0

Coney Island Mermaid Parade Service Alert

Posted by
on June 20th, 2012 at 5:45 pm

Just a short time ago, MTA NYC Transit issued a service advisory for this weekend’s annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. Here are the details:

Everyone gets to channel their inner fish at the annual, outrageous Mermaid Parade at Coney Island from 2 to 5 p.m. this Saturday, June 23. The best way to reach the ocean-themed celebration is by the D, F, Q and N trains to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue. Click the link to see how mermaids, Neptunes and other “fishy” (as with fins and tails) people rode the subway to and from previous Mermaid Day celebrations: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtaphotos/galleries/72157630181788264/

The parade begins at West 21st Street and Surf Avenue and makes its way to West 10th Street and the Boardwalk, ending at Stillwell Avenue. Bus routes that may be affected by street closures and crowds are: B36, B68, B74 and B82.

Customers are reminded that the Manhattan-bound D trains are rerouted on the N line from Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue to 36th Street due to station and line structure rehabilitation near 9th Avenue. Trains will stop at 62nd Street-New Utrecht Avenue; customers may transfer there. Also this weekend, Coney Island-bound Q trains run express from Prospect Park to Sheepshead Bay due to track panel installation south of Kings Highway.

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Alerts
0

Service Diversions 06-18-12

Posted by
on June 18th, 2012 at 10:43 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up earlier this morning. The latest work for the week is front & center.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

P.S. If you or anyone you know is interested in indie music, check out SurgeFM which plays the best in indie music from favorites like Arcade Fire, Camera Obscura, Mates Of State, Nada Surf to up & coming artists that will make noise in the near future!

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Diversions
0

Service Diversions 06-15-12

Posted by
on June 15th, 2012 at 12:46 pm

The Service Diversions have been updated.

For riders on the 4, this weekend marks the second of two weekends this month in which service is suspended between 161 St-Yankee Stadium & Woodlawn in both directions. Click here for complete information.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

Have a wonderful & safe weekend!

P.S. If you or anyone you know is interested in indie music, check out SurgeFM as we provide extensive coverage of the 2012 Northside Festival!

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Diversions
0

MTA Launches The Weekender App

Posted by
on June 11th, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Every Friday afternoon & lasting throughout the weekend, the homepage of the MTA’s website turns into an interactive map helping riders figure out how to commute around scheduled Service Diversions. The map known as “The Weekender” will now be turned into an iPhone app. Here is more via press release from the MTA:

Building on the enormous popularity of “The Weekender” feature on mta.info that helps weekend subway riders navigate around construction-related service diversions, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has launched The Weekender for Mobile in the Apple App Store. It’s the first iPhone app the MTA has developed itself, and it can also be used on for iPod Touch and iPad. An Android version is in development.

The app is free to download at this link: http://bit.ly/MSctC5 It shares the same features as the web-based desktop version, including a subway diagram that displays the service to be provided each weekend, and all service changes. Using the most popular features of the iOS platform, users can pinch or expand the map to multiple zoom levels, and tap to view service diversions by line, station, or borough.

“The Weekender has transformed the way riders navigate the subway system on weekends by making it easy for subway riders to visualize exactly how weekend work will affect their subway service,” said Paul Fleuranges, the MTA’s Senior Director of Corporate and Internal Communications. “Now, by putting the power of The Weekender on mobile devices, customers can access service change information not just at their home or office, but anywhere, anytime, any way they want.”

Key features of the Weekender App include:

• Service by Line: Click on a subway line symbol to get a line diagram showing an overview of the line’s service changes, as well as text summaries of the changes.

• Service by Borough: Click on a borough for text-based information about any service changes impacting a borough.

• Service by Station: Select a station for details on any service changes impacting that station, or click on the map to zoom to a detailed area.

Due to the large amount of data and mapping involved in the mobile version of The Weekender, MTA developers have smartly “packeted” the data, so the initial download includes the basic functions needed to get started. Then, each time the user plans a trip or taps to view a particular neighborhood map, only those images are added to the app, so the app gets smarter with every use without hogging device memory.

The Weekender for Mobile was created by MTA developers following initial design concepts from Vignelli Associates. The diagram used as the base of The Weekender both online and in the mobile app is designed to illustrate service diversions at a glance. It is inspired by the 1972 New York City subway map designed by world renowned map maker and designer Massimo Vignelli, and was recently updated by Vignelli, Beatriz Cifuentes and Yoshiki Waterhouse.

As with the web-based version, The Weekender for Mobile also provides the popular Neighborhood Maps that are posted inside subway stations. These maps show the precise locations of subway station entrances within the street grid, along with locations of popular area destinations.

Subsequent versions of The Weekender for Mobile will incorporate updates such as Trip Planner+, the MTA’s popular trip planning feature, as well as improvements gleaned from customer feedback.

While more than 100 apps have been developed by private app developers using open machine-readable data released to the public, the Weekender is the first native app developed by the MTA itself. The MTA has previously developed a number of innovative web-based digital tools that increase customers’ access to real-time service-related information: MTA Bus Time, Metro-North Train Time, LIRR Train Time, MTA Bridges and Tunnels Travel Time, and Trip Planner+.

I am very curious to see this app in action considering it is the first official app developed by the MTA itself. The much maligned transit agency has never been on the forefront of bringing the latest in technology to its system & riders. This is another example considering how long the app market has been around.

Hopefully the agency has done a good job with this app. I plan on downloading it to my iPhone to play around with it. When I do, I will write a brief review.

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Technology
0

Service Diversions 06-11-12

Posted by
on June 11th, 2012 at 6:50 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions by removing all of the work that wrapped up earlier this morning. The latest work for the week is front & center.

Lexington Avenue line riders be aware that FASTRACK will be in place again this week. Click here for more information. Please make sure to study the diversions page as all the detailed service alternatives are listed.

As always if I see anything interesting or noteworthy, I will tweet about it so follow @TransitBlogger which you can easily do by clicking the button in the sidebar.

P.S. If you or anyone you know is interested in indie music, check out SurgeFM which plays the best in indie music from favorites like Arcade Fire, Camera Obscura, Mates Of State, Nada Surf to up & coming artists that will make noise in the near future!

xoxo Transit Blogger

You might enjoy reading these related entries:
Service Diversions