NYCT Fulton Center station complex opens

[afigg]

The NYC subway rebuilt and expanded Fulton Center, formerly known as the Fulton Street Transit Center, which connects multiple subway lines in lower Manhattan, officially opened this morning after a near decade long rebuilding project. Somewhat controversial due to the budget overruns, it is a major rebuild of a maze of connecting tunnels and multiple subway stations with improved connections and full ADA access.

MTA webpage on the new Center opening with photos: Welcome to the New Fulton Center

NY Times take on the station opening: Out of Dust and Debris, a New Jewel Rises

In the not as enthusiastic category mainly because of the $1.5 billion price tag and the years behind schedule, the Second Avenue Sagas blog: A look inside the new Fulton St. Transit Center.

 

[jis]

One of the interesting features of this rebuild apparently is that it is not likely to add a single new user due to this project. Some have called it a vanity project. I am a bit more ambivalent about it. Afterall there is a role to be played for creation of attractive public space, but as usual, at what cost, and what else could have achieved in the way of actually increasing coverage of the user space becomes an issue.

Incidentally, the Moynihan Station project is also considered to be a vanity project which serve no additional transportation purpose by many in the New York area, even by many who are as blue as the sky on a bright sunny day!.

 

[John Bredin]

One of the interesting features of this rebuild apparently is that it is not likely to add a single new user due to this project. Some have called it a vanity project. I am a bit more ambivalent about it. Afterall there is a role to be played for creation of attractive public space, but as usual, at what cost, and what else could have achieved in the way of actually increasing coverage of the user space becomes an issue.

Incidentally, the Moynihan Station project is also considered to be a vanity project which serve no additional transportation purpose by many in the New York area, even by many who are as blue as the sky on a bright sunny day!.

Was the old Fulton station fully accessible, so disabled passengers (and passengers with baby carriages, bikes, etc.) could catch every line and transfer between every line serving the station? If not, then IMHO there is a rider benefit rather than mere aesthetics.

My quick search found that only a fifth of NYC Subway stations (about 100/500) are accessible. http://theweeklynabe.com/2013/06/13/mta-key-station-plan-subway-accessibility/ To compare to a similarly old system (that is, built before the Rehabilitation Act/ADA era), 97 of 145 CTA L stations are accessible. http://www.transitchicago.com/riding_cta/accessibilityfaq.aspx To be fair, (1) the CTA achieved this mainly by making all stations on a line accessible as part of general renovation of the line (Green, Brown, Pink, and most recently southern Red), and (2) two of the three L lines that aren't totally or mostly accessible are also the busiest, Red and Blue.

 

[jis]

Providing ADA compliance is a very minor part of the amount of money spent. Personally I like the creation of attractive public spaces, but I can see the opposing argument on whether the money spent for the aesthetics were spent on actually providing additional subway lines etc.

 

[neroden]

You're simply wrong, jis. Providing ADA compliance was actually the bulk of the money spent on this project. A large hunk was also spent on "overcrowding relief", basically opening up the 4/5 northbound platform to accomodate the enormous crowds which wend through it. (They were worried about people falling on the tracks and didn't want to do what London does, closing station entrances at peak hours.)

The surface building was a small fraction of the project.

Due to the funny way NYC Subway does its ADA accounting (they count platforms on different lines as separate stations), this project provided ADA access for 4 1/2 stations (only one direction of Cortlandt St.), out of the 100 "key stations" which they are required to make accessible by a hard deadline. None of the stations were accessible before, and none of the connections between them were accessible.

The number of elevators installed is quite large.