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After hearing from unhappy 7 train riders, businesses and politicians over its weekends of subway diversions. While most everyone can understand the importance of upgrading track signals and other infrastructure, unclear and plain wrong directions about train transfers and shuttle buses have frustrated all. MTA announced it would "overhaul" its response. According to the Daily News, the MTA will:
- Increase the number of service-disruption announcements on trains and at stationWhich is nice, but it's really the MTA's way of saying: Suck it, up.
- Better publicize increased E and F train service
- Have more personnel at stations to help riders
- Have more supervisors, er, supervise efforts
- Better train bus drivers, station agents, and others
Of course, many L train riders who have had to endure much longer than 6 weeks of weekend service disruptions scoff that the 7 line frustration. A reader passed along a letter that you can email (or you can write your own) to City Council members John Liu and Diana Reyna to complain about the "Crowded, Unsafe Morning Commute" on the L - it's after the jump. Check out how ridership has grown on the L.
And to add some levity, we invite you to enjoy the great Sesame Street song, Subway (lyrics here).
To: liu@council.nyc.ny.us; reyna@council.nyc.ny.us Subject: L Train - A Crowded, Unsafe Morning CommuteDATE: February 21, 2007
TO: Council Member John Liu, Council Member Diana ReynaAs the head of the City Council's Transportation Committee and the elected representative for Williamsburg, Brooklyn, respectively, I like to ask what you are doing to ensure all riders of the L Train can enjoy a safe weekday morning commute to Manhattan.
As I hope you are aware, the morning rush hour commute for too many Williamsburg residents who rely on the L train is a complete disaster. Platforms are severely overcrowded, frequently with three to four rows of anxious would-be commuters stretched from one end of the platform to the other.
Everyday, a significant number of commuters must be forced to pass two to three trains before being able to squeeze into a car. Frequently, passengers push and shove their way into a car in order to make it to work on time. This creates a very dangerous situation, especially when the cramped crowd is already irate and weary. Rude comments are exchanged and tempers boil over. The elderly are unceremoniously bumped aside, babies are breathed over by strangers. With passengers squeezed in like cattle for the slaughter, the trains are unacceptably over capacity. This has created a dangerous situation which perhaps violates certain City codes.
According to a July 2006 Daily News article, while ridership has been on the steady increase, the frequency of L train service has remained unchanged since 2000. While the MTA has admitted that is had grossly underestimated L train ridership, it has done little to provide adequate answers on when Brooklyn residents will stop paying for its mistake.
For the past few years, L train riders have been patient. We have endured unending service interruptions and cancellations with the understanding that the MTA was improving L train service. Instead, the problem is only getting worse. As more and more residents enter the community, the situation has become unbearable and dangerously unsafe.
We need your help to get answers. When will the MTA be running more trains? When can we expect a safe morning commute?
[NAME]
[Address]
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
[Name of Stop ]
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i remember that sesame street skit! thanks for posting that.
michele
Who can you send this to if you live in Bushwick? I really am surprised that there haven't been any serious injuries yet on the L platforms. . I was pretty sure I was going to see at least a fight last Friday morning.
If you're so upset about your personal space on the L, leave for work earlier jackasses.
LOL, It befuddles me the things you people bitch about .
LOL, It befuddles me how many times people will post the exact same thing.
Crazy stuff. Leaving earlier for the L train isn't an option - I catch it at 6:20 am and it's packed to almost suffocation levels.
From 6:00 am to 10:00 am it's an unbearable situation. Thank Bloomberg for his wise rezoning skills for this one.
The trains have gotten more and more crowded on the L at all times of the day and night in the last year- but especially during the morning commute. Leaving work earlier really won't help much. Just so you understand, it isn't just some lame "personal space" issue. The train is body-to-body, sardine-packed by the time the train hits Bedford on most weekdays. I'm lucky I live further out, so I'm able to get on the train most days... but that won't be the case for long.
Of course, there will always be exceptions, but the train shouldn't be THAT crowded the majority of the time. It will only get worse with the increased housing being built... is anyone aware of plans to keep this from happening? The congestion will happen in downtown Brooklyn, too, once Atlantic Yards is built.
To the commenter above, Jmae M, you can find out who your City Council representative is here:
http://www.cmap.nypirg.org/netmaps/MyGovernment/NYC/MyGovernmentNYCMaps.asp?DistType=nyccouncil
because of this song, it was of great disappointment to me by the time i got to new york that straps were no longer in wide use. oh well, some of the buses still have them!