Second Ave. Sagas

2avesag.as

27 March 2026 02:13

I'm going to take a gloating, well-deserved victory lap here. Yesterday, during the monthly meeting, the MTA did a presentation on the new fare gates, and while this is a small sample, as I have been saying for nearly a decade, better designed fare gates drastically reduce fare evasion.

Stephen Jacob Smith

stephenjacobsmith.com

06 March 2026 22:41

I say "sort of work" because the sheds removed from buildings is only part of the issue, and 40 ft. is still too conservative. The fatalities from objects falling from facades has, as far as I can tell, always occurred *directly* adjacent to building facades. 40 ft. should be reduced to 5 ft.

Stephen Jacob Smith

stephenjacobsmith.com

06 March 2026 22:26

Holy crap, Mamdani is finally doing something to bring down sidewalk sheds that will actually sort of work! Sheds will no longer be required more than 40 ft. away from buildings, which will be a help to NYCHA and other towers-in-a-park complexes www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...

Marco Chitti

chittimarco.bsky.social

13 January 2026 23:48

Dear North American station designers, this (first two pics) is not how you deal effectively with vertical circulation on a 120-130 ft (35-40 meters) deep station. It's either the Moscow way (long inclined escalators) or the Barcelona/E-M REM way (elevators-only).

Nolan Hicks

ndhapple.bsky.social

13 January 2026 23:48

I realize AECOM only sent back this in December. MTA has a real opportunity to squeeze some efficiencies out of the 125th/St. Nicholas Street box, which extends well beyond both ancillary towers. You'll recall that the reworked 125/Lex station shoved all that back of house into the towers.