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Pineywoodsbus
Joined: 26 May 2007 Posts: 68
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:58 am Post subject: New LIRR Speonk shuttle flaw: no connections at Speonk! |
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I dunno how many of you have seen the plans for the new LIRR Speonk-Montauk service that will operate as a test of sorts, to provide an alternative to the CR39 construction.
There will be trains originating at Speonk at 6:11am and 8:32am heading east, only the latter train connects with the S90 bus, but by only 10 or so minutes. There is also an extra at 2:44pm.
Westbound there will be extra trains to Speonk arriving at 8:12am, 1:46pm, and 5:35pm. The latter train will leave you stranded in Speonk as there is no more S90 at that time. So going back there will be no way back west, except getting off at hampton bays and taking the delay prone S92, you'll probably be stranded in HB because the S92 wont come for hours! The S92 runs over one hour late and is very crowded and that is without the construction!
The only shuttle buses I have heard mentioned are from the town of Southampton and East hampton, and they will only run to/from stations Southampton on east. Pretty useless ugh?
I wrote a letter to the MTA, Suffolk and the towns out there, and I ask that others should do the same. It's almost as if they've designed this project to fail, so they can claim low ridership.
I praise the efforts of the Long Island Railroad to try an east end shuttle so commuters who work or do business on the south fork can get around easier.
However I think there are several flaws in the plan. One of which is having the train's western terminal in Speonk, where there is almost no bus service except for the S90, which does not offer connections to any of the trains and runs only about 4 times a day.
The shuttle would have been better off starting in Patchogue or even Mastic-Shirley. The space constraint would not have been as much of an issue as there is a siding just east of Mastic Shirley.
Unlike Speonk, the area is served by numerous bus routes, such as the S66, S71, 7D, and 7E. Most of these routes run hourly and half hourly and could be used by east end commuters.
I am not aware of any extra bus service to Speonk. The best solution right now would be to run a shuttle bus between Patchogue, Mastic Shirley, and Speonk so folks from further west can use the service. Most people who travel to the east end come from Mid-Suffolk.
I guess the plan is to have everyone drive to Speonk. This would strain the area's roads and parking. It also leaves people who don't drive, like myself, unable to use the new service.
Someone coming from say, Ronkonkoma, would be unable to use the new service. They could take a 7A bus to Patchogue and then an S66, but would never make the S90 which would get there minutes before the train was supposed to leave Speonk. Going back, the late train would leave the person stranded in Speonk at 5:30pm, after the S90 has stopped running for the day.
I hope you consider having connecting bus service at Speonk, because the vast amount of folks who travel out there do not have cars. In addition to a shuttle from Patchogue to Speonk, there should be one between Riverhead and Speonk, since Riverhead is also a bus hub. The S92 bus will be impacted quite heavily by the construction delays and it would be a great alternative to those folks to be able to connect with the Speonk shuttle trains.
Please consider my ideas when this service is implemented. Thanks for your time.
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ripta42 Site Admin
Age: 45 Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 1035 Location: Pawtucket, RI / Woburn, MA
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Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:14 am Post subject: |
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Great letter! The Newsday article about the road work doesn't go into details, but it does say there will be "special buses" beginning October 22 to help reduce congestion. Hopefully this supplemental service will address some of the flaws you pointed out.
Last edited by ripta42 on Tue Jan 01, 2008 4:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Ray The TransitMan
Age: 45 Joined: 26 Aug 2007 Posts: 7 Location: Long Island, NY
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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The 1:46 PM train that ends at Speonk has "somewhat" of a connection to the 2:11 PM train from Speonk to Jamaica. These trains were not meant to connect service between Speonk and Montauk, they were for easing the traffic along CR 39 during the construction.
Ray |
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