Cheryl Motley, a 62-year-old Rockaway resident, faces disruptions to her daily commute as the A train service outage will disconnect over 9,000 daily commuters from the Rockaway peninsula for 17 weeks starting in mid-January. The outage is part of a $393 million project to rehabilitate the Rockaway line damaged by Superstorm Sandy, with concerns and frustrations expressed by locals at a recent town hall meeting. While the MTA plans to offer shuttle services and free rides, residents worry about the impact on their routines and the completion of the work on time. Some commuters, like college student and worker Maria Rodriguez, are considering moving out of the area due to the upcoming changes.
The upcoming service outage of the A train will have significant impacts on commuters like Cheryl Motley, who will need to adjust their daily routines to accommodate the disruption. The service will be suspended starting in mid-January for a period of 17 weeks until May, affecting over 9,000 daily commuters in the Rockaway peninsula.
The MTA is undertaking a $393 million project to rehabilitate the Rockaway line, damaged by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The aim is to upgrade the infrastructure to be more resilient to climate change and rising sea levels. This project includes repairs to the viaduct, rebuilding the Hammels Wye Viaduct, fortifying track bed embankments, and constructing a new signal tower to ensure train services can continue during storm surges.
During the outage, the MTA will provide two free shuttle bus services to Howard Beach and reroute the shuttle train across all stops on the peninsula for free. The MTA is committed to completing the work within the scheduled 17-week timeframe to minimize disruptions to commuters.
At a town hall meeting, Rockaway residents expressed concerns and frustrations about the upcoming changes. Some questioned the timing of the repairs and the inconvenience to Far Rockaway riders. The MTA assured residents that they are working diligently to complete the project on time and minimize the impact on commuters.
Local residents like Quiana Davis and Maria Rodriguez are worried about the challenges of waiting for buses in the cold weather and navigating new routes to work. Some commuters, like Mickaela Douglass, are exploring alternative transportation options to mitigate the impact of the service outage on their daily routines.
As the community prepares for the service outage, concerns about safety, reliability, and the overall inconvenience of the disruptions are top of mind for many commuters. The MTA’s efforts to improve the resilience of the Rockaway line are crucial for the long-term sustainability of the subway system in the face of climate change and extreme weather events.
Despite the challenges ahead, commuters are hopeful that the MTA will successfully complete the necessary repairs and upgrades to ensure a more reliable and resilient subway service for the Rockaway peninsula. The community remains resilient in the face of these disruptions and is eager to see the improvements that will come from the ongoing rehabilitation project.
Source: TheCity.NYC
