Projected F Train Subway Service Changes: May through July 2nd

The below service changes to the F Train affecting Roosevelt Island and each of the stations serviced by the 63rd Street Tunnel are provided by Ms. Parker of the MTA but are subject to change and not all have been posted yet on the MTA website. A calendar graph of these dates is slated to appear in this week's Main Street WIRE.

Subsequent to the email received below, Ms. Parker, clarified that "weeknights" for purposes of these changes refers to Tuesdays through Fridays. Southbound refers to Trains Bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn and Northbound refers to trains coming from Manhattan bound for Queens.

------Original Message------

From: Deirdre Parker
To: Roosevelt Island 360
Sent: Apr 29, 2009 2:34 PM
Subject: RE: Projected Subway Service Changes

- Weeknights, from May 5th - June 16 (except May 26th), 12:01 AM - 5 AM, there will no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Weekends, from May 23rd, 12:01 AM, to May 25th, 5 AM, and May 30th, 12:01 AM, to June 1st, 5 AM, there will be no southbound service at Roosevelt Island.

- Tuesdays to Fridays, June 23 to July 2nd, 12:01 AM to 5:00 AM, there will be no northbound service at Roosevelt Island.

These changes are needed to support tunnel and track work.

Deirdre K. Parker
Deputy Director, Public Affairs
MTA NYC Transit

Use Trip Planner @http://www.tripplanner.mta.info/ for customized subway and bus directions

Subway Platform & Train Snapshots - Differences of Opinion?

The above and below pictures are snapshots of the Roosevelt Island subway platform (Manhattan and Brooklyn bound) as we got off the steps this morning at 8:07 am. Like most of my experiences at this time the platform has not been overly crowded and the same has gone for the trains.

There is currently a vast difference of opinion between residents and the students from Columbia who are now concluding a study of transportation issues affecting Roosevelt Island. The students spent time on the Manhattan platform and documented their findings via photo snapshots and data collected through at least one sample morning before, during, and following that day's heaviest rush hour period. [Update: If the data was collected from multiple dates I missed that in their verbal and slide show presentation].

The Columbia findings, to my understanding, concluded pretty much that there is excess capacity and that the trains coming in from Queens can handle the number of residents without issue. They also examined alternative train routes and configurations and determined that a greater number of Queens residents would be displaced with the goal of helping a few Roosevelt Island residents and concluded that changing the train routes would be not accepted by the MTA.

The residents who attended the public presentation two weeks ago strongly disagreed. My own experience is that the problems occur during the 815am to 900am period as the trains are either full coming into Roosevelt Island or riders don't move from the doors making it difficult to enter trains.

Frank Farance, President of RIRA, continues to argue that the study had flaws to which the Columbia students reply look at our proof look at our photos. I can"t argue with the photos in question but I must conclude that the day in question must have been an anomaly as my experience, mirrors my neighbors, that during the peak times there is problem. And during the period just prior to the peak, as I have photographed, the situation is closer to what the Columbia students claim.

The key is I believe that any study may need an increased number of test mornings and also must take into account the residents own experience by perhaps selecting 200 residents who will record their experiences over say a one month period. The record should include the time they enter the station each morning with additional notes regarding wait time, platform positioning etc.

I will not attempt to review the full Columbia study here as I am focusing on the morning subway rush but I do feel that once the students saw their own test results they perhaps did not test on multiple dates ( I may be wring on this one) nor did they get a broad swath of the community involved who live this issue every day.

I do want to thank each of the students for their time and effort as the overall presentation did show that a lot of work went into their studio for each of the segments of our transportatioin issues they adressed.

WIRE Bulletin: Columbia Students to Present Transportation Study 7:30 pm Tonight at Good Shepherd

Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 4:09

Graduate students of Columbia University will brief Roosevelt Islanders on their study of the Island's transportation this Thursday night (April 16) at 7:30 in the Good Shepherd Community Center.

A limited number of residents who have had a preview call the students' work comprehensive and imaginative. It is strongly visualized and packed with facts about traffic, ridership, subway capabilities, destination data, and much more.

Led by Dr. Floyd Lapp, an adjunct professor of planning, the students considered a wide variety of transportation options and alternatives for the Island. A preview of their presentation indicates that the study has addressed issues like reconfiguration of Main Street traffic and the possibility of mixed use of the "channel" between Main Street buildings, pedestrian access to the Queensboro Bridge, a reworking of street-parking and Motorgate rates to free up Main Street parking, a long-term program of gradually discouraging use of cars, reduction of Main Street traffic signage, and measures to eliminate the bunching of red buses that leaves extended periods without service at rush hour.

The presentation will begin at 7:30 in the Good Shepherd Community Center, Thursday night at 7:30.

7:54am F Train from Roosevelt Island (Mon Apr 6)

Perhaps this is a bad week for a test of how crowded the subway arriving from Queens into Roosevelt Island is but for the next few days I will try to get to the platform before 8am and take a picture once we enter the Manhattan bound train.

While I do believe the transportation infrastructure needs to be strengthened and increased, I am also of the belief that as long as island residents leave at a reasonable time they do not have to encounter the packed trains from Queens that arrive starting at and after 815am and continue through 845am.

Again this week may not be a good test, it is a holy week for many and schools are off starting Thursday. So be it. Again the above picture shows one family's experience at 7:54am after getting onto a Manhattan / Brooklyn bound F Train from Roosevelt Island.

Town Hall Mtg Tonight re Transportation Issues….Columbia to Begin Focused Study

At 7:00pm tonight within the Good Shepherd Community Center, the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation is holding a Town Hall meeting to discuss transportation issues affecting the island. The meeting will also mark the commencement of a new urban planning study of the island with a defined focus on transportation.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture’s Urban Planning program, under the direction of Dr. Floyd Lapp, a former Director of City Planning in the MTA’s Transportation Division from 1991-2000, will be examining the transportation alternatives and infrastructure.

The Columbia study will be the second study currently underway of the island by an academic institution. Hunter College's Urban Planning program is conducting a separate studio, termed AccessRI, with a broader focus on access to many issues including transportation, health services, shopping among others. That study is being sponsored by State Senator Jose Serrano.

Dr. Lapp has indicated that for any study to be worthwhile and effective it requires the participation of the public in the gathering of information and feedback. The Main Street WIRE in its last issue, dated Saturday, January 17, 2009, included a front page article about the study and included comments from Dr. Lapp.

New Double Decker Tram Design Unveiled (spoof)

As opposed to the service cuts proposed by the 2009 MTA austerity budget the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation unveiled its new design for the tram. The double decker design took most residents by surprise as it was not expected that RIOC would be so forward thinking to take into account the island's growth and transportation needs.

There are still several right of way concerns that must be worked out as the tram is not allowed to drop below a certain height as it crosses Second Avenue. City Hall has stated through an unnamed spokesman that it is exactly this sort of innovation that the MTA needs to get us through the coming years. According to the unnamed spokesman "If they could build a double decker LIRR train and now the tram why not double decker subway cars" .

Roosevelt Island residents are fearful that the new design will be followed by a decoupling of the tram from the MTA metrocard system as it is rumored that the fare for the double decker tram will double to $4.

Transportation Forum Produces Community Provided "Solutions"

The Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer organized Roosevelt Island transportation forum produced a list of short term and long term solutions as suggested by the attending audience as well as the priority of each solution. In an innovative method of collecting data via RF point and click technology, the organizers with the help of the Hunter College Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, turned what is usually a standard speech dog and pony show with the expected rantings of upset community members into an event where the public provided the content and the elected officials (Micah Kellner and Jessica Lappin) spoke minimally. RIOC President Steve Shane spoke but offered nothing new for the community that he had not already stated at the recent Tram info event.

The only real problem was the transportation experts did not speak at all and the public was not given the opportunity to put these folks on the spot. Also while the solutions offered are nice in theory we heard nothing from the elected officials or the transportation officials as to the reality of any one solution being actually attainable or not.

Scott Stringer closed the event stating that this event was only the beginning of the discussions and tonight was more a gauge of where he and the other politicians should start on our behalf. The only problem is we only have until the Tram goes out to start determing what can be improved in the short term. Lets schedule the next meeting soon to keep the feet of these pols to a deliverable fire date to answer the realities of the solutions offered otherwise what was the point of taking away a particular good opportunity to simply rant.

The short and long term solutions and prioritization are below and each can be linked through to Flickr for larger views.

SHORT TERM SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS per the COMMUNITY

SHORT TERM VOTE

LONG TERM SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS per the COMMUNITY

LONG TERM VOTE

Transportation Forum Tonight at Good Shepherd

At 7:00 pm tonight, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer is hosting a Roosevelt Island transportation forum that is billed to include several elected officials as well as representatives from several NYC and MTA agencies that will update us to the current state of our transportation alternatives and also be available for questions and problem solving.

Will Hana Fears Cancel MTA Service Disruptions?

Roosevelt Island residents as well as many other riders got lucky one weekend this past Winter when snow forecasts prompted the MTA to cancel weekend service disruptions.

Hopefully this weekend that will happen again restoring normal weekend schedules. The possibility of high winds forcing the tram to stop service and no subway service to Queens through the 63rd Street Tunnel is not a thrilling prospect.

Fun Weekend: Trop. Storm Hanna & No Queens F

They are predicting tropical storm winds of up to 60 miles per hour this weekend which will make life a bit fun on Roosevelt Island. As most island residents know if the winds exceed 30 mph the tram is shut down and with no Queens bound F train service the possibility of no tram service is not a good thing. Granted residents looking to return from Manhattan and/ or Brooklyn to Roosevelt Island can merely take the subway out to Roosevelt Ave in Queens and then switch back to a Manhattan bound F but that is too annoying.

Morning Commute – Schools Open, More Feet in Local Subway

Today is the first morning that theoretically should subject the recent Roosevelt Island elevator / escalator / stair configuration to a full test as most schools are back in session and very few people are still taking Summer vacations.

My older child wanted to be at school early so we arrived at the station by 7:55 am and it was a fairly quick wait for the elevator, the pkatfirm was not crowded, and the trains were not yet packed. No seats but standing was not a hassle and a half.

The Stairs Down Roosevelt Island's Subway Station

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For those of you wondering how bad the stairs at the Roosevelt Island subway station could possibly be I have prepared the above video.

If the elevators go out this is what our residents have to deal with as long as the lone pair escalators from the Street to the Lower Mezzanine are locked as "up only".

Now don't get me wrong, I'd rather walk down this never ending stairway than up it and I just putting this video out there so people can see how deep the stairs and escalators have to go.

First Morning Rush - No Down Escalators

Today, 8/25, is the first morning rush hour that the Roosevelt Island subway station will have no down escalators for the next three weeks. Now this may sound like no big deal but when that means descending 8 sets of stairs each about 15 stairs in length just to get to the lower mezzanine, not even the platform, when about 6000 residents commute through the station in the morning it's a big deal.

As discussed in previous posts the reason for the change is the current escalator rehab is now marrying up the most recent new escalators (ES 412/415 - not yet open) with existing set ES 413/416. For this three week period ES411/414 are locked in a perpetual up direction.

Overall from 8:00am through 8:30am there were no issues to deal with. A number of residents appeared caught off guard despite the number of signs put up the last two weeks. As expected the elevators down were a bit backed up but cleared out rather quickly as the red buses and Q102s did not get to bunched up dropping off riders at the station.

Starting Aug 25th - Down Escalators Closed

Staring next Monday, August 25th the escalators (ES 411 and 414) normally locked in the down direction will be locked as "up" escaltors for three weeks and the only down to the platforms will be the stairs or the elevators. G-d help us if the elevators are out of service.


The reason for this temporary inconvenience is that the curent "up" escaltors, ES 413 and 416, are being closed so that the adjacent escalators, ES 412 and 415, currently under construction can be completed.

No word yet when ES 413 and 416 will be taken out of service for long term construction. Presumably after ES 412 and and 415 are fully back on line.

From There to Here: East 33rd Street / Lex to Roosevelt Island

On a sunny day getting from East 33rd Street and Lex to Roosevelt Island one would expect that commuters would travel either via (1) the Northbound 6 train to 59th Street/Lex and then walk to the Tram or (2) take the uptown M101/102/103 bus via Third Avenue to East 60th Street and walk over to the Tram.

But if it is (a) raining and you want to avoid being above ground altogether or (b) if the Tram is temporarily shut down due to lightning or (c) next year shut down for reconstruction how would you accomplish your goal?

Simple: The Downtown 6 Train connection to the F Train at Broadway - Lafayette.

Now granted this adds a little bit of time and has you going South away from Roosevelt Island on its first leg but it is quite possible. This obviously also works from any downtown 6 line station. It is does not work from the Uptown Number 6.

[Administrative legal housekeeping: The subway map segment shown is copyrighted by the MTA / NYCTA and has only been modified to add pop up instructions and terminus points. The full subway map can be found HERE.]

Transit Respect: Inclusion in a Traffic Report

Normally the Roosevelt Island Tram is not even noticed by transit reporters unless they are doing a special report good or bad about the Tram. Certainly most web sites that include traffic updates don't reference the tram on a normal day.

So imagine my surprise when at work I pulled up the traffic report on my Bloomberg terminal and found a listing stating "Roosevelt Island Tram - No delays reported". Pretty cool.

Straphangers Report: F Train 13th out of 21

According to a report issued today the F Train which services Queens, Manhattan (including Roosevelt Island) and Brooklyn ranked 13th out of 21 total subway lines. Link HERE to see the report. For the overall State of the Subways Report link HERE.

MetroCard Fare Hikes - A Roosevelt Island Break Even Analysis - $136 Monthly Fare Card

The news the last few days has been discussing possible fare hikes by the NYC Transit Authority and I once again wanted to see what effect that would have on my family's out-of-pocket costs as we live on Roosevelt Island. The reality of living on Roosevelt Island (or in any of the outer boroughs) as opposed to living in Manhattan are that for any trip off the island to Manhattan you rely on mass transit and that means spending money.

During this past year's fare hike the MTA held the single fare steady at $2 but increased the unlimited monthly fare costs from $76 to $81 which was still economical for us iin every way. I wanted to see now how much would it cost us if the MTA again held the single fare at $2 but increased the monthly unlimited to our break even point based on the average number of trips / fares we spend based on our lifestyle. Based on the current fare cost we are spending about $1.19 per fare.

Based on the above schedule the unlimited monthly fare card would have to increase to $136 from its current $81 before we woud be spending the equivalent of a single fare per trip. This schedule also assumes Parent B does not add any extra fares dring the day before returning home with both children at the end of each school day. I am not advocating certainly that the MTA use this as a guide to increase the fare that high but as long as the montly cost stays under that amount and the single fare is at $2 we are ahead of the game.

ESDC Approves $15M Grant to Modernize Tram

As expected the ESDC approved a $15 million grant to modernize the Roosevelt Island Tram. This grant was a formality as the funds were already budgeted for this purpose. The complete of the press release is as follows:

7/17/2008

ESDC BOARD APPROVES $17.6 MILLION IN DOWNSTATE GRANTS

Empire State Development Corporation's Board of Directors met today in Manhattan and approved downstate grants totaling $17.6 million. Among the grants approved was $15 million to help modernize the Roosevelt Islandtram. The tram will contribute to the economic impact of Roosevelt Islandby ensuring a reliable form of transportation for residents to travel backand forth to the city.

The Roosevelt Island tram began operating in 1976. There are 20 other trams operating in the U.S. and Canada but the Roosevelt Island tram is the only aerial commuter tram in the country. Originally built as a temporary means of transportation for island residents by New York State's Urban Development Corporation, it has become a permanent part of the lifeof the island and a treasure for New Yorkers and visitors throughout the world.

NYC Bike Sharing Outpost on Roosevelt Island ???

For a long time I have thought Roosevelt Island a great place for bicyclists to visit. I am wondering whether residents and / or NYC DOT would think Roosevelt Island a good place to establish a bulkhead for the NYC bike sharing program? I figured the bike racks could be set up near the Tram station (close to the walkway that wraps around the North end of the Racquet Club) under the Queensboro Bridge.

Tourists and visitors could take the tram or subway onto the island and then pick up a shared bike and then use the bike to ride around the island or into LIC to go to the Noguchi Museum or Socrates Park or wherever. They could then return the bikes at the end of their visit and exit off the island via the tram or subway. Residents could use the bikes to travel into Queens. Having the bikes on the island would increase tourism onto the island and into the section of LIC closest to Roosevelt Island. With the new bike paths along Vernon Boulevard it would make for a natural fit.