No Tram, F Train Rerouted - How Do I Get Home to Roosevelt Island ?

Almost three months ago I ran a post titled "From There to Here: 23rd St/Ely Ave to Roosevelt Island". At that time the post was responding to a blogger that found themselves on a rerouted F train that became an V Train and the blogger was unsure how to recover and still get to Roosevelt Island. Yesterday evening, during rush hour, selected F Trains were also rerouted but in this case my wife was able to get out and at Lex/ 53rd and walk to the Tram. Starting today that option does not exist for the next ten days so the question is worth visiting again.

As I stated in my comments back on March 19th, two possible mass transit solutions are possible and any Roosevelt Island resident that has been reading all our prior service disruption notices would know at least th first one:

(1) Stay on Queens bound F, now running on the V Line, and take it to Roosevelt Ave and then switch back onto a Manhattan bound F train, or

(2) Take the Queens bound F, now running on the V Line, to Queens Plaza. Transfer from the subway to a Roosevelt Island bound Q102 Queens Bus.

If anyone has any other suggestions please let us know. We’d like to hear them.

A 360˚ Video of Roosevelt Island’s Subway Station Plaza

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

This video shot on January 26, 2008 is of the plaza outside the Roosevelt Island Subway Station and includes the Red Bus, a NYCTA Q102 bus, a view through Riverwalk Plaza allowing the viewer to see the KeySpan Ravenswood Energy Plant, the Duane Reade at 425 Main Street, a view of the Queensboro Bridge and the East River.

Q102 Accident Damage Cleared From Walkway Outside Hardware Store

Based on the above picture taken this evening I would assume the Hardware / General / Video store will be open for business this Valentine's Day just in time to rent out those romantic comedies for the evening.

Kudos to the crew that cleared the site and to the PSD for helping make this a short disturbance to life on Main Street. All that is left of the former column that was hit by the Q102 is its memory and the temporary cone marking its location.

Bus Accident Shuts Down Hardware Store

Based on how Roosevelt Island's PSD taped off the Q102 bus accident scene it appears that the Hardware Store is closed until further notice. Hopefully the closure is not for too long. Main Street does not need another store going under.

Update: 12:00 pm Noon

It appears that either RIOC or Urban America already are on the job to start addressing the repairs needed to remove the damaged structural facade and column.

The crazy thing is that with the one lane road that is Main Street we can't even create a temporary pedestrian walkway in the road so residents and guests are forced for their own safety need to cross Main Street twice to walk around the taped off area.

Q102 Bus Crashes into Column Outside Video/Hardware Store

[Updated 12:00 pm - Second Paragraph] Late last night, at approximately 10:00 pm, a NYC Q102 bus crashed into one of the columns outside the hardware / video / general store. The above picture is from RooseveltIsland10044.com where additional pictures can be found.

It is unknown at this time if there were any injuries to the passengers or driver of the Q102. The info that it was a Q102 (and not a RIOC Red Bus] is according to a member of Eastwood Maintenance staff. When Greg Goodman from RooseveltIsland10044.com was taking pictures and asked a PSD officer what happened the officer replied only that "a bus crashed" with no indication which bus type was involved. Upon calling the PSD office this morning I received a similiar response and I have sent an email into RIOC asking for additional information and confirmation.

Based on the view this morning it also looks like a portion of the ceiling above the column collapsed as well. According to the same maintenance staffer via the building super the residents of the Eastwood apartment immediately above did not need to be evacuated.

Update - 11:45 AM

According to Stephen Shane, President of RIOC, (1) the driver and passengers of the Q102 were uninjured, (2) according to MTA policy the driver was "taken away" for mandatory testing, (3) the NYC Department of Buildings examined the damage and determined that the damage was cosmetic as the column was not structural and the ceiling damage was also cosmetic.

The black and white photos are courtesy of RIOC.

The Q102: Northtown's Transportation Safety Valve

Earlier this week there was another of those very cold days when we were waiting at the southbound bus stop outside the Church of the Good Shepherd when an Octagon Express went by barely half full. Sometimes you wish that on days like that that the driver be given the discretion to "go local" and pick up obviously frozen residents.

As much as Northtowners complain about Octagon Express buses they actually have a safety valve that Octagoners and residents of Manhattan Park don't have: the Q102.

The Q102 begins its Roosevelt Island run by heading South once it makes the turn off the bridge ramp. So except for a few passengers already on the bus it usually starts its run at Westview essentially empty and can be counted on for space on cold and rainy days for most Northtowners.

The Q102 after completing it's initial Southbound run from Westview all the way down to the Goldwater Hospital Campus only then threads its way North on Main Street to its Northern terminus at Coler Hospital. After departing Coler it only goes back down Main Street to 2-4-6 River Road and then exits the Island.

In effect, Octagoners and Manhattan Park residents are denied this safety valve.

So when I hear folks complaining about the Octagon Express I usually have to catch myself before joining them as I know if the Q102s are running Northtowners can always get on if their destination is the subway or Tram.

UPDATE & CORRECTION:

As pointed out to me in the comments I was not aware that the Q102's route on the Island switches between the bus (1) first heading to Coler then to Goldwater and then off Island and (2) first heading to Goldwater then to Coler and then off Island. Teaches me to not check the schedule first. Thank you for the comments and corrections. The main intent of the post stays the same that the Q102 does indeed provide an extra measure of service on the Island and at least half of the scheduled trips the extra service gives Northtowners the ability to enter buses not already filled by their Octagon neighbors.

Congestion Planning Needed for Roosevelt Island Southtown?

Any Roosevelt Island resident can tell you that if there is going to be momentary delay in their morning mass transit commute off the Island it will take place right outside the local subway station.

The reasons for this congestion is that Main Street (or whatever that side is called nowadays) is (1) at it thinnest point, (2) is at an angle, (3) has the Red and Q102 buses stopping on either side of the road trying to discharge / pickup passengers (4) parked delivery trucks, (5) is adjoined by a unofficial parking lot for MTA employees and MTA construction workers, and lastly includes (6) intermittent but constant construction vehicles related to Southtown expansion. And on top of all this is one of the only access roads for employees and staff to get to (7) the Goldwater Hospital Campus.

The presence of the Red and Q102 bus is somewhat constant during rush hour and when RIOC tried to move one leg of the Red Bus route to Main Street proper that was met with quick resistance and eventually settled back to its present pattern of pickups right outside the subway.

The only factor that perhaps can me modified is where the delivery trucks are allowed to park. Currently they either sit on the subway side at the bottleneck or park in the bus drop off cutout just beyond the bottleneck.

At least theoretically two of these factors will disappear over time, #s 5 and 6, as construction ceases in Southtown.

In truth RIOC should hire a professional traffic engineer to determine what to do. But as a layman with an opinion here is my best shot:

One possible congestion easing plan would be to require the MTA employee and construction worker personal vehicles to park where the Southtown construction workers park just off the Eastern branch of Main Street. Then widen the bottleneck as close to the subway air vent as possible creating a wider traffic lane and designated delivery parking spots. These spots should be parallel to the road with defined entry points. We don't need trucks backing out into traffic causing the same issues to resurface. The picture above is an example of how veicles constantly move into the opposing lanes when traffic is backed up.

Certainly no one would ever agree to congestion pricing on Roosevelt Island but we do need something to ease traffic through the morning rush hour as this juncture is an accident waiting to happen with so many pedestrians and vehicles being forced through a space no more than 50 to 75 feet wide (my guess) at its thinnest point.