The redesign of New York City's subway map [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: The redesign of New York City's subway map [video]

#21

Post by NikolaeVarius » Mon, Nov 02, 2020, 5:13 PM UTC

bobthepanda wrote: post #20

esquevin wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A live map also reflects all the current changes the subway is underway, such as maintenance, closed stations, etc… Of course people managed to go use the subway for decades using this old map, what they're trying to do is improve on things. I for sure would like to see that kind of tech used for other subways in the world.

Most other subways will just stop services on a segment and use buses to fill the gap. New York is rather unique in that the subway was engineered, or rather over-engineered, to be able to reroute trains. (E.g. This E train will be making local stops in Queens and running over the M line to West 4th St.

I mean the MTA does that too

The N/Q into Astoria, the F line in Downtown Brooklyn

Re: The redesign of New York City's subway map [video]

#22

Post by maxharris » Mon, Nov 02, 2020, 5:21 PM UTC

This is certainly interesting, but is anyone else even a little sad that the headline here isn't "The redesign of New York City's subway system"? (NB: improvements in design are real improvements, no disagreement there.)

We have had so much progress in the world of bits, and comparatively little in the world of atoms, much to our detriment. The efforts presently underway to make new tunnels orders of magnitude cheaper excite me.

The world below the ground in a city as old as NYC is fascinating, and there are certainly an astounding number of physical and social obstacles to extending the transit system there. But with the city so empty and facing such profound change, isn't right now the time to be thinking big?

Re: The redesign of New York City's subway map [video]

#23

Post by bobthepanda » Mon, Nov 02, 2020, 7:25 PM UTC

NikolaeVarius wrote: post #21

bobthepanda wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most other subways will just stop services on a segment and use buses to fill the gap. New York is rather unique in that the subway was engineered, or rather over-engineered, to be able to reroute trains. (E.g. This E train will be making local stops in Queens and running over the M line to West 4th St.

I mean the MTA does that too The N/Q into Astoria, the F line in Downtown Brooklyn

What I mean to say is that the level of changes the map needs to reflect is pretty much only useful to New York, since they are the only system consistently rerouting trains rather than stopping segments entirely.