More on the F/G Service Disruptions

*UPDATED BELOW*
The Brooklyn Downtown Star called me about the upcoming service disruptions on the Culver Line (F&G trains) that will leave many riders at Ft. Hamilton Parkway and 15th Street stations in the lurch.

Transit advocates and local Councilman Brad Lander have called for NYC Transit to provide shuttle service along the affected route during the duration of the outages.  The unfortunate reality is that that is unlikely to happen.  Ideally, the MTA could take this opportunity to test out something new, such as running bus service through the Battery Tunnel to supplement the affected service area.  But the chances for robust mitigation were essentially doomed when the State Senate smothered Congestion Pricing (and/or East River Bridge Tolls).

I applaud our City Council Member Brad Lander for standing up for the residents of the 39th District and the visitors who depend on the F/G lines for their mobility.  But until our dysfunctional state legislature provides sustainable means of funding for NYC Transit, the burden will fall on the riding public in the form of increasing fares and diminishing services.

One thing you can do to let Albany know how important reliable mass transit is to NYC is join the Rider Rebellion sponsored by Transportation Alternatives.

UPDATE:  I received this comment from Councilman Lander, which clarifies the service mitigation he is requesting:

One small thing: what we are actually pushing for on the F/G is not shuttle service, but simply a short/temporary extension of the B68 (which runs up Coney Island Avenue and Prospect Park SW, through sections of Windsor Terrace & Kensington served by the 2 stations there facing closures) from its current terminus at Bartel Pritchard Square/15th Street Station, to the 7th Avenue F/G Station.

We'll have an online petition up tomorrow, and Straphangers & I will be out at the stations tomorrow petitioning live.

This is a sensible and cost-effective fix that would be a win for everyone involved.  Transit users would gain from the improved service mitigation, and the MTA could benefit from some much needed good press.

F/G Service Disruptions Starting . . . Now

I'll have more on this later, but for now two things.

1.  Shuttle buses replace subway service on the F/G lines between Jay Street and Church Avenue this weekend.

2.  Four months of pain for riders at the Fort Hamilton Parkway and 15th Street F stations begin early Saturday (midnight Friday night).  Even greater hardships await users of the Smith-9th Street station over the next two years.

Both 1 and 2 above are due to necessary work on the Culver Viaduct Rehabilitation.  For more on the these disruptions, and indeed for all your weekend service advisory needs, head to Second Avenue Sagas for the scoop.

Image credit - MTA via Second Avenue Sagas.

Culver Viaduct Contract Awarded: Service Disruptions Ahead

A frequent question I get is whether the Culver Viaduct rehab will be cancelled or delayed due to the finance crisis. The answer is no; the Viaduct work is a critical project that must be done, and is still on schedule.

The latest from the Daily News:

The MTA board Wednesday is expected to award a $179 million contract to rebuild the Culver Viaduct, a crumbling concrete and steel structure above local streets and the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens.
The F line is the third busiest in the system with more than 575,000 daily riders. The viaduct has two stations: Smith-9th Sts. and 4th Ave.-9th St. . . . .Depending on the phase, some riders will have to take shuttle buses or double-back and take a train south to another station and catch a northbound ride.
The first impact, Cafiero said, would be a benefit. Starting in the fall, the G train's route will be extended deeper into Brooklyn to Church Ave.
In a much needed glimmer of good news for the MTA, the contract to be approved by board Wednesday is $62.5 million less than originally estimated.

It is nice to see some good news in the mire. The other good news is that, once this project is completed in 2012 or 2013, the only thing necessary to restore express and local service on the Culver Line is political willpower.

The stations affected by closures will be Smith - Ninth and 4th Avenue.

Ain't Nuthin' But A G Thang

KensingtonBrooklyn has another post up on the temporary extension of the G train to Church Ave.

As a commenter there notes:

The local tracks at Smith-9th and 4th Ave will be covered with temporary wood platforms. At Carroll Street the local tracks will physically shift over to the express tracks, temporarily, then shift back after 4th Avenue. This means that the express tracks can't be used to turn back the 'G'. The 'G' must go to Church Avenue, where it will use the the ramps and switchovers south of Church to turn back, or turn back at 18th Avenue using the center track.

In other words the MTA is misleading us. The 'G' will be extended to Church, but only during the construction project for operational reasons. It will return via the local tracks as the xpress tracks will be out of service.

And commenter Scott adds:

Also, part of the project includes the replacement and upgrade of the switches at 4th avenue to allow trains to switch between both local and express tracks (and to upgrade to CBTC switches) allowing greater operational flexibility. This suggests that MTA is exploring additional express service and re-routings, otherwise, there would be no need to add additional switches and cross-overs.

What I'd like to see is a little more transparency from the MTA, and a firm commitment to restore the F express service. If work needs to be done at Bergen Street before express service can resume, it should be performed while the Culver Viaduct rehab is under way. We cannot afford to wait for additional repairs after the viaduct work is completed.

Joint Press Conference: DeBlasio, Felder, Recchia . . . Reilly?

Today's press conference was a great success. In addition to the Councilmen, Gene Russianoff was there representing the Straphangers Campaign and Paul White was there on behalf of Transportation Alternatives. NY1, News 12, and WNYC were all there, plus the Brooklyn Daily Eagle and NY Metro, both of whom covered this story right out the gate.

Jen at KensingtonBrooklyn has some good shots up on her blog (and great picture resolution, I am jealous) so go check out her site . . .

It was an honor to be in such great company today. Community activism can be a wonderful thing.

F/V Petition Delivered: End of Act I

Success! This morning I presented to the MTA Board several copies of the petition including the first 2,449 signatures. The 5th floor meeting room was packed, with all chairs taken and a few people standing.

The best moment of the meeting occurred about halfway through. Board Member Andrew B. Albert, whom I've never met, took a moment to express support the F&V petition.

Paraphrase:
Albert: I'd like to second what Mr. Reilly said about restoring the F express train in Brooklyn.
Kalikow: Was this something that was always intended when the express was shut for repairs originally?
Albert: Yes it was, but after the horrible fire we had at the Bergen Street station, it was put on the shelf.
Eliot Sander: We're looking into it.

News 12 conducted an interview with me after the meeting, which I assume will air tonight or sometime this week. Thank you News 12, for the interest.

After the meeting, I had chance to speak briefly with Board Member Norman Seabrook. The bottom line: our pleas are not falling on deaf ears.

Today was a good day. We still have Acts II and III ahead of us. How it ends is all that matters.

2,197 Signers Demand Enhanced F&V Service to Brooklyn

Well I'll be damned. Almost 2,200 signatures on the petition as of 10:25 Friday morning. And new write-ups in the Brooklyn Paper and the Daily News, though the news got the facts a bit mixed up. Nevertheless, it's good that Jen at Kensington Brooklyn gets some credit, as she has been pushing this issue hard.

A nice new round-up over at SecondAvenueSagas on the coverage. Ben rightly notes that the Brooklyn Paper's Ariella Cohen did a great job of covering the issue. And who's that handsome devil in the picture?

Spread the word and tell your friends, neighbors, and bitter enemies, because I'll be printing out the petitions and handing them out at the MTA Board meeting next Wednesday, June 27th. The Culver Viaduct rehabilitation is on the agenda, which provides an opportunity to address the issue. With a two minute speaking limit, your signatures will matter more than my words.

UPDATE:
Streetsblog has picked up the petition as well.

F&V Update

Word from DeBlasio's office is:

MTA is looking into other ways to do F express so it does not have to wait until the construction is done [on the Culver Viaduct].

We're making progress here people. Keep spreading the word!

Petition is here.

F'ed until 2012?!

Uh oh.

This is in response to your recent e-mail to MTA New York City Transit offering
transit-related suggestions regarding F and V service.We appreciate your
interest in improving mass transit, and thank you for your suggestion. We
have forwarded your e-mail to supervision in the appropriate operating
department for review. However, please note that express service on the F or V
line and extending V line service into Brooklyn will not be possible until
completion of the Culver Viaduct Rehabilitation project in 2012. MTA New
York City Transit intends to examine F express service and V line options for
possible implementation after the completion of the viaduct rehabilitation.If
you have any further transit-related questions, concerns or suggestions, please
contact Customer Services at (718) 330-3322, Monday through Friday, from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or write to Customer Services at 2 Broadway, Room A11.146,
New York, NY 10004.We take the concerns of our customers very seriously
and thank you for your interest in our transportation system

The F line has a Wikipedia entry that is informative. Apparently not only the rehabilitation project but also damage from a signal fire at Bergen Street are our obstacles to restoring express service.

KensingtonBrooklyn has posted extensively on the F line's shortcomings. I enjoyed the comment thread attached to this post.