New-York tribune., 1918-10-14
Merchants Offer
Plan to Abolish i.
Subway Shuttle
Service Board Will Be
Asked to Consider New
"Non-Change" Scheme
Say III" Is a Failure
Proposal Calls for Two Sets
of Local and Express
Trains

Engineers of the Public Service Com
mission are considering a plan to abol-
lsh the Fcrtysecond Street subway
shuttle system. The plan, supported
by the Fifth Avenue Association, the
Broadway Association and affiliated or
CARNATIONS. is for "continuous local
and express service from any point of
the city to any other point without
change of cars"
The organizations have appointed a
special subway shuttle committee, of
which j. Clydesdale Cushmnn is chair
man, and have employed Frederick c..
Weber. consulting engineer, to con-
vince the Public Service Commission
the shuttle is impracticable. They hold
that two weeks operation demonstrated
the shuttle's inadequacy to handle 5O,-
goo or more persons a day. that the
shuttle has dislocated business both at
the Grand Central and at the Times
Square terminals and that thousands
of people now walk long distances to
and from their work rather than use
the shuttle.
Immediate Change Improbable
Members of the Public Service Com
mission said yesterday that plan pro-
sdered, but no immediate change in
the shuttle system is contemplated.
"The present shuttle is the best that
cur engineers so far have been able
to DEVISE" said member Of the com
mission. continuous service over
Forty-sccond Street from both East
and West Side branches of the "H''
system could not be attained unless
there were grade crossings, which
would be dangerous. Mr.. Weber says
the grade crossings can be overcome.
His plan will be considered by our en-
gineers, but it is not before the COM
mission"
At present, according to Mr.. Cush-
man. users of the shuttle have to walk
quarter of a mile In the tunnels-210
yards at Times Square and 260 yards
at Grand Central.
"And they are confronted by maze
Of guiding arrows, which make the
terminal look like an Indian battle
field" said Mr.. Cushman. experts
have examined our plan, and we be-
lieve it is feasible"
The plan proposes that the south
and north portions of the "H" system
shall form two loops, joined at Forty
second Street. 1t thus describes the
operation:
Route of Service
"a train leaving Van Cortlandt Park
proceeds south over the present line
via upper Broadway and Seventh Ave
nue. to Rector Street and returns north
via Seventh Avenue TO Times Square
here it turns east to Grand Central
Station and then goes south over old
route to City Hall or Brooklyn. From
this station it returns on northbound
track to upper part of Lexington Ave
nue. and returns south again on Lex
ington Avenue to Grand Central Sta
ton, turning west at this point as far
old route to Van Cortlandt Park, thus
having literally skirted the outer edces
Of the dual system without interfering
with the normal direction CT present
trains. Direct express and local ser
vice is therefore possible between the
east and west sides Of Central Park
and between the West and East Side be-
low Forty-second Street.
This would involve two sets Of local
trains as we'll as two sets of express
trains running in alienation and num-
bers according to preponderance of
travel without interference"
The subway shuttle committee is
composed Of officials of the Fifth Ave
rue and broadway associations, the
Washington Heights Association and
the West Side Taxpayers Association
Among the members are Louis Stern
exander Taylor & Co.; Alexander Will
son, Robert Grier Cooke, r. w. John
ston, K. W Estes and James E. Har-
rington. The slogan Of the committee
is: rapid transit Is impossible with
shuttle trainsn