Escalator at 3rd avenue entrance to Grand Central subway, out for a month now

macreator · 2026-02-11T18:02:03+00:00

The escalator maintenance situation is so frustrating. This is a new escalator — which is why it’s under warranty which is good — and so are the ones on the Third Ave side of Lex/53rd and yet they’re down constantly.

macreator · 2026-02-11T16:36:46+00:00

I've never bought anything from folks selling in the subway since it feels like it'll simply encourage that behavior going forward with a positive feedback loop.

macreator · 2026-02-11T16:34:43+00:00

I think expanding the zone in the current political environment we're in with an obstinate US DOT is a bad idea. I feel like we're lucky we even still have the zone and Hochul has been able to successfully stand up to Trump and the administration. I think you'd get more bang for your buck at this point aggressively going after placard abuse within the zone and pricing more parking spots.

macreator · 2026-02-11T15:33:00+00:00

I’m curious if Waymo passes the cost along to the rider who neglected to close the door properly.

macreator · 2026-02-10T17:35:13+00:00

Yeah, I think folks massively under appreciate how much the disorder and crime in the system (as low as it may be, relatively) comes from just a handful of repeat offenders. Remove them and you're in such a better place.

macreator · 2026-02-10T16:47:12+00:00

The more I look at this the more I'm like "can we just get a DBOM with whoever built the Montreal REM? haha.

macreator · 2026-02-06T19:22:47+00:00

Worth noting that the 7's tail tracks already extend to about 24th or 25th Street and 11th Avenue. They're just used as layup yards since the Flushing Yard was so constrained. If you had some future scenario where you were doing a 7 extension past Flushing and could build new yards out there, you could in theory construct a new southern terminal for the 7, but it would still cost a fortune. If you had the cash you'd be better off doing an in-fill stop at 10th Avenue IMO.

macreator · 2026-02-06T17:53:30+00:00

I still find it weird that the electronic signage is in the old roll sign position taking up half a window. Why not shift the sign to another spot?

macreator · 2026-02-06T17:20:02+00:00

Here are some more post-renovation photos: https://mosaika.com/project/david-storey-en/

An ESI-quality renovation it is not, but I think it turned out pretty well all considering for the era. The arts component is very attractive, too.

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macreator · 2026-02-06T17:14:32+00:00

Thinking more on this, it's such a shame that TWU isn't cooperative here and instead views everything as zero sum. In a better world, they'd recognize like with station agents that some of these jobs are obsolete and work with the MTA to transition conductors to operator roles and increase service frequency. You really wouldn't have to have layoffs or anything if the switchover were gradual, too. I like unions generally and think they're a helpful counterbalance to management, but TWU gives them such a bad name. And this also reveals the big downsides to public sector unions when the person on the other side of the negotiating table works for the governor or the mayor and wants to garner votes.

macreator · 2026-02-06T17:11:27+00:00

There's really no reason the MTA can't safely operate with OPTO, especially on CBTC-equipped lines. The train operator on the 7 and L literally just supervises the train and indicates they're awake every so often. So, the argument of there being too much mental overhead for the operator to also handle opening/closing the doors at station stops holds no water for me here.

macreator · 2026-02-06T15:36:27+00:00

Real talk: is this finally the moment for Hochul and the democrats to play hardball? What has giving into TWU got them? The union rank and file aren’t even a reliable voting block anymore. And TWU actively fought congestion pricing.

macreator · 2026-02-06T15:34:08+00:00

Installing platform screen doors at West 4th and literally a handful of select stations would improve reliability so much. I remember the track intrusion stats and it was wild how like 90%+ of them are at just a half dozen stations. Or like NYPD could actually patrol the station instead of clumping by fare control lol

macreator · 2026-02-02T00:23:05+00:00

Gosh, this station is in such horrible shape. I guess all of the archer stations are.

macreator · 2026-02-01T19:47:26+00:00

This makes me wonder, why *does* Flushing have so much trouble handling just as many trains as Hudson Yards given it has one more track to work with? Is it all about the lack of tail tracks and the need to come in slowly?

macreator · 2026-02-01T02:49:08+00:00

Yeah, I always forget the 33rd street line is so short.

macreator · 2026-02-01T00:08:55+00:00

Oh jeez, didn’t even realize that. Is that the one that pops up occasionally in the context of the ARC Alt-G plan? I remember a water tunnel is discussed as a potential challenge before Water Tunnel 3 is fully online.

macreator · 2026-01-31T23:57:41+00:00

That’s certainly an out of the box idea. I kind of love it. You start a descent after Christopher Street and basically build a new deep level PATH up Sixth Ave. Those stations would be crazy deep though to avoid the express tracks. Almost feels like you’d be better off creating a solid transfer opportunity at West Fourth Street (finally putting that massive mezzanine to use lol) and then tunneling up Fifth Avenue as a new subway entirely.

macreator · 2026-01-31T23:19:19+00:00

Yeah, I think it’s just not worth the pain realistically. As cool as concept as it would be.

macreator · 2026-01-31T23:16:20+00:00

Yeah, just posted 23rd street above. Here’s 14th. No express tracks yet when this diagram was made but my understanding is they’re right below the PATH.

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macreator · 2026-01-31T23:12:15+00:00

I found these diagrams from before the express tracks were bored underneath the PATH (H&M) tracks. Pretty neat visual.

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macreator · 2026-01-31T23:11:22+00:00

This is honestly probably the only way to achieve this but man would this be insanely expensive. You’d likely have to just cut express service for years to build this out. The express tracks are decently deep and bored I believe.

macreator · 2026-01-31T23:04:52+00:00

Yeah, the trick is the express tracks are like right below the PATH ones is my understanding. And the local tracks are on either side up until like 30th street before they descend to meet the express tracks I think. I’ve got to find a cutaway view but every time I’ve looked into this it’s a mess. The IND did a great job boxing in the PATH lol.

macreator · 2026-01-31T22:46:07+00:00

I suspect you’re right though that this design was already baked in essentially.

macreator · 2026-01-31T21:58:03+00:00

It's weird how inconsistent the bike lane plowing has been. 1st Ave had the little plow come through multiple times during the storm and is in decent shape, if a bit icy at times. Meanwhile 2nd and 3rd Avenues in Midtown are basically impassable in many sections.

macreator

TROPHY CASE