Photograph of one of the wooden platform rubbing boards boards at the Kings Highway subway station by Triborough on Flickr In the wake of a 14-year-old's fall into subway tracks after the platform edge crumbled, giving way, concerns are being raised over dangerous platforms at other stations. amNew York listed nine in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan: Brooklyn, Q line: - Avenue J: boards are separated from the platform and warped. - Avenue M:......

Oh, MTA - you and your outlandish idea of putting a glorious glass dome at the renovated Fulton Street Transit Center! The proposed design, unveiled in 2004, seemed an inspiring idea for the agency. But, after years of attempts to start construction, costs have risen to $1.15 billion, from the initially estimated $750 million, causing MTA executive director Eliot Sander to say, "I am sad to say that we cannot build the transit center......

The hilarity never ends when talking about cell phone service in the subways. The City Council spoke to the MTA about the agency's upcoming cell phone service plans, and apparently some members suggested that there should be "quiet cars" on the subway. We cannot stop laughing! City Councilman Oliver Koppell suggested that quiet cars would be a haven from the chattering masses who would use cell phones in the cars. (Let's not forget that the......

Something is happening with congestion pricing in Albany, but we're not exactly sure what. It's not put-a-fork-in-it dead yet, but it might be close to it. Or not! WCBS said the plan was "dealt [a] crippling blow", but Spitzer's staff is looking to create a commission that would give Albany the power to scale the plan back. The Daily News said that Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver won't bring his members back to vote on it......

An interesting bill is being considered by the City Council: The NY Sun reports that City Council member John Liu is sponsoring a bill for a $3 million plan to put more taxi dispatchers in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Liu, who also chairs the Transportation Committee, said, "The reality of New York today is that people outside of Manhattan's central business district would like to jump in a cab on demand.As we have more......

After City Council recently passed a bill to regulate pedicabs, Mayor Bloomberg decided to wait a bit longer before signing it (however, he did sign three bills about nightlife safety). Angry pedicab owners seemed to influence the mayor, pleading that the bill would contradict the 2030 sustainable city initiative. Bloomberg has until March 30th to decide whether to sign, veto or leave it alone. If left alone, the bill would automatically become law. Mayor Bloomberg......

This could also be titled "Kalikow Doesn't Care As Much About Non-Hamptons People." After receiving a complaint about the Montauk LIRR station, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow took care of the matter immediately. Corcoran agent and Montauk resident Deanna Banks wrote a letter to Hamptons.com saying that after leaving a message with Kalikow's secretary, the secretary called to say, "Mr. Kalikow said he would make efforts to fix the parking lot." Potholes were filled nine day......

- The experiment to have subway riders use their cell phones to pay for fares is ramping up. amNew York reports that one of the trial's sponsors, Citigroup, is looking for willing guinea pigs (suckers?) to participate. Here's how it works:The three-to-six-month trial is limited to people who are both existing Citi MasterCard holders and Cingular Wireless subscribers. Interested riders need to sign-up at www.nyctrial.com by Dec. 21, Semenchuk said. Several hundred people will......

- Even though Mayor Bloomberg says he'll sign the City Council's 25% pay raise (an extra $22,500 to bring the total salary to $112,500), he criticizes the fact that many City Council members are able to have other jobs, since the City Charter says City Council positions are "part-time." He also blasted the "lulus" - aka stipends of thousands of dollars - the City Council members get for chairing committees and the like. Easy for......

City Councilman John Liu, who heads the the Council's Transportation Committee, thinks the city should install the countdown signs at traffic lights - you know, the ones that tell you how much time there is until the light changes to red. But the counterargument would be that people underestimate the time it takes to walk across the street. Is that because people think their strides are longer than they really are? It'd be funny to......

The MTA says their current offer is their "final offer" to the Transit Workers Union. And what's the offer? Three percent each year over a three year contract; the union wants 8% more. And benefits-wise, the MTA would ask new hires to pay 1% of their pay to go towards their health plans (workers do not do this now). Finally, the MTA wants to increase the retirement age from 55 to 62 after 30 years......

If there is one thing we love to hear about, that would be the creation of more dedicated bike lanes in the city. So how happy were we when we found this article in this weeks Villager? Pretty happy. We won't be ecstatic till everything is final, but things are definitely looking optimistic. The deal: Last week the Transportation Committee of Community Board 4 voted 8-0 to send the full board a proposal for an......

Mark your calendar for December 1. That's when the City Council will have a public hearing for commuters to complain about the insanity of weekend subway diversions (especially the ones on the L!). City Councilman John Liu, who heads the Council's Transportation Committee says, "We want the MTA to do whatever repair work is required...but the disruptions are so numerous and pervasive that there's serious lack of accountability." True, but will the NYC subway-riding public......

The rape of an art student at the G train 21st Street stop in Long Island City is upsetting New Yorkers. Not only did a token booth clerk stay in his booth when he saw the attack (he did call for more help), it turns out that a police command booth was empty, because police had complained about air quality issues in the station. The NY Post says that these are actually "anti-terror posts/omega booths"......

Given the loud and constant din about security concerns over the past few years, you'd think that public agencies would have already raced to assess their security risks and patch up post-9/11 terror vulnerabilities. Not so with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, evidently, which, according to Marcus Baram's piece in this week's Observer, has only spent $25 to 30 million of the $591 million it has budgeted for security. Gothamist certainly wouldn't advise the agency to......

The L train will get the city's first computer-controlled trains this summer. And as with any new technology not with the words "iPod" or "Mac" attached to it, there's a bit of controversy. It turns out the computerized trains ("Communication-Based Train Control") will only have one MTA employee manning them, not two as previously discussed. This employee will be in charge of monitoring the controls, opening and closing doors, and "tending to passengers' issues," which......

There's a NY Times article about how Technology > Circuits > Oft-Scorned Segway Finds Friends Among the Disabled" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/14/technology/circuits/14segw.html?pagewanted=2">Segways are being used by the disabled to get around - though the FDA and other healthy agencies haven't officially called it a device for the disabled - Gothamist noticed an interesting quote about Segways in NYC:In New York City, the Segway falls into a gray area, said Councilman John C. Liu, a Queens Democrat who is......