New-York tribune., 1909-12-12
KEB, SIR? NO? THEN Walk
Transit Facilities ArOund NezC p
II. II. Station .4re Distinctly Poor.

Some day next June a courtly colonel from the
South may take il into his head TO come to New
York TO sell some cotton or see the sights. He
will board a train advertised to pass directly
under the Hudson River into the new station Of
the Pennsylvania Railroad at SD street and
Seventh avenue. When he steps forth from his
porter Will take his hand baggage. and to-
gether they will walk up the long inclined
pasSageway leading from the train platform to
Seventh avenue. Landed on the corner he will
hand the porter tip and find himself alone in
a great city looking about for the means of get
ting somewhere in the community in which he
has just landed. He will discover that il is pos
sibe to land on the island of Manhattan in COM
fort, but it is quite another thing to get any
where in comfort or otherwise. once he is on it.
The other day representative of The Tribune
visited the station one of the great railroad
stations of the world. built to accommodate four
hundred thousand travellers in day. half of
the daily traffic of the subway, and imagining
himself such traveller as our friend the colonel,
encountered with handbag, he practsed get
ting away from the station.
These are some of the things he discovered
First, that the only intramural transit facilities
in direct contact with the great station are two
north and south surface lines, those on Seventh
and Eighth avenues. He found that it was a
walk of between four and five minutes from the
either the 30th 34th street station of the
Ninth avenue elevated line. and a three minute
walk from the Seventh avenue exit to the 33d
street station of the Sixth avenue elevated line.
These were the nearest rapid transit lines.
BY boarding Seventh avenue car in front Of
the station he could reach subway station at
Times Square nine blocks above in between
three and four minutes. By walking a block
north along Seventh avenue to 34th street. re-
quiI lg a minute he could take a CrosstOWn car,
which would transport him TO the SD street
station Of the subway in Park avenue. in exactly
five minutes. two-thirds the time it takes an ex-
press on the subway to make the journey from
the Grand Central Station to the Brooklyn
Bridge The use Of the subway at either of
these TWO points meant another fare, and he
could take only local train. AS a last re-
source he found that if he did not wish TO take
taXoab, hanson or any other kind of a cab
he could walk two three blocks south to the
horsecar lines crossing the island in 2Sth and
29th streets. There only three cars on this
line. running at intervals of from half to three
quarters of an hour.
In other words, rapid transit was far from the
massive granite station. This is not a brand
rev discovery, but no one seems 10 have troubled
himself about how the thousands of commuters
and other travellers from Long Island and the
continent who land at the Pennsylvania station
are to get anywhere speedily.
Some day there may be a north and south sub
WAY along either Seventh or Eigh 4 avenue but
IL IS not known when such a subway will be in
operation or in which avenue. The Public Ser
vice Commission is preparing plans for subways
on The West Side, the contracts for which will
be ready for bidders IN January. If the Inter
borough makes a favorable proposition the sub
pay may be along Seventh avenue, connecting
viii. The present subway at Times Square and
continuing TO the Battery along the West Side
This might have downtown connection with
one more of the bridges
If an independent subway is built il is more
like 10 be in Eighth avenue, running north,
possibly, TO J9th street, and crossing 20 the
Qucensboro Bridge or crossing under 42d street
10 the Stenway tunnel. This subway, of course
woad run south TO the neighborhood Of the Bat
tery.
But no subway line which may be built will be
ready for service, no matter how speedily il may
be constructed, in less than two years and il is
likely 10 take considerably longer than this
Judging from the history of such municipal i'm
prCvements in the past. In the mean time there
VIII Gc great Deal Of hand transportation of