Renovated Fulton station will feature new entrance

'The days may be numbered for Lower Manhattan's best-known underground maze, the Fulton Street subway complex. According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, plans to revamp downtown's busiest station are heating up; first steps include preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) and the opening phase of preliminary engineering.

This will likely come as welcome news to the 275,000 people who weave their way through the station -- known as Broadway-Nassau to riders of A and C trains -- each day. Many of them get lost even after seeking out directions from regulars.

Walking through the station on an average weekday, one overhears several passersby commenting on the many stairways and ramps, confusing signs and easily overlooked street-level entrances.

"This station is very complicated," says Michael Ferrer, a Brooklyn resident who works downtown. "Just to transfer from the 2/3 to the A/C I had to climb stairs, follow a long ramp, turn the opposite direction, then come back down a long set of stairs -- it's tiring, but more than anything it's confusing. I don't know how visitors from out of town find their way through here."

Plan would alter streetscape above station

The statement notes that "millions of tourists are expected to visit Lower Manhattan in the immediate future, as the World Trade Center memorial area becomes one of the top attractions in the United States." It also states that 85 percent of trips downtown are made via public transit, underscoring the Fulton station's importance in the area's economic recovery.

The plan's most notable change would be the creation of a large, well-lit main entrance on Fulton Street and Broadway. Through that and other, more clearly marked entrances, riders would be directed to their trains' platforms by new signage, and through widened corridors and more direct paths. The design plan for the new transit center also calls for mezzanines to separate entering, exiting and transferring riders.

Construction would create additional entry points to the Lexington Avenue, or 4/5, lines, which will help more evenly distribute riders along the platform, alleviating crowding and consequent delays. The MTA also plans to develop an underground passageway under Dey Street to connect the Fulton Street station to the WTC site, N/R and E trains, and the rebuilt PATH station.

Station interior would be renovated under proposed plan

A public meeting about the proposed Fulton Street Transit Center Project is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House (One Bowling Green, Lower Level Auditorium).

For more information, visit the MTA at http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/planning/fstc/index.html.

To join the project mailing list, write to:

Fulton Street Transit Center Project
c/o New York City Transit Government & Community Relations
130 Livingston Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201