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With the MTA halting weekend 7 train service (namely, service between Times Square and Queensboro Plaza) to upgrade the tracks this past weekend plus the next eight weekends, residents and business owners feel like they are getting the shaft. 1010 WINS reports, "Riders who go to the Grand Central Station can expect to see yellow tape blocking the entrance, but what they won't find is an explanation or an alternate route into Queens." A Long Island City gallery and theater owner says attendance was down 50% this past weekend and City Councilman Eric Gioia said, "The 7 train is a lifeline to Queens. When the MTA shuts it down for nine weekends, it hurts families and businesses in already tough economic times." He wants the MTA to increase bus service and discount tickets on the LIRR, adding, "If you're asking us to pay more on our MetroCards, then please at least give us the bare essentials."
8 More Weekends of 7 Train Service Outages
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Someone needs to go to art school - that is not a great picture in any way artistically or technical
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I encountered this yesterday morning when I was trying to hop on the 7 at Times Square. There were MTA workers milling about, so I approached one to ask about alternate routes to the 7. Only after asking three times did I get a rather irate directive to go to Queensboro Plaza to transfer. Good times.
never leave home, especially on the weekends, without checking the MTA website for service changes. They make it quite easy to know what's going on, including text messages or emails -- and I've never seen major service interruptions like this that aren't accompanied by signs everywhere.
Closing entire sections for repairs is the trade off for having 24 hour subway service.
This is a huge pain-in-the-ass for Queens residents but, truth be told, there have been enormous signs up for a week or so, all over the subway system, announcing this interruption. If we want infrastructure maintenance, we have to deal with inconvenience.
There were not signs displaying that service would be suspended for 9 weekends. I did see many signs posted in non-english languages, which may be the majority of the 7 riders, but not those living in Long Island City, where they are really stranded.
this is a weekend where I think people can be forgiven for not having seen the signs warning them of impending service changes, what with many people not having been regularly commuting because of the holidays. also, the mta website is rarely up to date on all service changes - whenever there is a discrepancy between what is on their site and what I read elsewhere, the mta has always been the one with incorrect information.
that being said, while JH was going up to different employees, did she consider looking at a map?
also, whenever you see a service change poster on your subway platform, go out of your way to read what it says and keep in mind that many friday papers list the weekend service changes.
The MTA did something similar a couple years ago for 6 weekends in a row in Spring 2007, the assumption was that the 7 would be upgraded to computerized cars and would have more efficient service. From what I've heard, service on the line has only become worse!!!!
We all know the gentrification of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn has kept the L in decent shape (though the service outages for the next 5 weekends there do suck). It makes me wonder if the MTA would shut down any of the other lines for 9 weekends in a row, if it weren't for the fact that the 7 train by and large services a predominantly People of Color populations who are resisting the city's preferred method gentrification quite successfully.
Dear MTA, please run a bus between Queensboro Plaza and Grand Central, stopping at all the 7 trains stops in between. I completely understand the need for track maintenance, but changing my 5 minute ride from Vernon/Jackson to Grand Central into a hellish 1 hour of multiple subway transfers and slow shuttle buses is not acceptable.
Its not like anyone wanted to go to Flushing for the Lunar New Year.
Another reason why I hate Queens.
Fuck the MTA...
I guess it's OK as long as the service during the week doesn't get disrupted. Oh, wait...
Posted on:1/5/2009 2:09:13 PM
Due to a train with mechanical problems at the 42nd Street-Times Square Station, there is no service on the trains in both directions from the 42nd Street-Times Square Station to the Queensboro Plaza Station.
(from: http://www.mta.info/alert/alertnyct.htm)
slyseekr,
The 7 line ranks second best of the 21 subway lines rated by the
Straphangers Campaign. (link)
Thanks for making a race issue out of something that isn't. Check out the 18th out of 21 ranking that the B, my usual train, gets. There is a relatively low percentage of "People of Color" on that line. It sure was an easy argument to make, though, wasn't it?
Just because it runs like shit, smells like shit, and treats it riders like shit, doesn't mean it could possibly be shit? The MTA is a cesspool and could give a rat's ass about its ridership... White, Black, Brown, Yellow...
I think this is absolutely absurd. The MTA should be providing shuttle service between Queensboro Plaza and Grand Central Station. Other options could be to shut down the 7, only late nights throughout the entire week. But suspending service for 9 weekends in a row is insane.
I would not have purchased a 30-day unlimited card if I had known this in advance, which has not been made clear. The only official notices I see describe last weekend and next. I do however receive e-mails about "sick customers," which barely affect anyones commute.
[i]We all know the gentrification of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn has kept the L in decent shape (though the service outages for the next 5 weekends there do suck).[/i]
You obviously don't actually live on the L line. I do and trust me the only think gentrification has brought is even more riders to the L train. I understand about track work but I have taken the L on a normal weeknight at midnight and you'd swear it was morning rush hour.
The MTA has not been able to keep up with the population growth in Williamsburg.