-
New Yorkers largely approve of transit, Broadway revamp
New Yorkers love to bash the MTA, but they have to admit the glass isn’t always half empty.
Half of straphangers surveyed in a citywide poll released Wednesday rated subway service as good or excellent and 56 percent gave favorable marks to the MTA’s bus service. “That sounds about right,” said Jon Openshaw, 27, of Greenpoint. “I live near the G train, which is notorious for just disappearing. But the E train is awesome -- always on time.” In the survey of 1,300 city residents by Quinnipiac University last week, commuters from Manhattan and Queens generally gave the MTA higher marks for its subways and buses than those from the other boroughs. Most respondents said service had remained even during the last five years. Still, 70 percent of those surveyed slammed the MTA’s recent fare hike. “It’s a great system but people have issues with it, whether it’s the cost or it’s too crowded,” said Gene Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. An MTA spokesman declined comment. In other findings in the wide-ranging survey: - About 75 percent of those surveyed thought the Second Avenue Subway and No. 7 extension to the West Side wouldn’t be built on time. - Most thought the MTA needed to improve its announcements about service disruptions. - About 60 percent supported the ban on vehicles on Broadway at Herald and Times squares. Respondents were split, however, about whether the city should create more pedestrian malls and few wanted a car-free space in their own neighborhood. “The results so far have been very promising,” said mayoral spokesman Marc LaVorgna about the Broadway changes. “People seem to be enjoying the space.” Sonia Casiano, 41, of Woodside, said she’s gotten used to the Times Square revamp.
“It gives you more space to walk,” she said. Straphangers in midtown yesterday generally called their weekday commutes manageable, but want improved weekend service, cleaner trains and clearer announcements.
Jason Fink and Marlene Naanes contributed to this story.
“Sometimes you can’t hear anything,” said Hadj Ba, 25, a frequent rider on the J, M and Z lines. “(They) will say the stop sometimes, and the next stop, they don’t say anything. Every tourist for themselves.”
hhaddon@am-ny.com
- Follow Us
advertisement | advertise on am New York
advertisement | advertise on am New York
Partners
Search cars
