Down (lower mezzanine > Fulton Center lower concourse)

Up (Dey Street Concourse > southbound platform)

Up ( platform to mezzanine)

Up (mezzanine to street)

TL;DR: ↓↓↓↑↓↑↑↑

[N6 Limited]

4 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Smh... I have to say it's rather laughable what we call "underground" paths here.  You go to other cities and see their underground paths. They put ours to shame. In Florence there is no subway, but there's an entire underground shopping area in the Downtown section of the city.  

All of the ones that I can think of are in Manhattan. Are there any in the outer boroughs?

Atlantic Av-Pacific Street-Barclays?

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, N6 Limited said:

Atlantic Av-Pacific Street-Barclays?

I forgot about that one, but that's definitely a good candidate.  Walking down there seems a bit more tolerable now than before they re-did that station.  In the summertime it was like walking through the pits of hell.

[rbrome]

20 hours ago, Skipper said:

In the past, there have been some pretty long MTA corridors, like the giant underground thoroughfare running from Herald Square to Bryant Park via Sixth Avenue. In light of the new to connection at the WTC opening at the end of this year, it seems as though this narrow link might create the longest walkable distance within MTA property if you were to start at the underground barbershop entrance on Fulton Street between William and Gold streets and end at one of the two street entrances straddling Church Street north of Chambers Street, ...

The southern end of your path could be longer if you extended it south under William St and used the John St entrance/exit. 

[Porter]

2 hours ago, rbrome said:

The southern end of your path could be longer if you extended it south under William St and used the John St entrance/exit. 

That's true... I should have done that.

[bobtehpanda]

16 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

Smh... I have to say it's rather laughable what we call "underground" paths here.  You go to other cities and see their underground paths. They put ours to shame. In Florence there is no subway, but there's an entire underground shopping area in the Downtown section of the city.  

All of the ones that I can think of are in Manhattan. Are there any in the outer boroughs?

Court Square. Why they decided to make the accessible to the via the length of the platform and two passageways when they are basically right on top of each other is beyond me.

[CenSin]

5 hours ago, bobtehpanda said:

Court Square. Why they decided to make the accessible to the via the length of the platform and two passageways when they are basically right on top of each other is beyond me.

I actually wanted to take a picture from the platform, but obviously wide-angle lens is needed and a sufficiently strong grip on a long tripod to show the elevated Court Square platform and the entrance to the underground station just below.

Once the buildings around the area have been developed, the MTA will lose its opportunity to make such an improvement.

[R42N]

23 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I actually have stopped using such connections. Most of them are so long and winding that you're better off going outside. The Port Authority to Times Square seems awfully long. You can enter at 40th street and 8th Avenue and then make your way to Times Square. The blocks west of 5th Avenue can be particularly long so that one comes to mind for sure, along with the one you mentioned. The other one that's annoying is the 14th street connection. Lots of stairs make the walk much longer than what it is above ground. Is the connection above as straightforward as you have it on the map, or is there lots of meandering involved?

Not only is the Port Authority bad, it’s claustrophobic and super packed. I’d take the  up to 59th Street or the  &  down to Fulton before I’d walk that.  

[Via Garibaldi 8]

42 minutes ago, R42N said:

Not only is the Port Authority bad, it’s claustrophobic and super packed. I’d take the  up to 59th Street or the  &  down to Fulton before I’d walk that.  

lol... The last time I walked through there boy did I regret it. The entrance at 8th and 40th was super dirty and is stuck in a time warp, and all of the up and down with the stairs and ramps left me quite annoyed, all to walk a few city blocks.

[Eric B]

I’m still waiting for the 42nd St. passage between 6th and Times Sq. that was promised eight years ago, but is apparently being held up by the plan to redo the shuttle platforms. 

When that’s finished, you can go from 8th to 5th under fare control!

[Deucey]

1 hour ago, Eric B said:

I’m still waiting for the 42nd St. passage between 6th and Times Sq. that was promised eight years ago, but is apparently being held up by the plan to redo the shuttle platforms. 

When that’s finished, you can go from 8th to 5th under fare control!

Except for avoiding the weather I don’t see the point of that. Makes more sense to connect Fulton St  with Nevins St IRT.

[Porter]

3 hours ago, Deucey said:

Except for avoiding the weather I don’t see the point of that. Makes more sense to connect Fulton St  with Nevins St IRT.

Avoiding winter weather is a much, much bigger bonus than autumn people give it credit for.

[CenSin]

3 hours ago, Deucey said:

Except for avoiding the weather I don’t see the point of that. Makes more sense to connect Fulton St  with Nevins St IRT.

The Fulton Street () station is closer to any of the Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center platforms than to the Nevins Street station. A connection to the Nevins Street station cuts access to all of the other B Division trains.

[N6 Limited]

The Lafayette Ave  and Fulton St (G) stations should be connected to Atlantic Center

[RR503]

I’d go for metro tech to Boro Hall also — yes, 2  at one station complex, but it’ll finally connect the  to the A division in Brooklyn. 

[Eric B]

9 hours ago, Deucey said:

Except for avoiding the weather I don’t see the point of that. Makes more sense to connect Fulton St  with Nevins St IRT.

The point is to get 6th Ave. connected to Times Sq. and is also good for riders from 6th Ave. going to Port Authority, who would rather walk than transfer somewhere, and the connection to 6th Ave. would be just because the passage is already there.

[Deucey]

1 hour ago, Eric B said:

The point is to get 6th Ave. connected to Times Sq. and is also good for riders from 6th Ave. going to Port Authority, who would rather walk than transfer somewhere, and the connection to 6th Ave. would be just because the passage is already there.

You got West 4th, MetroTech, and Columbus Circle. The only train without a reasonable connection to PABT is the  from Middle Village, and having had to endure PABTas my AM departure point, I don’t see how connecting it to 6th Av is worth it - especially when the plan is to tear down MSG in the next 20 years.

Just seems like wasting money just because it’ll be there when there’s more beneficial projects to be done.

[Eric B]

It was a promise made to the 1 Bryant Park (Bank of America) tenants to have underground access to both 6th Av. and TSQ stations, and it qould just be an added benefit to those who wanted an underground connection from 6th Av. to the other attractions.

When growing up, sometimes we didn’ feel like hauling our bags up at W4th and waiting for another train, and so would walk the street from 6th to PABT. So no, it’s not being built for situations like that, but still benefits them, and would provide another really long continuous passage, which was the point.

[Union Tpke]

How would ridership be counted?

[Porter]

On 11/10/2017 at 9:26 AM, Eric B said:

It was a promise made to the 1 Bryant Park (Bank of America) tenants to have underground access to both 6th Av. and TSQ stations, and it qould just be an added benefit to those who wanted an underground connection from 6th Av. to the other attractions.

Such a connection, in conjunction with the Gimbel's tunnel and 6th Avenue passageway, would have made this incredible underground walk possible:

[Porter]

Okay, so I finally did it (warning: may cause nightmarish anxiety for lack of image stabilization):