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| Re: DeBlasio to propose light rail line (1384603) | |||
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Re: DeBlasio to propose light rail line |
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Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Feb 7 06:14:26 2016, in response to Re: DeBlasio to propose light rail line, posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Feb 7 05:58:13 2016. And before you even go there (I know you will), here's what difference just four years of Carter provided for the subways, contrast and compare to the others ...Even throughout the dark period of the late 1970s, there were improvement plans, many of which really were implemented. Closed circuit TV in the 42nd St / Times Square station complex New lighting on the Brighton Line south of Newkirk Ave A new escalator at Brighton Beach New escalators at Smith / 9th Street Signal improvements on the southern extremity of the New Lots Ave line in Brooklyn An infusion of $27 million in federal funds in October of 1978 enabled the following improvements: Repairing roof canopies of ten Culver Line stations Conversion of 15 escalators to automatic operation in various stations Rehabilitation of other Manhattan escalators and those at Smith / 9th Streets in Brooklyn Replacement of third rail on the IRT between 168th Street and Dyckman Street in Manhattan Transit improvements planned for 1979 included Welded rail along the 8th Avenue IND between Jay Street and Worth Street 40 closed circuit television monitors at Stillwell Avenue Power substation renovations to the substations at Flatbush Avenue and Empire Blvd, and Joralemon Street and Willow Place. A new car wash facility in Coney Island Yard Canopy replacement along the West End Line and the Brighton Line in Brooklyn New signage on 2,496 IRT cars In May of 1979, $19.9 million in federal funds was requested for the following transit improvements: Rebuilding the Marcy Avenue J/M station Equipping 170 token booths with a direct intercom to TA HQ that would also act as a silent alarm Replacement of the wooden platforms at Sutter Avenue (Canarsie Line) In 1976, the Transit Authority, as a cost saving measure, looked to discontinue the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, but neighborhood support for it always saved from being closed. One of the reasons for keeping it open, the neighborhood spokesmen would say, was to carry people to Brooklyn Jewish Hospital. In late 1979, however, the hospital itself was in dire financial straits. In 1977, the Linden Shop opened in Brooklyn, enabling the Transit Authority to prefabricate track panels indoors year-round. One of its first products was a 350-foot long by 40-foot wide diamond crossover installed just south of the BMT Jamaica Line at Queens Blvd. Prior to the plant's opening, track fabrication was performed in Westchester Yard in the Bronx and the 38th Street yard in Brooklyn. With the opening of the indoor facility, production increased nearly 50% over the previous year. At 11am on January 16th, 1978, the TA opened three interdivisional transfer points on the subway that today seem like they always existed: A transfer between the IRT at 14th St / 7th Ave with the BMT Canarsie Line and the IND 6th Avenue Line A transfer between the Lexington Avenue local at Canal Street with the BMT trunk line up Broadway A transfer between the BMT Brighton line at Atlantic Ave with the BMT West End, Sea Beach and Astoria Lines at Pacific Street and the IRT at Atlantic Ave The basis for today's subway map debuted at the Cityana Gallery on East 53rd Street on February 1st, 1977. The prototype had all lines drawn in red, which was not done when the production versions were released. This map would replace the London Underground style map created by Massimo Vignelli in 1972. Between November 1977 and February 1978, despite the snowy winter, 97% of trains were on time. In early 1978, it appeared that the Carter Administration was going to provide New York City with substantial Federal funds for modernizing its subway, bus and commuter rail operations. Perhaps with these funds, the 63rd Street line could be extended to Forest Hills by 1988, following the plans outlined in the "Program for Action". John G. deRoos, senior executive officer of the Transit Authority, felt his priorities were modernizing the existing system and completion of the Queens "super-express bypass" to Forest Hills. There was genuine hope that this could happen. President Carter also visited the New York Subway in September of 1979, and vowed to provide the funds to revitalize it. "New York's subway system is the senior citizen of underground rail travel - the IRT is 75 this year," Carter said. "But when Ed Koch and (MTA Chairman) Harold Fisher and I get through with it - with the tools we are fighting to get Congress to give us - it won't look a day over sweet 16." Despite the fiscal issues and uncertain funding, construction of the 63rd St subway continued on. Originally planned in the 1968 "Program for Action" as 40 miles of new subway for Queens, it had been reduced to 15 miles - the section under 63rd Street to 21st Street / Queensbridge, and the new subway under Archer Avenue to Parsons Blvd. The 21st Street / Queensbridge station was not in the original plan - it was added only after Queensbridge residents complained loudly enough to get it. Transit advocates at that time felt that the 63rd Street subway, in particular, would benefit very few people. The Transit Authority felt that people could be convinced to leave the E and F trains along Queens Blvd and transfer to the new line in Queensbridge. (The transfer would involve walking a block or two to the new line.) On August 8th, 1978, the federal government gave New York City $134.5 million in transit grants, most of which was slated for the 63rd Street line and an underground connection between the IND Queens Blvd line and the new station in Queensbridge. It was felt that the line could be open by 1981. Construction on the Archer Avenue subway continued, too. The holing through of the Archer Avenue subway tunnels occurred on December 14th, 1977. On October 1st, 1979, groundbreaking for a 1,300 cut and cover section of the Archer Avenue line occurred. This section also included the Jamaica / Van Wyck station. Construction was supposed to be completed in early 1984. By June of 1978, it was expected that 120 IRT cars would be retrofitted with air conditioning. 1,350 retrofitted IRT cars, about half the fleet, were expected to be completed by 1980, then revised to 1982, financed by a $35.3 million program with city, state and federal contributions. The remaining half of the IRT subway cars would be retrofitted or replaced outright by 1990. Subway cars were bring inspected every 7,500 miles, and the air conditioning systems were checked eight times between June 1st and Labor Day. The seeds for converting the original IRT City Hall station into a restaurant were sown in October of 1978. Phyllis Cerf Wagner, the head of the beautification committee advising the MTA, led numerous excursions into the station with city officials, and expressed her desire to make this conversion. A glass partition would be installed at the platform's edge to cut down on the noise and prevent restaurant patrons from falling onto the tracks. The Transit Authority introduced the "Train to the Plane", the JFK Express, on September 23rd, 1978. Even though the ride was more comfortable aboard new R-46 subway cars, and a premium fare was charged ($3.50), the JFK Express usually took longer to reach the airport that the A train did. The service was not popular with airport passengers, but did become popular with residents of Howard Beach, Queens, who felt that the premium fare was worth the comfortable trip to and from work. Trains operated from 57th Street / 6th Avenue to the Howard Beach station of the IND Rockaway Line on 20 minute headways between 6AM and 11PM. Source: http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/The_New_York_Transit_Authority_in_the_1970s |
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