Category: irl

Times Square…oh how do I even begin this one? Well, it’s the dog days of summer, and this one’s gonna be one hell of a doozy. That is, a 5 in 1 package. Let’s dig into it: the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the associated MTA subway station, the Times Square subway station, and the Bryant Park/5th Ave. station complex. Yes, all of these are attached to one another. So, buckle down, for this will be LONG.

So, to start with this entry, I was intercepted by someone from the Miles in Transit server (this was before I met up with Miranda for Christopher St.’s entry) at Penn Station. I then took my HRT on line E, and continued to the PABT. Commence review.

The platforms are pretty standard as seen elsewhere, two island platforms (albeit staggered), with benches, wayfinding, and a countdown clock. They are also accessible via ramps. The mezzanine is huge, with access to the PABT, and even has shops lining it. The PABT itself is pretty expansive, and while I didn’t have a lot of time to check it out (I would be here all day!), the bus terminal itself is expansive. Information booths can be found for Greyhound, Peter Pan, among other carriers. There’s even shopping and restaurants in the non-subway section of the terminal. Neat! From what I heard, the bus berths are just oversized parking garages, so I wasn’t bothered. The End!

HA! You thought this was the end? LMAO NOPE! Well, after going through a concourse tunnel, we reach 7th Ave. at Broadway. Welcome to Times Square!

Times Square has lines #s 1-3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and the Grand Central-Times Square shuttle. But first, a poem. It’s actually kinda dark, reading:
“OVERSLEPT, SO TIRED. IF LATE, GET FIRED. WHY BOTHER? WHY THE PAIN?”
Damn. That’s actually very dark, and in a way kinda relatable. Well, we reach Times Square’s mezzanine and it’s pretty big. There’s restrooms nearby (staffed!!!!!!), and stairs to every which way. The station itself, though, is more on the empty side. Now, if you’re expecting the platforms for each set of lines to be different….you’d actually be wrong here. Lines #s 1-3 use a pair of islands, with line #3 in particular being a shuttle between here and 148th St.-Lenox Terminal overnight. Lines N, Q, R, and W also use a pair of islands, albeit oriented diagonally underneath Broadway, rather than 7th Ave. Then, there’s line #7, which is yet another island platform. Historically, this station was the terminus for line #7 until Hudson Yards opened in 2015, and until then there were some big mean mother bumpers at the end of the track. Lastly, there’s the Times Square shuttle platform. There used to be three tracks, however that changed relatively recently with modifications to widen the platform, so now it’s just two with an oversized island. One of the two tracks happens to connect to line #1 at the Times Square end as well. Neat! In terms of platform amenities, you have the usual signage, countdown clocks (yes, even for the shuttle!), benches, and wastebaskets. Nothing exciting. The station is also accessible by elevators – however, the PABT transfer is not due to a steeper than normal grade. Sorry!

On the surface, Times Square is one hell of a busy place. In fact, it is known to be overwhelming to some. Even I felt mildly overwhelmed but GOOD GOD was it an experience. Many express and local buses can be found here at street level, while some can be found near Bryant Park, with the PABT having a number of NJT and intercity buses. One of the entrances to Times Square, a simple staircase, is also reported to cost $30 million. Yikes! Overall, this place is definitely among the most photographed in the world, and being here was certainly an experience. Furthermore, you also have a number of shops and theaters nearby. Moving on!

Eventually, going back to the shuttle platform, Bryant Park station can be accessed underground from here. It’s a stone’s throw away again, which means in theory you can walk from one #7 line platform to the other! HA! Nice… Anyways, I digress. Bryant Park isn’t too special, with the connections to lines B, D, F, and M along with line #7. Except for one thing… Line #7’s platform has “platform screen doors” – albeit, better, as platform barriers. THEY SUCK. THEY CALL THESE PLATFORM SCREEN DOORS?! THIS AIN’T THE KIND OF STUFF THAT RMTRANSIT MENTIONS IN LITERALLY EVERY VIDEO!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT MTA!!!!!!!! THESE ARE NOT GOING TO DETER A MALICIOUS MALFACTOR OR ANYONE ELSE FROM FORCING A LIVING BEING ONTO THE GODDAMN THIRD RAIL!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! I digress, the mezzanine is your typical ex-Independent Subway mezzanine (the Independent Subway, or IND for short, being one of the three predecessor entities to the modern MTA, forming part of the present-day B division/lettered lines). That’s to say, stupidly overbuilt. That’s it. That’s the entire review. Sorry, no pictures of Bryant Park, but it is a pretty nice place, and I might add pics next time I’m in NYC.

The good: It is HUGE and has connections to almost every line. (it does not connect to lines G, J, L, Z, or the Staten Island Railroad). The areas on the surface are full of activity as well, and the PABT is a major destination. It’s also (relatively) a stone’s throw from Penn Station and Grand Central. There’s also restrooms!

The bad: It can be a little confusing for some! Furthermore, it’s a goddamn sauna during the summer. PLATFORM BARRIERS TOO FHDAIOHFIODPWAYHFIODPASHFA.

Nearby points of interest: Bryant Park, Times Square, the PABT, and the many shops, restaurants, theaters, etc. in the area are the big ones! The main branch of the New York Public Library is at Bryant Park as well. The Rockefeller Center, while not directly here, is a stone’s throw away, as is Grand Central.

Transit connections:
6th Ave. Line (lines B, D, F, FX, M)
7th Ave. Line(lines #s 1, 2, 3)
8th Ave. Line (lines A, C, E)
Broadway Line (lines N, Q, R, W)
Flushing Line (lines #s 7, 7X)
42nd St. Shuttle
MTA bus (M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M7, M20, M34A SBS, M42, M55, M104, Q32, SIM1C, SIM3, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM6, SIM8, SIM8X, SIM10, SIM22, SIM23, SIM24 SIM25, SIM26, SIM30, SIM31, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, BxM10, BxM11, BxM18, QM1, QM2, QM3, QM4, QM5, QM6, QM20)
NJ Transit bus (101, 102, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 119, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 144, 145, 148, 151, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 177, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 319, 320, 321, 324, 355)
Bee-Line Bus (BxM4C)
Various intercity buses

Overall, this station complex is the single most important station (or station complex, rather) on the entire MTA subway, connecting almost every line with each other. Just be safe and mindful of pickpocketing people. If you’re ever in NYC as a tourist, I wouldn’t say “don’t come here”, and in fact I say do go for it at least once. But, in terms of the station itself, it’s not too grandiose inside, and the relatively high rating comes from the lively vibes of the surrounding areas. Screw those platform fences on 5th Ave. though.

Rating: 7/10

Nomenclature: the body/system of names in a field

Why is the above relevant? Well, that’s because we’re going to be talking about nomenclature and naming convention. Lines vs. routes vs. trains, colors vs. alphabet soup, wayfinding, inbound/outbound, the hell even is an “uptown”?! Well, you name it, I’ll be sure to mention it and talk about it a little, and some of the problems a decent naming system can prevent, and a bad naming system can cause.

First, let’s take a look at what I’m most familiar with: the MBTA. So, the MBTA uses terms like inbound/outbound, the rainbow for subway lines (alphabet soup for the Green & Silver Lines specifically, primarily), and overall is pretty damn good with regards to wayfinding. Inbound and outbound are relative to Park St., Downtown Crossing, Government Center, and State Street (going towards these four is “inbound”, away is “outbound”). Then, there’s the Green Line. The Green (& also Silver, as it applies here too) are split into four branches: B-E. Wayfinding here is a bit gorey as all the signage will say “GREEN LINE – [TERMINAL]/PARK ST & NORTH/COPLEY & WEST”. Not exactly helpful for signage, if you were to say “go take a train signed for Heath Street” or “board a D train” – as the signs will NOT tell you this. Good wayfinding consistent with what’s on rolling stock? Well, not entirely…

The Silver Line (at least, the Transitway), however, is different… Yeah. As seen above, not only do you have a map of the Silver Line, you also have signage WHICH TELLS YOU WHAT THE ROUTES ARE SIGNED AS ON THE BUSES AND WHERE THEY GO!!!!!! WOAH, THIS IS ACTUALLY KINDA USEFUL! On the other hand, with the Green Line also existing, this KINDA LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED THERE! Like, why not have signs say “B/C GOVERNMENT CENTER”, “D UNION SQUARE” and “E MEDFORD/TUFTS” (or B BOSTON COLLEGE, C CLEVELAND CIRCLE, D RIVERSIDE, and E HEATH ST.)?!

And then you have wayfinding like in NYC……. Well, to the uninitiated (like myself), it looks immensely gorey. The fuck is an uptown, the hell does all this mean, and why does the Red Line stop on many platforms?! HELP, I DON’T GET ANY OF THIS!!!! Well, chill there, little Timmy…

First off, it’s highly frowned upon to call subway lines by way of the rainbow in NYC. I mean, you can, but then you’ll have a case where “125th St. on the Red Line” can mean 125th & Broadway (the #1 Red Line) or 125th & Malcolm X Blvd. (the #2 and #3 Red Line). For cases like this, it’s usually prudent to just use cross-streets, or simply the service name. What’s a service? Well, think of a service like the Green or Red Line’s branches in Boston. Essentially, services in NYC are what branches are in Boston, and are more “routes” like bus routes are. Furthermore, the colors primarily refer to where in Manhattan the routes run. From left to right, north to south:

Blue: 8th Ave.
Red: 7th Ave.
Yellow: Broadway
Orange: 6th Ave.
Green: Lexington Ave.
Teal: 2nd Ave. (not currently used)
Purple: Flushing (runs underneath 42nd St. primarily)
Silver: Canarsie (runs underneath 14th St. primarily)
Brown: Nassau St.

But then you have the Crosstown Line (which doesn’t touch Manhattan at all), which is also green (but lighter green), and the shuttle lines are also in silver-grey (used for the Times Sq.-Grand Central, Franklin Ave., and Rockaway shuttles). But, whatever you do, do NOT use the rainbow, as tempting as that may be, or this might happen:

What the hell is an “uptown”? Simply put, uptown is north. Downtown, while you might be tempted to think is a synonym for “city center”, and in most cases you’d be right (downtown Boston, City Center Philly, Downcity Providence, can all be referred to as “downtown” and you probably won’t raise eyebrows out of confusion). However, use that in New York, and you’ll invariably raise eyebrows. Where IS “downtown”? Common sense might tell you “it’s near where Penn Station, Grand Central, the World Trade Center, UN HQ, etc. are”, however it’s not that simple…

Yes, there are actually MULTIPLE downtowns in NYC. “Downtown” without any place names simply refer to “south”, and “downtown Manhattan” is synonymous with lower Manhattan. However, you also have downtown Brooklyn and downtown Flushing in Queens. So, while it’s reasonable to think “downtown NYC” if you’re not familiar, just bear that in mind that most will probably default to lower Manhattan.

Back to wayfinding, what the hell does that sign mean? Well, let’s break it down. We’ve established that “Uptown” is north, The Bronx refers to, well, the Bronx, so what does the rest of the signage mean? Local tracks are the outer tracks in a 3- or 4-track setup, with express tracks being the inner tracks. So, essentially, the sign is saying “#2 and #3 7th Ave. Line stops at this platform heading north. #1 and #2 7th Ave. Line stops on local tracks during nights, change at 42nd St. for #3 7th Ave. Line”. That’s pretty much what the wayfinding sums up to. Sometimes, some routes that normally run express will run local at night or weekends, or they might short-turn somewhere before their terminus.

Other cities are relatively tame when it comes to wayfinding, like Chicago or Philly (I sadly don’t have many pictures of either), however typically NYC is considered the goriest and it’s understandable from an outsider’s POV on why that might be so. However, typically, if you need any help figuring out the gorey mess (at face value), usually Google can be of help, as are any staff that are at the station. There’s no shame in asking, and when I was in NYC I may have had to ask for a little bit of help myself.

So, how does this play into my blog? Well, I use the line name in the titles for subway stations, and rail operators for commuter and intercity rail stations. The MBTA was easy enough, as I could just simply suffix (Blue Line), (Red & Green Lines), etc. to each title where applicable. Metro-North is also easy, as I could just suffix (Metro-North) to each station, or (Amtrak/Metro-North) where applicable. But, the MTA? Each subway line is more a “route” than an actual line, as I said earlier. So, how am I handling this? Well, this poses another conundrum. For titles, usually grouping subway lines together is better for readability. I’d be more inclined, personally, to click something that read, as an example:

14th St.-Union Square (Lexington Ave./Broadway/Canarsie)

over
14th St.-Union Square (4/5/6/L/N/Q/R/W).

I mean, yeah, using alphabet soup is quicker, if I’m typing, but it’s also not really pursuant to readability. Plus, using those rules, I’d have to go back and retroactively change every Red Line station to (Ashmont/Braintree), every Green Line to (B/C/D/E), and every Silver Line stop to (SL1/SL2/SL3/SL4/SL5) or whatever is applicable. And, I don’t want to do that. So, for the sake of maintaining consistency between agencies and not pissing off the foamers in the room, I’m using the actual line name rather than the alphabet soup. And, with that, I hereby conclude my rambling on nomenclature and wayfinding.

Now excuse me, I need to go shit on the #7 Flushing Line for being overhyped (or smth, i actually don’t know what to do from here)

TL;DR: consistent naming convention is good. Wayfinding that isn’t a garbled mess or too overwhelming is good. Duplicative naming can be bad if there’s no way to differentiate.