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Earlier this week, the City of New York released a request for proposals (RFP) to redesign a portion of Park Avenue, between East 46th Street and East 57th Street, by adding greenery, public seating, concessions, and safer crossings for pedestrians. This section of Park Avenue sits atop the... View full entry
Congestion pricing proponents want to see New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in court. A group of local advocates filed a pair of lawsuits against the governor on Thursday, claiming she lacked the legal authority to order the MTA to pause the Manhattan tolling program last month. It was originally scheduled to launch on June 30 until Hochul made an eleventh-hour declaration that it would not move forward. — Gothamist
It seemed as though the long debated congestion pricing program was finally on its way following the Federal Highway Administration's approval of the program in June of last year. Related on Archinect: New York City's congestion pricing program receives federal approval One of the lawsuits... View full entry
Following last week’s look at an opening for a Technical Architect - US Government Work at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Deputy Director, Occupancy Management - Real Estate at the MTA... View full entry
Some 400 miles of subway tracks, half of Metro-North’s Hudson Line and several Long Island Rail Road stations are in dire need of upgrades to stave off flooding and other extreme weather exacerbated by climate change, the MTA wrote in a report published on Wednesday.
The report, called the 20-year needs assessment, is a breakdown of the agency’s $1.5 trillion worth of transit infrastructure, and details which equipment planners believe most urgently needs fixing over the next two decades.
— Gothamist
The system, which is now (finally) on a more stable financial track, needs a litany of upgrades over the next two decades, according to the breakdown. A total of 350 of the 493 elevators operated by the MTA will need to be replaced in that timeframe. Another 6,300 rail cars and 100% of all... View full entry
New Jersey took a significant step Friday as it seeks to block New York’s congestion pricing plan with a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Gov. Phil Murphy, standing behind a podium that read “FIGHTING AN UNFAIR CONGESTION TAX,” said at a morning press conference that he hopes the lawsuit triggers an environmental impact statement delaying the program.
— SILive.com
New York City's new congestion pricing plan was finally approved on a federal level last month following years of debate that began under then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday that he wants to prevent pollution from the... View full entry
Congestion pricing in New York City has cleared its final federal hurdle, officials said on Monday, all but ensuring that the first such program in the nation will begin next year with the aim of reducing traffic and pollution in Manhattan and funding improvements to mass transit. — The New York Times
Following the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of the program, a local panel appointed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will now work to determine final toll rates, including any discounts or exemptions. A report released by the MTA last August revealed one... View full entry
A Manhattan federal judge on Friday approved a settlement to a class action lawsuit that locks the MTA into equipping 95% of subway and Staten Island Railway stations with elevators or ramps — with a deadline three decades away.
The approval by Judge Edgardo Ramos caps one part of a long-running push by advocates for people with disabilities to improve access to a transit system where merely a quarter of the nearly 500 stations comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
— The City
As The City reported, the ruling makes the terms of last June’s landmark settlement official. Judge Ramos told plaintiffs that he knows the push would be a “very difficult thing to achieve.” MTA officials currently plan the upgrades in stages, with 81 stations affected by 2024 as... View full entry
The terminal will also be an underground gallery of sorts, featuring enormous mosaics by two female artists with strong New York City connections, M.T.A. Arts & Design, which commissions art for the transit authority, is announcing Friday: Kiki Smith, a longtime resident known for her figurative work, and Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese sculptor and installation artist who lived in the city from 1958 to 1975. — The New York Times
The $11 billion transportation project opens in December after a lengthy 16-year construction period. Kusama’s past public installations have drawn the admiration of millions from outside the art and design worlds, while the German-born and New York-based Smith is considered a leading figure of... View full entry
The MTA will consider a transformative project that would extend the upcoming Second Avenue Subway even further by routing it west below 125th Street and then further uptown, the agency announced this week. — Patch
The Second Avenue Subway is currently set to expand from its phase 1 completion, which wrapped up in January 2017 with the opening of the 72nd, 86th, and 96th Street stations. The decades-old project, which was originally proposed in 1920, moved into the next stage of the federal funding process... View full entry
New York has lagged for years behind other major American cities in making its subway system accessible to people with disabilities: Just 126 of its 472 stations, or 27 percent, have elevators or ramps that make them fully accessible. But on Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it would add elevators and ramps to 95 percent of the subway’s stations by 2055 as part of a settlement agreement in two class-action lawsuits over the issue. — The New York Times
The settlement will see 81 subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2025. Another 85 stations will be made accessible by 2035, with 90 more by 2045, and an additional 90 by 2055. The subway stations selected for changes include nine that currently are partially accessible, where... View full entry
In its first month, the MTA’s OMNY fare capping pilot had more than 168,000 people hit a 13th ride, earning an unlimited pass for the rest of that week. The agency said this group of straphangers had gone on to ride enough to save more than $1 million in fares. MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said at last week’s monthly MTA board meeting that these were the kind of results that could ensure the program sticks around after the four-month pilot is over. — Gothamist
Launched towards the end of February, the pilot fare program seems to be a win for both the MTA and its riders, which could prompt making it permanent. Data collected by the agency shows that 86% of people who got the bonus were subway riders, with the remaining reaching the 13th ride on... View full entry
Congestion pricing may be headed to New York City by the end of 2023. During a budget hearing with the New York City Council's transportation committee this week, MTA Director of Capital Program Management Steve Berrang revealed that the agency expects the federal government to approve the environmental review later this year, which will be followed by a year-long process of installing the congestion pricing infrastructure. — Gothamist
This plan, the country’s first ever congestion pricing law, is coming into fruition after it was initially approved by the state legislature in Albany in 2019 and then subsequently stalled by the Trump administration. The congestion pricing will include tolls for drivers entering Manhattan... View full entry
Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Friday a sweeping plan to deploy teams of police officers and social workers into New York City’s subway, pledging to remove homeless people who shelter on trains and platforms, some of whom have contributed to escalating violence in the system. — The New York Times
According to the new plan, the police will have a direct mandate to enforce rules against lying down, sleeping, occupying more than one seat, littering, aggressive behavior towards riders, smoking, and open drug use. In addition, mental health professionals with the power to order involuntary... View full entry
In an effort to encourage New Yorkers to get back on subways, buses, and trains -- particularly following the sharp decline in ridership due to the pandemic -- the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced a pilot fare program that is "more affordable, more flexible and more fair." — NBC New York
The fare capping pilot will feature free, unlimited rides after 12 OMNY taps, New York’s contactless fare payment system that will replace the MetroCard on the New York City subway in 2023. Under this program, no OMNY user would pay more than $33 per week, which is the current price of a... View full entry
After 58 years of service, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has now retired every single one of its remaining “Brightliners” (R-32 subway cars). Known for their shiny corrugated stainless-steel paneling, the Brightliners bid New York City farewell earlier this month, before they were taken by rail to be scrapped in Ohio. — Fast Company
A majority of the cars were retired over ten years ago, when more than a 1,000 of the R-32s were dumped in coastal areas in Delaware, New Jersey, and Georgia to establish artificial reefs. The plan was meant to boost recreational fishing, which at the time generated billions in state and federal... View full entry
