Growing Pains, Fulton Rains

I passed through the recently (and aptly) re-named Fulton Street (formerly Broadway-Nassau) subway station for the first time in months on Tuesday.  Due to the construction work overhead it was actually raining on the platform in places.

While this project has taken forever, I am really looking forward to seeing and using the finished product.  This place used to be a stinking dungeon - I can't wait to see a more open layout with some natural light.

Also finally had a chance to use the Jay-Street Metrotech connection to the R an hour later.  Very nicely done, and actually more convenient than I had imagined it.

Petition to Temporarily Extend B68 Bus Route During Culver Viaduct Work-Related Station Closures

Councilman Lander has a petition up asking the MTA to temporarily extend the B68 to 9th Street and 8th Avenue to alleviate the impacts of the Culver Viaduct reconstruction.  From Lander's email:

MTA representatives (including Thomas Pendergast, President of New York City Transit) told us that they believe that “backriding” (i.e. taking the train south) to Church Avenue, and then switching to the northbound trains, will be the fastest option for F/G riders.  That may be true for some, but I strongly believe that extending service on existing bus routes would be quicker for many others who will be extremely inconvenienced by the station closures, and is the right thing for the MTA to do. 

One great suggestion I have heard from many of you is to extend the B68 bus (which runs along Prospect Park Southwest and Coney Island Avenue) past its usual terminus at Bartel Pritchard Square (at the 15th St/PPSW Station), to 9th St and 8th Ave, where riders could pick up the F train. This would make for an easier commute into Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn for many in Windsor Terrace and Kensington. MTA officials agreed to take another look at this idea. 

So I have set up a petition, and my staff and I will be out on Tuesday morning, together with the Straphangers Campaign, at the 15th Street and Ft. Hamilton stations gathering signatures. Please stop by on your way in, or sign the petition online.

The MTA did agree to a few small modifications, including:

Monitor the B61 bus and increase service if necessary

Add a stop on the B35 Limited (express) bus at Church Avenue and Ocean Parkway/E. 7th Street

Ask the NYC DOT to add bike parking at the Church Ave and 7th Ave stops

Distribute more information on existing bus routes that connect these lines

By themselves, though, these are not enough.  I know that this is an extremely frustrating situation for transit riders in Windsor Terrace and Kensington. The station closures are part of a project necessary to rehabilitate the aging F/G line. But the MTA can do better to provide some alternatives. I will continue to push, and hope you will join me.

I've signed on.  I hope you will too.

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.

Cuomo: New York Will Take Their HSR Funds, Thank You

A few newly elected GOP governors ran against high speed rail . . . and have pledged to eschew hundreds of millions of dollars in Federal HSR funding.

Governor-elect Cuomo has an idea about where those funds should go.

Who knew that electing cretins in other states might be a boon to NY's rail infrastructure?

Northeast Corridor Commission

I've been banging the drum for better regional rail planning for years.  This is the sort of talk that gets me excited:

Today, the Obama Administration is working to achieve a vision of similar scope and scale. As with the interstate highways during the 1950s, we haven’t yet drawn all the lines on the map. But we are on track to creating a modern, high-speed rail system that will support sustained economic growth.


President Obama and I welcome the ambition of Amtrak's thinking, and we hope to see it spread across the nation as Americans recognize and demand the benefits of high-speed rail.



Because this train will not be stopped. And I promise you: In less time than it took to plan and pave our vast system of inter-connected highways, you will see high-speed trains carry significant numbers of Americans within and between regions.

Amtrak's Ambitious Plan for Northeast Corridor

I don't have much to add to what Yonah Freemark has written at The Transport Politic on Amtrak's proposal for true high speed rail on the Northeast Corridor, except that if it were up to me, the Obama administration would be pushing hard for a major infrastructure stimulus package.

As I've written in the past, the stimulus the administration has sought so far was at least a trillion short of what the country needs . . . and needs directed into infrastructure projects.  This proposal shouldn't be a 30-year plan . . . it should be a ten year plan and it deserves massive federal funding.

Squadron Seeks MTA Review of F Line: What About F/V Service?

The Brooklyn Paper ran a story yesterday on Senator Squadron's request that MTA review service on the Culver Line (aka the F train in Brooklyn).

Ben over at Second Avenue Sagas lays out some alternatives for improving service along the line, including the enhanced F/V service that we have been advocating for years now.

Right now, the Culver Line isn’t close to being at capacity. It could easily support the V train running out to Church at rush hour, and as one person commenting on Gersh’s article notes, the MTA could probably even run the V along the A/C through Lower Manhattan to pick up Wall St. commuters bypassed by the F. In one felt swoop, the MTA would make travel easier while alleviating congestion on the Culver line through Brooklyn.
The second solution — an observation — is a call for those people impacted by this service to just wait. On July 5, the MTA will extend G train service south to Church Ave. While not ideal, those who cannot get on the F train due to congestion can ride the G to Hoyt-Schermerhorn and transfer to the A or C. It’s not nearly as convenient as extending the V, but it may serve the same function.

There is a lively discussion in the SAS comments, check it out.

Ground Broken for New NJ-NY Rail Tunnel

Apparently, this is the biggest transit infrastructure project in the country. And long overdue.

Free Brooklyn to Governors Island Ferry

Eh, guv'nah?

Senator Squadron's office writes that after giving Brooklyn the cold shoulder last summer, GIPEC will finally provide free ferry service from Brooklyn to Governor's Island . . . starting this Saturday! Full release below:

I am writing to share some exciting news- this summer there will finally be free ferry service between Brooklyn and Governor's Island!

This ferry is something that Senator Squadron has long requested to better connect the Brooklyn Waterfront with the rest of New York Harbor, and we hope that you will be able to celebrate with him at the ferry's innaugural launch this Saturday, June 6 at 11:00 am, at Fulton Ferry Landing.

The ferry will leave Fulton Ferry Landing every hour, every Saturday when there is programming scheduled for Governor's Island. [UPDATE - The ferry will not continue to Battery Park as originally stated]. Please visit www.govisland.com for a full schedule...

...and please join Senator Squadron and other community members to celebrate the first launch this Saturday at 11:00!

Hope to see you then.

Great news. Thank you, Senator and staff.

At Last: Broadway Lafayette B/D/F/V Connection to Uptown 6 Under Construction

Second Avenue Sagas blogged about this nearly two years ago and I linked to the story back then (as well as lifting this rendering just now). This would be a major improvement for Brooklynites bound for the East Side.

This may not be on MTA Capital Construction's Major Projects list, but projects like this have a tremendous improvement on quality of life . . . a few minutes a day for hundreds or thousands of people adds up to a lot more happiness in the world.

The thrust of the Daily News article today is on the temporary inconvenience to area merchants, but that shouldn't overshadow the ongoing benefit the riders will see from this connection.

Obama To Detail High Speed Rail plans This Week

Via Atrios, ABC News reports:

This week, Obama will unveil his vision for high-speed rail in the United States after unexpectedly adding $8 billion to the economic stimulus package for high-speed train travel -- the biggest commitment of its kind ever made by the federal government.

America is miles behind. In Japan, the bullet train can wisk passengers from one city to the next at nearly 200 miles an hour. It's the same on France's TGV train, where passengers can get from Paris to Lyon in a little less than two hours. A dozen countries around the world enjoy high-speed rail, but America is not one of them.

I'm excited about the prospects. Anyone who's used high speed rail in Europe or Asia can attest, it would be a tremendous boon to short and medium haul intercity travel. Clearly you're not going to hop a supertrain for a regular bicoastal commute, but by stringing together regional high-speed networks we could significantly reduce air and auto traffic and improve air quality . . . while making these trips more pleasant.

New F Train Cars; MTA Testing 11 Car Trains

Second Avenue Sagas posts on the new subway cars on the F line:

Last week, New York City Transit rolled out some new rolling stock along the F line. Riders from Jamaica to Coney Island-Stillwell Ave. will now enjoy the clean, sterile comfort of the new R160s and the crisp announcements that come along with it.

I've ridden a couple of these new trains, and they are a vast improvement over the old ones.

Meanwhile, the Daily News reports that the MTA has tested an 11 car train configuration on the F line.

"We obviously neither have the capital nor operating funding to implement anything like this in the foreseeable future," NYC Transit President Howard Roberts said.
"We are just looking at feasibility for planning purposes," Roberts added.

My initial sense is that upgrading the signaling would be a better solution than undergoing construction to extend platforms at multiple stations as would be necessary to run an 11-car configuration. But I'm open to the possibilities if the numbers work out.

Bus Rapid Transit and NYC

Tonight I attended the meeting of Auto-Free New York, which as you might imagine is a transit advocacy group. The focus of the meeting was a presentation on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) by Joan Byron of the Pratt Institute.

Byron started off with an in-depth introduction to the subject matter that focused on inequity in transit accessibility and commuting times across the city. The summary is that for a high percentage of poor and/or minority residents, commuting times often exceed an hour, whereas accessibility to white collar jobs and the homes of (largely) white people is far better.

The solution put forth by Pratt together with COMMUTE, is BRT. Byron pointed to BRT programs in Curitiba, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia as examples of BRT success, along with the "Select Bus Service" operated along the B12 line in the Bronx. The B12, however, is not a BRT system; rather it incorporates a few aspects of BRT service that are more suited to a New York environment. First, the B12 lets riders purchase tickets in advance and board from both doors on an "honor system" that is enforced with spot checks and summonses for farebeaters. Second, parts of the bus route are painted and enforced as bus only lanes. Third, technology on board the bus can make sure that the bus always gets a green light at intersections. prioritizing transit over individual vehicles.

Here's the rub: as Cap'n Transit has laid out in excruciating detail, THIS IS NOT BRT. It's also no replacement for rail transit, which while expensive, is the efficient core of a successful transit system.

I encourage Pratt and COMMUTE to focus their advocacy on driving the following improvements to the entire MTA Bus system: (1) off-board payment and dual door boarding, (2) signal prioritization for buses, and (3) bus lane enforcement cameras mounted on MTA buses. These are fairly cheap, readily implementable improvements to the existing bus system that would dramatically improve bus service, and bus utilization, throughout the city.

I would hate to lose sight of the goal of improving transit outcomes for poorly served areas by focusing on a concept (BRT) over results. We can make incredible service improvements to our bus system - and we don't need "BRT" to do so. Our bus system is an essential complement to our rail network that can and must be improved, dramatically. But to maintain a sustainable transit system that can serve the needs of a growing city, we will have to continue to expand our rail network.

Lastly, it is worth noting that one of the primary success stories held up as a BRT exemplar, Curitiba, is replacing it's BRT system with . . . subways!

I've got a lot more to say on this syubject, but I wanted to put something up while the meeting was still fresh in my mind. Good night!

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.

RPA On The Cascading Benefits Of Improving the Northeast Corridor

Improvements to Amtrak's inter-city rail system will also help every single commuter rail system in the region. Seven different commuter rail lines share the tracks and corridor that Amtrak uses. Last year, Amtrak carried 13 million people on the Northeast corridor between Boston and Washington DC. That's a lot of people. But the commuter rail systems carried more than 200 million passengers. That's even more people. In fact, it's 75 percent of all the commuter rail ridership in the nation.

Second, making the Northeast corridor lines faster and more reliable would induce more people to choose rail over air for travel within the megaregion. This in turn would free up valuable space in our overcrowded Northeast airports, making landing slots available for more economically valuable, longer-haul flights. Passenger rail already accounts for nearly two-thirds of the combined air/rail market between New York and Washington and half of the market between New York and Boston. Bringing both of these shares to close to 100 percent, as is the case between many European city-pairs at this distance, would make a lot of sense.

Right now, 20 percent of all the flights out of the New York metro airports are less than 350 miles, the majority of which are to two destinations, Boston and DC. More than 150 daily flights from the New York metro area are destined for Boston and Washington. Faster, more frequent and more reliable Amtrak service would make rail competitive with these short-haul flights, particularly for time-conscious business travelers.

Third and finally, track improvements will not only increase speed, they will also add capacity. They will enable millions of additional people to travel along and within this corridor, which in turn, will enable the Northeast to absorb more gracefully the additional 16 million people expected here by mid-century. Improving the central train corridor of the Northeast is not only an economic development tool, not only a quality of life tool, it's a central part of a long-term growth plan for the region. And part of that growth plan should be a lower carbon footprint for the region, something better rail travel is an integral part of.

Worth reading.

Schumer and Nadler Tip o' The Spear For Transit

From Bloomberg:

The Democrat’s amendment to the bill would increase funding to $14.9 billion from $8.4 billion, including $2 billion for capital transportation needs, $2 billion for railways and $2.5 billion for new transit projects.

The extra funding may mean hundreds of millions dollars more for New York City transportation, Schumer said. The region typically gets about a fifth or more of federal transportation spending, he said.

“We want to make sure that this stimulus plan helps mass transit as well as highways,” Schumer said in a press conference outside Grand Central Terminal today. “We all know how important it is to help mass transit; it’s the lifeblood of our metropolitan area.”

I'd like to see more efforts like this from the rest of our delegation.

Bear in mind, these funds are strictly for capital improvements . . . this will do nothing to plug the gap in the operating budget. For that we need our City and State elected officials to act.

Mayor Bloomberg and City Council members: Act now to transfer the city-owned bridges to the MTA so that all river crossings can be tolled at parity. This would (1) raise vital reliable funds for transit, (2) reduce traffic congestion and (3) eliminate perverse incentives for motorists to avoid, e.g. the Battery Tunnel and create traffic bottlenecks at free crossings such as the Brooklyn Bridge.

Governor Paterson, State Senators and Assembly Members: Bring back the commuter tax and dedicate these funds expressly for transit and retirement of transit-related debts, when possible. Enact legislation to allow NYC to institute a residential parking permit program, again with permit fees dedicated to transit.

The MTA has plenty of faults, but the root cause of the current crisis was the failure of the State and City to adequately fund capital needs. Instead, MTA investments were paid for with debt, and that debt burden is now crushing the MTA. Thank you, George Pataki, Rudy Giuliani, and yes, Mike Bloomberg.

We are at a crisis point; we need our politicians to step up and show some real leadership on this issue. Otherwise, as one less than venerable statesman put it in another context, this sucker's going down.

Action Item: Call Your Rep for More Transit Stimulus

From my mailbox, an urgent request - and a good one - kudos to Nadler for introducing this amendment:

Tomorrow, the House of Representatives will vote on an essential economic stimulus bill, desperately needed to help turn the economy around from the Bush recession. The $825 billion dollar legislation includes many strong provisions for health care, clean energy, education, middle class tax cuts and unemployment insurance. However, one key piece of our infrastructure, mass transit and high-speed rail, has been shortchanged in the stimulus. Only $10 billion has been allotted to improve the backward, crumbling mass transit and rail systems upon which tens of millions of Americans rely.

Fortunately, we have a chance to increase rail funding in the stimulus package. Approved for a floor vote just today, Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (NY-08) amendment would fund the New Starts program, with $1.5 billion each for the Transit Capital Assistance and the Capital Assistance Grants programs.

Please call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-225-3121. Ask for your representative, and ask them to vote yes on the Nadler amendment, which is amendment 70 for H.R. 1.

The House will begin consideration of H.R. 1 tomorrow morning, Wednesday, January 28th at 10am ET. If you're unable to contact your representative's DC office before the close of business today, or in the morning tomorrow before the voting, you can also leave a message on your representative's office voice mail after hours.

Thank you so much for your fast response!

In solidarity,

Chris Bowers, BlogPac

Ravitch Commission Plan Released

Second Avenue Sagas is hosting the document in an easily readable format.

This plan is balanced and very necessary to ensure the continued viability of the MTA. The City and State underfunded transit and relied on debt for far too long, which led to the current crisis situation.

We will also need a significant amount of federal infrastructure spending to build out the capital plan. But the Ravitch Commission Plan is a fair and workable plan to put the MTA on solid footing. It must be passed.

Already, you can hear the voices of false populism decrying the impact on the lower and middle classes. To them I say, what about the far greater number of New Yorkers who can't even afford to own cars? Mia and I happen to own a car. We have family in Massachusetts and New Jersey, and sometimes Mia uses the car for work. We both use the subways virtually every day. Every time I ride an F train into Manhattan, I pay for it. It's not too much to ask people who want to drive their own personal transportation device pay for the privilege.

An impressive roster of transit supporters and other organizations has already assembled to support the plan. Lots of great quotes in the press release from the Empire State Transportation Alliance . . . which I can't seem to find online, damn it. I'll use Ben's fancy tool:

2008-12-03 ESTA Press Release - Free Legal Forms

Employment Situation Worsening

The chart (courtesy of Calculated Risk) of continuing claims says it all. The administration is still trying to massage these numbers, attempting to carve out those who are on extended continuing benefits . . . but even so, we're now over 4 million.

I expect jobless figures to significantly worsen.

We absolutely need a major infrastructure spending package from the federal government. It might not happen until President Obama is sworn in, but it must happen, and it will.

I expect to see significant transit infrastructure spending included. We need it, it will create jobs, and set the conditions for future economic growth. IN a related matter, I'm working on a statement on the rumored MTA cutbacks. Short version: the worst possible move they could make at this point would be to cut service.

On the Prospect of Federal Infrastructure Funding

The Observer has a good piece today on state and local officials seeking out federal infrastructure funds.

City and state officials are positioning themselves to garner funding from any new federal stimulus package for various transportation and infrastructure projects. Most of the projects are smaller-scale and nearly ready to start development.

Longtime readers know that I am a believer in federal funding for transit, sewer, energy and communications infrastructure, especially in tough times. As we stand at the edge of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we need sensible infrastructure spending to provide jobs and set the conditions for our next generation of growth.

One of the lasting lessons I took away from "The Power Broker", Robert Caro's fantastic biography of Bob Moses, was that those who were ready with plans for their dream projects were the first in line for funding when stimulus was available. Bob Moses secured a fortune for New York public works from the WPA and related agencies, and we are still enjoying the fruits of those investments today. It happens that Moses's vision for what to do with that money was disastrously flawed, but there can be no question that he was effective in getting things built.

New York needs leadership that will seize the opportunity in this crisis to make our city better and more sustainable, to preserve New York's preeminent stature as a world class city. But now is not the time for small thinking. It is a time for bold initiative. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity here to dramatically improve our city. Let's aim high.

Our city and state leadership must avoid the trap of thinking small and focusing only on quick fixes. We could: Extend the Second Avenue Subway. Connect La Guardia to the rail transit system. Connect Penn Station to Grand Central. Build the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel. Bury the Gowanus Expressway, with dedicated transit facilities. Fix our outdated combined sewer systems. Turn Third Avenue into a green oasis. Build the Vision 42 light rail connector in mid-town. Create true high-speed intercity rail. Regionalize our subway system and commuter lines.

You can get a flavor for what I would do with the money here, here and here.