Well as I discussed in yesterday’s blog post for the Nassau County Portions of the West Hempstead and Hempstead Branches today I decided to do another bus trip in eastern Queens to finish off every LIRR station (except on the Port Washington Branch) within New York City. This trip since Queens has much better bus service than Nassau County required substantially less walking, and the entire day was included in my Unlimited Ride MetroCard, no reason to hop on expensive LIRR. Today I only walked 4 and a half miles. Taking buses for 16.5 on my odd almost figure eight loop from Jamaica. There was an incredible contrast today in station architecture and feeling since all today were on viaducts unlike yesterday when every station was at a grade. The stops felt more like rapid transit stations set back from the street with staircases at various intervals up to their concrete platforms. Not like an old fashioned railroad station integrated into a town Here’s Another Map:
View Every LIRR Station in Southeastern Queens off in a larger map
Anyway the trip started with me taking the A train to 59 Street where I hopped on a D train to 47-50th Streets, hopped over the mezzanine and took a Jamaica-bound F to the end of the line 179 Street-Jamaica. There I started to do a photo essay it was a short time before my N24 was due to arrive (it runs every 30 minutes) I went up to the surface and managed to miss the bus because I couldn’t find the bus stop for its specific route, It wizzed right by me. Luckily there was a plan B taking the Q36 out to the end of the line. This worked fine and was surprisingly fine. The last mile or so on Jechero Turnpike were amuzing, the street forms the border. North were New York City Street signs, south were Nassau County’s. The bus stops: In New York City were the new No standing signs in Nassau County were old square bus stop signs (the ones with stickers for the bus lines) or even at least at one stop was a Q36-Limited Sticker on a standard small square Long Island Bus signI stepped off my NYCT bus in Nassau County (some buses like the Q5 and Q85 go legitimately into the county to reach the Green Acres Mall). Walked south to Floral Park for a photo essay, then walked down Atlantic Avenue the short distance to Bellerose. After that it was back up to Jecherio Turnpike and the Q36 to Queens Village (the only time I followed the same route twice all day). Then I walked south to Hempstead Avenue and took the Q110 to Hollis, then it was onto the Q3 to St. Albans, followed by the Q3 again to Locust Manor. I walked to Laurelton, and took the Q85 to Rosedale. I was then done with my adventures but had to get back to Manhattan for dinner from Southeastern Queens. I ended up taking the Q5 to take a different route back and got off at Archer Avenue and 165 Street wanted to finally walk through Downtown Jamaica which I did, walked up to Hillside Avenue and did a photo essay of 169 Street.
I then had two new transit options in Manhattan that I wanted to ride and conveniently they worked for my dinner plans on 86th between 1st and York. I took the F train to Roosevelt Island and walked the short distance (can’t believe there’s now a housing development in the tram/subway area) to the Roosevelt Island tram. I took the tram lit entirely by LED lights which kinda felt like I was almost riding a gondola at a ski area, perhaps because the motion is so similar but also due to the Poma Logo right above the doors (they build lots of gondolas and chairlifts). I got off in Manhattan at its 2nd Avenue terminal and walked a block east to 1st Avenue and south a few to the M15 Select Bus Service Stop. I dipped my MetroCard into the MVM reader there much improved to the ones on the Bx12 and of a whole new design (not just a modified mini-MVM) with receipts printing faster and that are easier to get out of the machine. The receipt looks different too, a slightly different design. It also prints the fact I used a 14-day Unlimited, these no longer are sold and I can only use mine because I’m grandfathered in. Need to save that receipt. The M15 was off I wainted 20 minutes for a bus and it was experiencing a very bad case of bus bunching. I crammed onto the first bus (didn’t see another and was already late for my dinner). At the next stop 68th I had to get off to let others off and another bus pulled up behind us in the stop, and then a third (the first had already pulled away, 3 buses won’t fit at all). The bus lanes didn’t really seem to be working either, there were still some snow in them in some places and lots of double parked cars. That was the end of my day I met up with my parents and after dinner we took a taxi home so I didn’t ride the subway again.
Total Subway Swipes: 2
Bus and Tram: 9
Total Fares Paid Accounting for Transfers: 6 to my final tally I think.