New York City - Transit News

[mrnyc]

yikes poor guy just trying to do his job — and i dk about infested, but yeah there are a lot of vagrants in the food court bathroom:

https://nypost.com/2018/07/21/homele...ral-custodian/

[mrnyc]

officials ride along for L train shutdown trial bus run through:

https://www.amny.com/transit/l-train...ses-1.20320929

[chris08876]

Status of Kosciuszko Bridge. 1st span was completed a while back.


r_180805329_beat0067_a by Mitch Waxman, on Flickr

[chris08876]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I think this is a better shot. Daytime.


r_180805071_beat0067_a by Mitch Waxman, on Flickr

[mrnyc]

15 weekend shutdowns thru next april as prep for L train shutdown — starting this weekend:

https://mobile.twitter.com/A_W_Gordo...he-l-pocalypse

[chris08876]

City releases plans for shorter, costlier BQX

The de Blasio administration today released plans for its Brooklyn-Queens Connector, a streetcar officials envision running along the waterfront between the two boroughs. It has been delayed by complex infrastructure challenges.

The original streetcar was expected to cost $2.5 billion and run roughly 16 miles between Astoria, Queens, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn. But the updated plan calls for a shorter route to Gowanus instead and will cost $2.7 billion. That translates to an increase in per-mile cost to roughly $248 million from $156 million.

Mayor Bill de Blasio first announced plans for the streetcar in February 2016. But as officials looked further into potential routes, they found that the rat's nest of underground infrastructure presented enormous potential for increasing costs and would need to be thoroughly studied. As Crain's reported late last year, the problem presented officials with a catch-22: By studying the infrastructure more carefully, the city insulated itself from risk in the event it had to scrap the project, but doing so caused delays and drove up costs.

The original project was supposed to be completed in 2024 and be paid for through property tax revenue as the land around the route increased in value. The updated version of the project is now expected to be operational in 2029 and would require $1 billion from the federal government, according to a report in The New York Times, which noted that the city tax revenues originally thought to be available for the BQX are being spent on other priorities, including affordable housing.

[...]

At a press availability Thursday, de Blasio defended the project, insisting it was a "big deal" even if it reduced commute times by as little as 10 to 15 minutes. He argued that it would become a top priority for dollars from Washington—so long as Democrats win back control of the federal government.

"We're about to have two elections, 2018 and 2020, that could entirely remake the Congress and the White House, and then we would be having a very different conversation about infrastructure," the mayor said. "In any competition for light-rail funding, this proposal would go to the front of the line instantaneously. ... Looking around the country, it would cover the most people in the smallest amount of area."

The mayor acknowledged that, after 2020, he would have just a year left in office and his successor might not pursue the BQX. But he asserted that would be on par with eliminating his signature universal pre-kindergarten program and a number of other initiatives.

He said that the city was now ready to begin conducting the environmental review necessary to gain federal grants.

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Crain's NY

[SpawnOfVulcan]

The Alabama Department of Transportation took away a lot of knowledge of building a cable stayed bridge in an urban environment. So I'd like to say thank you to our wonderful New Yorkers. ALDOT needs as much help as it can get down in the Mobile Delta.

[mrnyc]

good news on a sad memorial day — the cortlandt street subway station, destroyed in the wtc attacks, has finally reopened — following a long drawn out $158M rehab:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/08/n...ation-911.html

[chris08876]

The UN general assembly has been causing epic traffic in Manhattan, I mean epic traffic. Chris likes to drive in the city, but Chris also should walk, so Chris doesn't suffer. IDK, self inflicted I guess.

But hey... its the trade off visiting clients. Still sucks, even if you get paid to sit in traffic.

Although a couple of days ago, I was on the LI Expressway, and once again, they need to do road construction at night. Its absurd that they wipe out two lanes of traffic. Its also absurd that they sweep the highway during rush hour.

I love NY, but driving is a nightmare. And half the time, imbecile left lane bandits ruin the experience. I'm sorry NY, but you have some crappy drivers. Borderline special drivers that are worse than a .20 BAC drunk person.

[Busy Bee]

Please no third person... it reminds me of you know who...

[Busy Bee]

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[mrnyc]

i was working at bronx sites over the week and heard horror traffic stories from bx/upstate coworkers who drive, especially when the cheeto was back in town. crossing over the xbx i could see it backed up in both directions every day. ugh, no i dont miss driving.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

i was working at bronx sites over the week and heard horror traffic stories from bx/upstate coworkers who drive, especially when the cheeto was back in town. crossing over the xbx i could see it backed up in both directions every day. ugh, no i dont miss driving.

The stories are very real. Lately its been really bad. I mean to the point that you'd think there was a horrific accident, but its just really congested. Doing 5-10 mph would be a gift in such traffic, but at times, its literally stationary. Its been getting progressively worse overtime compared to 3-4 years ago.

Its a combination of everything. Rampant road work, poor merging skills, freight trucks clogging up the major roads, shotty on-ramp design that is not compatible with today's volume.

The city might need to consider overhauling some of these routes. Its going to be incredibly difficult to do so though (BQE for example). Road can't handle the volume. Likewise with the Belt Parkway.

[k1052]

I peeked in on some of the conversations around the BQE rebuild. LOL.

It's going to take a decade and cost (art least) 300% what it should.

[chris08876]

You guys ready for the L shutdown April 2019?

That's gonna be a shit show. Its extremely busy as it is, and now a lot of that traffic is going to clog the other lines.

[chris08876]

Originally Posted by k1052

I peeked in on some of the conversations around the BQE rebuild. LOL.

It's going to take a decade and cost (art least) 300% what it should.

Yeah I can't even imagine the delays thats going to cause. Rush Hour will be epic.

But they are going to have to rebuild it due to wear. It'll reach the point of no return if nothing is done. Segments would make sense.

Rail/road is really the blood of NYC in much need of a transfusion.

[jmecklenborg]

The L induces demand. Things will be rough for 2-3 days, then will settle back into normalcy.

[chris08876]

Delays Persist After NJ TRANSIT Train Derails Near New York Penn Station

NJ TRANSIT service was suspended into and out of New York Penn Station for almost two hours Thursday evening following a ‘slow speed derailment’ near the transit hub.

Train service in and out of Penn Station New York is suspended due to a NJ Transit minor slow speed train derailment near Penn station. Midtown Direct Line trains will be diverted to Hoboken Terminal. PATH will cross honor rail tickets and passes at 33rd St., NPS and HOB.

The agency says Montclair-Boonton Line train 6279 experienced a minor, slow-speed derailment shortly after departing Penn Station at 6:10 p.m. The train had not yet entered the Hudson River Tunnel when one set of wheels on one car derailed, according to NJ TRANSIT.

No injuries were reported to the roughly 900 to 1,000 people who were on board the train, including customers and crew, at the time. Passengers tell CBS2 they were stuck on the train for hours with nobody telling them what was going on.

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https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2018/10...ice-suspended/

[mrnyc]

jfk expansion plans:

https://www.amny.com/transit/jfk-air...ion-1.21469621

[chris08876]

How Did New York's Trains Get so Bad? | NYT

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