Transit's No Good, Very Bad Day

Transit commuters in New York and Washington, D.C. were understandably frustrated yesterday. One wonders when enough will be enough, and what happens then?

2 minute read

June 28, 2017, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


New York Subway

stockelements / Shutterstock

"At least 37 people were injured Tuesday morning in a subway train derailment in Manhattan," report Paul Berger, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, and Melanie Grayve West for The Wall Street Journal.

"The derailment occurred after the morning rush hour around 9:40 a.m. on an A train traveling between 135th Street and 125th Street stations in Harlem," causing "crippling delays throughout the city’s subway system, affecting at least the A, B, C, D, E and F lines."

The political fallout took a surprising turn throughout the day, as both New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo kept the derailment at arm's length—their absence was conspicuous enough to warrant news coverage by Jillian Jorgensen and Aaron Holmes for the New York Daily News. Cuomo and de Blasio are currently in a well documented scrap over control of the MTA—for all the background on that ongoing controversy, start with an article by Amy Plitt that links to a lot more resources on the subject.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., there was no derailment to report, but the Red Line ran on a single track for much of the day, and the delays were prodigious. Dana Hedgpeth documented the drama in real time, gathering reactions to the snarled commute from social media and updating the story with reports from Metrorail.

Tuesday's was the second nightmarish transit commute in three weekdays, after two "arcing" incidents on Friday "clobbered" the morning commute. Martine Powers and Rachel Siegel provided reactions to those events by posing a question on the minds of many D.C.-area commuters: what exactly had the year-long maintenance program going by the name SafeTrack accomplished, and would the system's scheduled fare increases (going into effect today, June 25) and reduced services be a death knell for ridership.

Tuesday, June 27, 2017 in The Wall Street Journal

Sweeping view of Portland, Oregon with Mt. Hood in background against sunset sky.

Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary

Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.

March 12, 2024 - Housing Wire

Aerial view of green roofs with plants in Sydney, Australia.

Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024

A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.

March 10, 2024 - Daily Journal of Commerce

Cobblestone street with streetcar line, row of vintage streetlights on left, and colorful restaurant and shop awnings on right on River Street in Savannah, Georgia.

Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts

From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.

March 12, 2024 - Strong Towns

Aerial View of Chuckanut Drive and the Blanchard Bridge in the Skagit Valley.

Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding

The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.

March 18 - The Seattle Times

Historic buildings in downtown Los Angeles with large "Pan American Lofts" sign on side of building.

Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly

The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.

March 18 - Beverly Press

View from above of swan-shaped paddleboats with lights on around artesian fountain in Echo Park Lake with downtown Los Angeles skylien in background at twilight.

LA's Top Parks, Ranked

TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.

March 18 - TimeOut

News from HUD User

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Call for Speakers

Mpact Transit + Community

New Updates on PD&R Edge

HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.