1

5 Train Midday Service Officially Extended To Brooklyn

Posted by
on July 10th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

As longtime subway riders know, The 5 Train train would terminate at Bowling Green during the midday service hours as compared to its Flatbush Ave terminal during rush hour. However last fall, MTA NYC Transit launched a pilot program which extended midday 5 Train train service to its rush hour terminal. Due to the success of the pilot program, the agency has announced it will officially extend midday service to Brooklyn. Here are the complete details in a press release sent to me a couple of days ago:

As a result of positive results from a pilot run last fall, MTA NYC Transit announced an extension of weekday midday 5 service to Brooklyn. The “Midday Pilot” provided more consistent service not only along the 5 route but on the 23 and 4 as well.

Prior to June 29, rush hour 5 service operated to and from Brooklyn, but midday 5 service, between approximately 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., operated between Eastchester-Dyre Avenue and Bowling Green in Manhattan. This left only the 2 trains serving Brooklyn College –Flatbush Avenue during those hours. Also, midday 5 trains terminating at Bowling Green created a bottleneck that impeded the smooth operation of 4 trains to and from Crown Heights-Utica Avenue in Brooklyn.

Now riders will have a more consistent service pattern all day to Brooklyn College-Flatbush Avenue on the 25 lines and experience less crowding and more reliable service on 45 lines traveling to Brooklyn during the midday.

This is good news for a lot of customers. I & many others for years felt the 5 Train was useless during the midday due to its Bowling Green terminal. The station is not suitable for a terminal, the service pattern did not help the majority of customers, & it caused too many bottlenecks on the 4 Train. Now all of those problems are solved with this long overdue solution.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Some Hunters Point Residents Need A Hobby

Posted by
on July 5th, 2009 at 11:53 pm

Last month, I blogged about residents of one Queens neighborhood who were frustrated by the noise created by the MTA. I opined that the residents need to just deal with the noise due to it being a product of necessary work. If they want the noise gone, they should be prepared to not have an important construction issue addressed.

Now we fast forward to this month where yet another story has come out about the MTA frustrating residents of one Queens neighborhood. This time the frustrating is coming from residents of Hunters Point who are tired of the noises coming from idle diesel trains in the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) rail yard. Brendan Brosh of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

Residents who live near a Hunters Point rail yard are steamed about noisy, pollution-spewing diesel trains idling for more than seven hours a day.

The Daily News observed several Long Island Rail Road diesel engines idling for hours Wednesday at the yard near Vernon Blvd. and Borden Ave.

One engine was on for 9 hours and 25 minutes, arriving at the yard about 8 a.m. and departing at 5:31 p.m.

“It’s ridiculous that these engines are running all day,” said Community Board 2 Chairman Joe Conley, who has been leading the fight against idling trains.

“It went unnoticed for years because no one was living there,” Conley said of the once-industrial area that is now home to new residential towers.

Neighbors said the only peaceful time near the railyard is on the weekends, when the engines aren’t being operated.

“I can hear them humming four blocks away,” said Mark Christie, a Manhattan office manager who lives nearby. “Sometimes you can hear it as early as 4 a.m.

“It’s a deep hum, a vibration. It’s like a baritone.”

Two other trains observed by The News idled for about 7-1/2 hours. Six engines idled between 1 hour and 24 minutes and 1 hour and 46 minutes.

LIRR officials said the solution isn’t as simple as turning the diesel engines off.

“It takes up to an hour for a full shutdown of a diesel engine,” agency spokesman Salvatore Arena said.

Click here for the complete report.

These residents are a prime example of people who need to find a hobby. They have absolutely no leg to stand on in their complaint. The rail yard has been successfully operating for decades & residents who moved near it should have known what might come from doing so. If it was really a concern, they would have chosen another place to live. I am sick of people feeling they are entitled to live a certain way even though a clear precedent was in place.

While the circumstances are not the same, this does remind me of someone I used to know. She was obsessed with moving from Long Island to Williamsburg. As you would expect, she wanted to be part of the “scene” there. So she found a roommate & rented an apartment on the south side of Williamsburg closer to the J Train, M Train, & Z Train. So it was a bit of a hike to the north side of the neighborhood by the Bedford Ave stop on the L Train which is considered the prime spot.

She used to complain about a number of things involving the apartment, mainly the walk. I used to tell her to shut up & deal with. Who told you not to research these details in advance? In the end people like her & the residents complaining remind me of the idiots who move near an airport & complain about the noise from flights overhead. Seriously these obnoxious pricks need to get over themselves.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Service Diversions 07-03

Posted by
on July 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 am

I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for the weekend & upcoming week (and beyond in some cases). Don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful 4th of July (Independence Day)!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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0

Reminder: G Train Extension To Church Ave Begins July 5th

Posted by
on July 3rd, 2009 at 9:58 am

This past May, MTA New York City Transit officially announced the extension of the G Train train to Church Ave. This extension is due to the multi-year rehabilitation of the Culver Viaduct. As a reminder to all, the extension is set to begin on July 5th. As a reminder, the MTA sent out a press release reminder yesterday & here are the details:

Beginning Sunday, July 5 and lasting approximately four years, G Line subway service in Brooklyn will be extended to Church Avenue, providing service to the Windsor Terrace and Kensington neighborhoods. The extension is due to the extensive reconstruction of the Culver Viaduct and, while designed to accommodate this major structure rehabilitation, the extension will provide additional service south of Smith-9th Streets, save travel time for many customers and provide additional transfer options.

This change is necessary because rehabilitation of the steel and concrete structure, opened in 1933 as part of the IND system, requires the removal of two tracks from service for the duration of the project, eliminating the area at 4th Ave-9th Street used by G trains to reverse direction. The $257.5 million engineering and construction project will see the complete renovation of the structure and replacement of the signaling system and tracks.

As part of the reconstruction project, G trains will operate on the local tracks south of Smith-9th Streets to Church Avenue in Brooklyn at all times, providing service to five new stations: 4th Ave-9th Street, 7th Ave, 15th Street-Prospect Park, Fort Hamilton Parkway and Church Ave. At Church Ave, G trains will reverse direction south of the station – where there are four tracks, providing a better operating environment which will help improve reliability for both the F and G lines. Because of the shorter length of G trains, customers should stand near the center of the platform.

“Riders utilizing the line north of Church Avenue will benefit from more frequent service and increased travel and transfer options,” pointed out MTA New York City Transit President Howard H. Roberts, Jr.

Customers will benefit from the extension of the G with the availability of new, direct connections with the M R lines at 4th Ave-9th Street eliminating the additional transfer to the F. Additionally, Manhattan-bound riders making the connection to A and C trains at Jay Street-Borough Hall will now be able to utilize the G to make the connection at Hoyt-Schermerhorn which will make for speedier trips. As a result of the extension, it is estimated that on the typical weekday, 8,700 riders will save an average of three minutes.

I will repeat what I said in May in lieu of the upcoming extension:

I am real curious to see how much of a positive effect this extension will have on both lines. Many transit buffs have wanted to see the G or V serve Church Ave to provide the best possible service to customers. I am sure they are happy at this news which has pretty much been a foregone conclusion to some for the last couple of years.

***Note***: If you want to hear more about why the G is extended, the MTA invites you to check out their “TransitTrax” podcast. Click here to access it.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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4

Bx12 Local Bus Service To Orchard Beach Modified

Posted by
on July 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 am

Yesterday afternoon, MTA New York City Transit announced the modification of Bx12 local bus service to serve Orchard Beach. Here are the complete details courtesy of an e-mailed press release:

MTA New York City Transit officials announce that Bx12 Local bus service will be modified for Orchard Beach service for this summer through September 7, 2009. In order to avoid the confusion of last summer’s plan that had alternating Bx12 Select Bus Service (SBS) serving Orchard Beach and Bay Plaza/Co-Op City, all eastbound Bx12 SBS will now terminate at Bay Plaza/Co-Op City. Orchard Beach will be served by Bx12 Local buses as well as by shuttle buses that operate between Orchard Beach and the Pelham Bay Park 6 station. During weekends, customers originating in Manhattan may take the Bx12 SBS and transfer to the Bx12 Local at Pelham Bay Park 6 station to Orchard Beach.

In addition, on weekends between June 28 and September 5, the Bx12 Local bus to Orchard Beach will be extended at the other end of the route to Inwood at 207th Street in Manhattan. Eastbound service departing 207th Street and Broadway in Inwood to Orchard Beach will be available on weekends from 9:03 a.m. to approximately 8 p.m.

By operating all Bx12 SBS routes to Bay Plaza/Co-Op City, Transit expects to make the service consistent year-round and reduce travel times for all customers. Having only the Bx12 Local bus serve Orchard Beach will reduce on-street confusion and make customer boardings more efficient.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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