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Locals Fear Crowded Trains During Roosevelt Island Tram Closing


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03/06/2009 09:01 PM

Locals Fear Crowded Trains During Roosevelt Island Tram Closing

By: Rebecca Spitz

 

After 35 years, the Roosevelt Island tram will undergo a needed overhaul this summer, but locals fear the F Train will become filled beyond capacity. Borough reporter Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

 

The two cars of the Roosevelt Island tram that transport people between Manhattan and the island in the East River will be taken out of service July 6, so they can undergo a major overhaul lasting through December.

 

The $25 million project will build an entirely new tramway, including new towers, cables and cars.

 

"We are spending about $15 million dollars of the state's money and $10 million dollars of our money," said President Stephen Shane of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation.

 

The most notable improvement is that each side of the tramway will operate independently.

 

"[it] will give us the opportunity to have both planned maintenance outages - and to do the maintenance during daylight hours as opposed to at night when the tram is shut down - and unplanned events, and we hope there aren't any of those," said Shane.

 

One such "unplanned event" happened in April 2006, when a series of power failures caused the tram to stall, leaving 69 people dangling over the East River for hours.

 

It was the second time in eight months the tram lost power, and it took five months to get the tram back on line.

 

While many say it will be great if the tram never stalls again, the lack of transportation options between July and December mean getting to the Island will be painful.

 

Locals say the F train is already crowded, and without the tram things will only get worse.

 

"It's hard enough to try to get into a train now, it's going to be double as hard [sic]," said a local.

 

"Right now, if you go in the subway you can't even - it's like a sardine can," said another.

 

New York City Transit officials said they will oversee the situation when the tram is out of commission, and believe existing train service will be sufficient.

 

RIOC plans to help ease the overcrowding by using some of the buses it operates on the island to help carry people to Manhattan.

 

Manhattan Councilwoman Jessica Lappin, though, says she has been pushing for ferry service for years.

 

"I've put money in the budget for a dock here and the city. While they've agreed, they have been moving too slowly," said Lappin. "It would've been nice to have ferry service up and running by the time the tram went down."

 

RIOS admits the situation is inconvenient but temporary. Residents say they hope that come December, it will bring long term peace of mind.

 

http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/95116/locals-fear-crowded-trains-during-roosevelt-island-tram-closing/Default.aspx

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I've been on both the tram and the (F) during peak hours, and both are VERY crowded, especially in summer when kids have no school.

 

I think peak hour service from 91st street, 34th st, and fulton st ferry terminals could work. You could build a small to medium sized medium dock off of west road opposite of roosevelt island bridge. This way bus service to queens isn't far away. Shuttle bus while the tram is down is a GREAT idea. I'd love to get a photo of a RIOC red bus in manhattan! :cool:

 

- A

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I've been on both the tram and the (F) during peak hours, and both are VERY crowded, especially in summer when kids have no school.

 

I think peak hour service from 91st street, 34th st, and fulton st ferry terminals could work. You could build a small to medium sized medium dock off of west road opposite of roosevelt island bridge. This way bus service to queens isn't far away. Shuttle bus while the tram is down is a GREAT idea. I'd love to get a photo of a RIOC red bus in manhattan! :cool:

 

- A

 

Pier 11 and 34th Street will do, since I am sure many Islanders are heading to those destinations.

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If they'd need a dock... Well, it may be too late now if the tram is going to be shut down in July but a temporary dock can do... Like a tent and a metal dock, :)!

 

Yes you can do that, however much more is needed to be done. In order for a temporary ferry to be started, there needs to be selecting the company, scheduling, fares etc... things won't work out if there is no preparation.

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I do agree that safety is the priority. I'm sure it's better to deal with train crowding than to fall from the wires. A temporary ferry should be put in place, or perhaps a shuttle bus that runs to Queens via the Queensboro, and then onto Roosevelt?

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I think what the city should do is as follow:

 

-Open up a bridge from Manhattan to RIsl

-Extend the Q102 to manhattan

 

that way the (F) wouldnt be so crowded and the Q102 can access manhattan ather then going bk to queens...

 

Maybe also open up the (N)(W)(R) via Roosvelt or (E)(V)

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Guest Charles
I think what the city should do is as follow:

 

-Open up a bridge from Manhattan to RIsl

-Extend the Q102 to manhattan

 

that way the (F) wouldnt be so crowded and the Q102 can access manhattan ather then going bk to queens...

 

Maybe also open up the (N)(W)(R) via Roosvelt or (E)(V)

Agreed totally with the Q102 plan. But could you elaborate on your (E)(N)(R)(V)(W) plan? I just want to make sure I know what you're talking about.
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I wonder how many Grayline has NYC Duck Tour Aquabus? If they have spare, they could lent one for Island-Midtown commute?

 

Is that dock near Colder Goldwater Hospital?

 

If they give ferry permission to use it, how would RIOC Bus and Q102 will go through?

 

From there.

Either NY Waterway or NY Water Taxi should offer free ferry service to 34th St Pier.

New York Waterway could offer free ferry shuttle bus.

My idea:

Tram Ferry Shuttle Route#1: Leaves from M34 bus stop, west on 35th St, north on 1st Av, west on 42nd St, south on 9th Av, east on 34th St, regular route.

Tram Ferry Shuttle Route#2: Follow M34 to Javits Center, back to 8th Av, north on 8th Av, east on 42nd St, south on 2nd Av, east on 34th St.

 

Add more service on Q101 and Q102.

 

MTA Bus LaGuardia Depot and bus parking near Sunnyside Railyard, well as (NYCT) Michael J. Quill depot should offer free shuttle bus for tram.

 

For Tram Shuttle Bus:

Also have Academy Bus to prove shuttle bus service (this was done when tram was out of service due to Fear Factor game show.

 

Roosevelt Island-bound Q102 could go onto 59th St Bridge, turn left at 2nd Av, stop at 58th St, follow Q101 to 21st St, then regular route northbound.

Astoria-bound Q102 could turn left at 28th St, turn left at 42nd Rd, turn left at Jackson Av, turn left at Queens Blvd, onto 59th St Bridge, follow Q101 back to Queensboro Bridge, then regular route to Astoria.

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Agreed totally with the Q102 plan. But could you elaborate on your (E)(N)(R)(V)(W) plan? I just want to make sure I know what you're talking about.

 

 

Seeing that those trains fall under the island, the (MTA) can make a station out of them, like the (F), that way the (F) wouldnt be overcrowded, Q102 and Tram..I would of said (7) but it doesnt seem to go under the island but south..

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Seeing that those trains fall under the island, the (MTA) can make a station out of them, like the (F), that way the (F) wouldnt be overcrowded, Q102 and Tram..I would of said (7) but it doesnt seem to go under the island but south..

 

That would be too extreme for such a small population.

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I think what the city should do is as follow:

 

-Open up a bridge from Manhattan to RIsl

-Extend the Q102 to manhattan

 

that way the (F) wouldnt be so crowded and the Q102 can access manhattan ather then going bk to queens...

 

Maybe also open up the (N)(W)(R) via Roosvelt or (E)(V)

 

These issues were brought up a while ago, there are constraints that will make a bridge between Manhattan and the island infeasible.

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If the (F) couldn't reach roosevelt island for whatever reason, the city would have a large population of VERY pissed off people. I am pretty sure there will be a combination of (MTA) bus, RIOC red bus shuttles from manhattan, and increased availability of taxis and other transportation options. Even if the 63rd st tunnel was not having trains, these options would carry most of the load, plus i'm sure (NYCT) would have shuttle busses to both queens and manhattan to supplant the (F).

 

- A

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