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If you've ever struggled to figure out which direction you're facing when you step out of a subway station (and there are no landmarks or sun to guide you), you won't have those problems at four subway stations in Midtown anymore. That's because the Department of Transportation and the Grand Central Partnership are placing temporary directional compass decals outside them.
DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan explained, "Not a single person, native New Yorker or visitor, can truthfully claim that they have not, at least once, been confused as to which direction to walk when emerging from a subway station." The decals, funded by the GCP, were suggested by a resident, as reported in the NY Times. Here are the locations:
- 150 East 42nd Street (south side of East 42nd St between Lexington Ave and Third Ave) - Entrance to 42nd Street/Grand Central station
- The Grand Hyatt New York, 109 East 42nd Street (west side of Lexington Ave between East 42nd St and East 43rd St) - Entrance to 42nd Street/Grand Central station
- 570 Lexington Avenue (south side of East 51st St between Lexington Ave and Park Ave) - Entrance to 51st Street/Lexington Avenue station
- 509 Madison Avenue (south side of East 53rd St between Madison Ave and Park Ave) - Entrance to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street station
What do you think of the idea? Where would you want to see these compasses?
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East Broadway. 'Nough said.
Meh, just remember which way the train is pointing when you get off.
i admit these could help, but i see them causing more congestion on the sidewalks when people stop and look. if you dont know where you're going, just ask!
I get thrown off when I get off on the UES sometimes when it looks like there is green both east and west.
bklynd, I do try to remember which way the subway was going, but sometimes there are stations that are deeper underground, with stairs going in a number of directions.
Some/many stations do have maps, but they don't exactly explain what's going on outside the entrance you're exiting out of. But I see your point, TK, it might cause pile-ups.
Testing.....
I am so overloaded.
They should go for signs like some tube stops in London have -- a list of popular locations nearby and numbered exits. For example:
Grand Central Terminal - Exit 1
Lexington Ave - Exit 2
Madison Ave - Exit 3
Then you simply look for the right exit number, and you're on your way. I think the subway in Tokyo does something similar. Too many people (even locals) aren't sure of north/south/east/west especially when you're somewhere like Lower Manhattan or parts of Queens and Brooklyn, with non-numbered streets.
Assuming the Sticker is at least a foot across:
Won't someone stand on them?
i feel like i've seen spray painted directions before outside some stops. but i can't remember where.
this could be great. maybe they'll go somewhere that people see while walking up the stairs so they'll have a few seconds to consider in which direction to walk. otherwise everyone will stop at the top and try to figure out where they are.
I think it's a great idea. I like the design too.
Losers -- old NYer's always know which way to go when they get out of the subway. But I msut concede: now that every corner is another confluence of Starbucks/Chase/Duane Reade -- it is getting a bit confusing.
One of the most valuable thing any new resident can do is memorize the direction of the avenues. Once you know that 1st Ave goes up, 7th down, 8th up, etc., you will never be disoriented when emerging from the subway.
@tien:
http://www.backspace.com/notes/2006/03/28/x.html
and
http://www.backspace.com/notes/2006/03/05/x.html
I've lived here all my life, and I still get it wrong, so this is great for me. But I admit, I'm directionally retarded.
And TK, "just ask"? You do realize this is New York, right, where locals purposely give you f'd up directions?
You know, where the streets have number signs, I usually follow a simple mnemonic. EEOW. Even streets go East and Odd streets go West (except 60th, which goes west). So, all I need to do is look up street number and remember EEOW. That takes care of all my compass needs :)
But what if you're in a neighborhood without the main Manhattan Avenues or numbered streets? I've wandered around Queens one too many times.
It's hard to explain, but it's almost instinctive if you grew up here (although I grew up in Mass, but my grandparents et al were here, so I partly did.) But even after 30 years in Mass, my mother still gets it right away when she exits a train -- even in a new area.
Let's just say I would actually welcome any directional signs if we coudl lose all the chain stores!
This is a great idea! I have walked the wrong direction, only to have to backtrack the whole avenue again, one too many times!
@bkylnd: I try to remember the direction the train was headed, but for the spatially challenged, gets quite tricky when the subway exit involves multiple twists and turns!
That is true, the "know the avenues" system isn't always applicable, but it's still a good thing to learn.
I think these signs are a good idea, but are best for the outer boroughs.
Every station in Lower Manhattan should have these. I've seen an old, partially missing compass embedded in the ground outside one of the Rector Street exits, and wondered why such a good idea wasn't applied everywhere else.
this city is medieval in so many aspects
I like it.
I am in!! Beautiful design too. Especially downtown we need this. Though born and bred NYer that I am. I do get confused sometimes. Or maybe it is just me? Whatever.
Interesting design, but I think it'd be more visually appealing (and probably more longer-lasting) if it were metal (copper, maybe, given the color shown) and embedded in the sidewalk rather than a decal.
Just a thought: How about this to make it easier to get around town?
More trains that run faster.
But at least the tourists are happy.
Great idea - I hope it works.
I have lived here many years, but don't often use the subway and have bad eyesight. It would be nice to see which direction I'm pointed, especially at night when I can't navigate by the sun.
@tien:
http://gothamist.com/2006/03/29/how_to_find_you.php
MAKING IT
Freshly landed strivers,
Whether adult or a pup,
Have one question only:
Which direction to Up?
So I always posted as a guest, but apparently I can't do that anymore, despite never making anything but serious comments, and I think that anonymity is a good thing, even if you get crank comments... but I digress...
DIRECTIONS:
I can't believe no one else has said this, but it's worth noting that since the Manhattan grid is, more or less, on a North-South axis, all you have to do to determine which direction you are face is to look up to the sky and find the sun. If it's morning, that's east. Midday is south. Afternoon and evening is west. Seriously. Learning to use the sun as a compass is a pretty basic thing that your supposed to learn as a kid, no matter where you grow up.
And yes, I realize this idea fails at night, since we can't see the big dipper. And when it's cloudy. But just ask someone directions.
So, essentially, I'm not sure whether I like sidewalk compass proposal, but it's definately a bad idea to put it at the entrance/ exit.