Travelers who use the 61st Street Woodside subway station may be seeing a few new improvements.
City Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer and Congressmember Joseph Crowley met with Senior Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials on Monday, July 26 to discuss funding potential improvements to the station.
“The congressmember and I share the desire to see the station improve,” said Van Bramer.
Van Bramer said that they conducted a walk-through of the experience at the station and hope to improve traffic flow, cleanliness and the safety and ease of getting in and out of the station and trains.
An MTA spokesperson said they were considering installing wind screens at the No. 7 line platform. There are no definite timetables in place or costs evaluated yet, according to the sources.
“We know people are up on those platforms waiting for trains, so it’s important to make those times as pleasant as possible,” Van Bramer said.
The Woodside station is an important one to improve, since it serves the No. 7 line and the LIRR, in addition to bus stops for the Q53, Q18 and Q32 bus lines.
“It’s an important transfer hub,” said Aaron Donovan, the Deputy Press Secretary for the MTA.
However, these talks are coming at a bad financial time for the MTA. On Wednesday, July 28, they released their 2011 Preliminary Budget and proposed Four-Year Financial Plan for 2011-2014. The plans include unprecedented cuts of internal costs to combat their $900 million deficit in 2010 and up to a 7.5 percent increase in fares in 2011.
“It may be something that’s possible to be done at minimal costs and that’s something that we’re evaluating as well,” said Donovan.
