NEWS: Fulton Transit Center Update
MTA reveals final Fulton plan
by patrick arden / metro new york
JAN 30, 2007
MIDTOWN. The final design for the Fulton Street Transit Center was unveiled yesterday. The connector between the E and the R/W trains had been reinstated, and the glass dome, meant to shed light on subway platforms, was scaled down but still distinct atop the main building.
As expected, the latest version of the transit center will cost $41 million more than the $847 million the federal government had allocated for the project.
Less expected was the requirement for riders leaving the R/W, 1 or E trains to pay again before reaching the 4/5, A/C, J/M/Z and 2/3 trains.
That setup is “no different than it is today,” said Mysore Nagaraja, head of MTA Capital Construction. “Once you are east of Broadway, it is all free — you can change from one line to the other line. But if you are west of Broadway, then you have to pay.”
The main building will be open to the public, with 24,000 square feet of retail space. Monthly-pass holders would not be paying twice, Nagaraja noted, and the MTA board could eventally allow access to R/W, 1 and E riders “through software changes in the Metrocard.”
Rider advocate Gene Russianoff was willing to accept the two fares. The transit center will ease connections and become more than just a train station.
“We’re big supporters of the plan,” said Russianoff, of the Straphangers Campaign. “I use that station a couple of times a week —- it’s like being in a fun house that’s no fun. You have to figure out where you’re going or be in-the-know.”
Nagaraja said he was “90 percent” confident a deal would be reached to piggyback Port Authority construction at Ground Zero, bringing the cost of the connector between the E and the R/W down “substantially” from $15 million to “$2 million to $5 million.” The complete transit center will have 29 entrances and exits, 10 new escalators and 12 new elevators. “All of these stations are going to be ADA compliant,” Nagaraja said. Construction will be complete in 2009.