We know that as a rider of New York City public transportation, we alone are responsible for checking ahead to see if the buses and subway lines that we want to ride are actually in service each weekend.  But, like many other riders, there are times when we simply miss out on the information.

While it would be prudent to check out the weekend service changes online prior to leaving our place, we normally take a look at the subway service changes as we enter the subway system at 95th Street along the R train, but this weekend the service changes weren’t posted in their usual location in the 95th Street station – they’re normally posted just after the turnstile.  Then, our usual R train decided to leave the station two minutes earlier than normal, so we didn’t get to examine the weekend service changes that hang in the middle of the platform.

Given this lack of information prior to being on the train, when we arrived at the 4th Avenue/9th Street station, we walked up several flights of stairs to the F and G train lines, along with many other commuters.  When we got to the last flights of stairs to the Coney Island bound side, we found a blue wooden wall blocking all access to the Coney Island bound platform, as seen above.

We then walked around to the Manhattan bound platform and asked a construction worker if he knew how to get to the Coney Island bound platform.  The kind construction worker then informed us that no trains were running over the Culver Viaduct and that shuttle buses were downstairs on 4th Avenue.

So, we then had to walk down several flights of stairs to the below ground R train, and then walk back up several flights of stairs to the street where we found shuttle buses waiting for us.

Now, all of this would have easily have been avoided had we (along with everyone else on our train) checked the MTA’s new Weekender service change map prior to entering the subway system that morning, but it would have also been avoided had the MTA simply had an employee put up an old fashioned piece of tape at the bottom of the stairs and posted a sign that read “No F or G trains upstairs, use shuttle buses at street level.”

While the entire lack of a posted closure within the system at the point of closure was a minor inconvenience for us, some posted signs and a roped off/taped off staircase base would have sincerely helped the elderly people who were unknowingly already several staircases up to the dead end.

MTA, we love new technology, but we still need old fashioned notices of closure AT the point of closure for those unaware of the service changes/closures beforehand.  Thanks!