RSS Feed
|
|||||
|
Canarsie Commuters Should Be Aware Of Subway Changes
Though the major changes in subway service that began Sunday don’t directly impact Canarsie line riders, many who begin their daily commute from the Rockway Parkway subway station may transfer to the affected lines. Therefore, as a public service, the Canarsie Courier felt an obligation to publish the following information provided by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Access to subway tracks was switched from the north to south side of the Manhattan Bridge to allow for the final phase of bridge rehabilitation work, according to MTA NYC Transit President Lawrence G. Reuter and NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Iris Weinshall. Subway trains that have been traveling on tracks on the north side of the bridge to the 6th Avenue line (B, D & Q) are being diverted to tracks on the south side of the bridge that lead to the Broadway line (N & R lines) until service is resumed on both sides in 2004. In order to reduce the impacts this project will have, the MTA has undertaken a massive public information campaign, including newspaper and radio adverstising in mainstream as well as ethnic media, 3.5 million multi-lingual brochures as well as on system car cards and posters. The information is being disseminated in English, Spanish, Chinese and Russian. A 24-hour customer information hotline has also been established at (718) 521-3333. The total cost of the outreach effort will be over one million dollars. The service highlights are: •Trains that cross the Manhattan Bridge will be on the Broadway N & R tracks instead of the 6th Avenue B, D & Q tracks, so in Manhattan, trains will take customers to different stations than they are used to. •B and D trains will operation two sections with a transfer available at 34th Street: Between Bronx and 34th Street in Manhattan: Between Manhattan and Brooklyn. •B, D & Q trains between Manhattan and Brooklyn will have new names: B becomes the W: D becomes the Q (Q in a circle); Q becomes the Q Express (Q in a diamond). •A Sixth Avenue shuttle designate "S" replaces the Q train which will run between Broadway/Lafayette Street in Manhattan and 21st Street/Queens Bridge in Queens. •A Grand Street Shuttle will run between Broadway/Lafayette station and the Grand Street station which will have no Manhattan bound traffic from Brooklyn. •A shuttle bus operation will run between the Grand Street and Canal Street stations. Governor George E. Pataki, Assembly Sheldon Silver and MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow and MTA NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter also announced yesterday an estimated $2 million in additional services for the Grand Street Community which includes: •Expansion of M train service from approximately 5 am to 10pm Monday through Friday to Brooklyn. •Eventual expansion of the temporary Grand Street subway shuttle from Grand Street to West 4th Street when track capacity becomes available on November 11th. The shuttle will run from Grand Street to Broadway/Lafayette station until then. •A shuttle bus will be provided between the DeKalb Avenue station in Brooklyn and the Grand Street station in Manhattan between 10pm and 5am. •The Bowery Station will be spruced up and receive additional police presence. Additionally, the DOT has made plans in conjunction with the subway changes that may affect commuters who drive to and from work. The DOT will use technology and the best available equipment to keep inconveniences to a minimum. Variable message signs will provide motorists with real time traffic conditions: dedicated 24-hour tow truck service will be present to ensure quick responses in clearing disabled vehicles from the bridge and the police department will post Traffic Enforcement Agents on either side of the bridge to maintain a smooth flow of traffic.
|
for larger version       |
||||
)
