With everyone who should be coming up with an easy solution to Roosevelt Island Tram overcrowding producing just about nothing, The Daily is taking it on.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation (RIOC) has had years to solve the critical problem of overcrowding on Tram cabins. Not only is the state agency the owner of the system, but it also is largely responsible for creating the crisis.
Not long after taking over leadership, President/CEO Shelton Haynes endorsed a “marketing and branding” initiative within the communications department. Branding meant tattooing the Tram on everything connected with Roosevelt Island, and marketing meant spreading the word.
The idea was about bringing in revenue with tourist traffic. Why more revenue was needed is another story, but the effort succeeded. Then came the inevitable unintended consequences, the result of not thinking things through far enough.
Because RIOC lacked the talent necessary and did not, as far as we know, engage consultants, it failed to see the impact on residents counting on the high-riding cabins for basic transportation needs.
Everyone knows the result, and the consequences will soon explode as cherry blossoms bloom. And don’t look for relief ahead because summer tourist season quickly follows.
A Simple Solution
It’s not enough to say that RIOC failed to come up with a simple solution. In fact, they haven’t come up with any solution at all. Promising extra Public Safety Officers on site is simply doing routine work, and as things panned out, that didn’t happen much of the time, anyway.
Moreover, RIOC persistently rejected ideas suggested by residents, almost any of which would be an improvement on nothing. Simply giving high school kids a crack at it would’ve been better, but that didn’t happen either
So, The Daily is taking it on, and we hope enough Roosevelt Islanders and even RIOC will get on board and make it happen.
Step One:
Separate the cabins into one for residents and another for everyone else. They can run at different intervals, responding to need. This should happen at the platform level with a Roosevelt Islanders-only cabin with ID required.
Roosevelt Islanders, in this case, includes workers, family members, and guests. IDs are a piece of cake.
Public Safety should be on hand for enforcement. Leitner-POMA union members will see this as encroaching on the “station attendant” role, but if they’re willing to do the job, which they haven’t been to date, let them have it.
Step Two:
Provide privileged access for Roosevelt Islanders from the street. This can easily mean setting aside one or both of the inner staircases for residents, employees, guests, etc. Some visitors may violate clear markings, but that can be sorted out at the top of the stairs where platform entry is controlled.
Elevators are for any in need, but not bikes, electric or pedal, which should not be allowed in crowded Tram cabins at any time.
Step Three:
Brace yourselves because RIOC, especially Public Safety, won’t like it because they’ve stagnated in can’t do postures. Public Safety…? Let’s be clear. The current administration invests far more energy in claiming effectiveness than in being effective. Witness the mopeds going every which way without interference for years now.
In any case, anyone who doesn’t like this plan is challenged to come up with something better. And soon, because cherry blossoms are already causing packed Tram cabins.
We can value tourists and other visitors without creating hell for those who pay for the Tram’s deficits and need its reliable operations for daily needs.
So, RIOC, let’s get on it.
The Emergency Was Always Underground
The steam plant and the steam tunnel were never two problems. They were one system. They were only separated later, when separating them made development easier and responsibility harder to pin down.
Simple ans easy plan.
Let’s hope RIOC doesn’t wait until winter to implement it.
Thanks, Jonn. I don’t think they’re going to implement anything. They’re too dependent on the revenue to discourage a single tourist.