Exactly three months after two key Bronx subway stops were shut down completely on February 8, locals are beginning to grow tired of the inconvenience. The stations that have been shut down are Morrison Avenue-Soundview and Whitlock Avenue, both on the 6 IRT line running along Westchester Avenue. Trains no longer stop at these points going in either direction. The stations will remain closed until September 13, 2010, which many feel is a long time to wait.
“My girl lives right off the Soundview stop,” said Markus Jones of Grand Concourse, while riding the 6-train uptown. “So now when I go to her, it’s a big hassle. I feel like it wouldn’t take this long in the city, but they say ‘Oh, it’s the Bronx, so we can take our time.’”
Others riding the train echoed Jones’ frustration with the closings, but are a bit more forgiving, choosing to accept that it takes however long it takes, and there’s no use complaining.
There may not be cause to complain anyway, since an MTA spokesperson says that the stops are being completely rebuilt, and that commuters might be excited when they finally see the new surroundings.
The two projects are part of an $89 million construction project to rehabilitate five different stations on the Pelham 6 line. Elder Avenue, St. Lawrence Avenue and Parkchester will be the next three stops to receive makeovers. According to the MTA, redesign work will include new mezzanines, roofs, safety tiles at the platform edge, and high-tech PA systems. The stations will get new fluorescent lighting as well.
Each of the five stations will be closed for seven months straight except for Parkchester, which is too much of a central stop to be closed for so long. There, the northbound and southbound platforms will be closed separately for three months each.
Locals who rely on getting the train at Whitlock Avenue or Morrison Avenue-Soundview have the option of a bus, the Bx4, which can bring riders to the Elder Avenue 6 station or the Simpson Street 2/5 station.
Visit www.mta.info for more information about the changes. In the meantime, Soundview subway riders are eager for September to come.
