Transit Authority
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Q: After the recent heavy snow, the footing in subway stations seemed especially treacherous. Am I wrong in thinking the surface of and near the steps is difficult to keep dry and safe? Who’s responsible for clearing it?
A: Snow is always difficult to clean from any outdoor stairway, but the crews that clean the subway face another obstacle: hot air. All the stairs that lead to underground stations are heated by warm air rising out of the station and tunnels. Snow on those stairs is exposed to the warm air from the inside and the cold air from the outside, which creates slush, ice, and a safety hazard. Conversely, staircases that lead to elevated stations, like most freestanding structures, freeze easily, making them ripe for ice patches.
The people who are supposed to deal with the situation are the station cleaning crews, the same people who are responsible for removing garbage from stations.
What are all these giant signs I’ve started seeing over intersections? How much is this project costing the city?
The city’s Department of Transportation began a citywide program over the summer to install “oversized” signs at major intersections in an effort to promote safety, according to a department spokesman, Craig Chin. The agency feels enhanced visibility of cross-street names will allow drivers more time to prepare for turns. The larger the sign, the earlier an approaching driver can recognize it.
A standard street sign costs $120 for materials and installation, and the new oversized signs cost the city $550 each, according to an e-mail from Mr. Chin. The department has already installed 1,000 oversized signs and hopes to have about 1,500 more of them in place within the next year, he reported. Those numbers indicate the project has cost $550,000 to date and will cost another $825,000 by the end of this year.
The signs come in three sizes: 72 by 16 inches, 84 by 16 inches, and 96 by 16 inches. The first ones went up on Hyland Boulevard in Staten Island and along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn in 2003.
Have a question about getting around the city? Please send it totransit@nysun.com.
