New York Borrows from Disneyland to Revamp Its Subway Stations

What does the "Happiest Place on Earth" have to teach the "Capital of the World"? How to better manage the flow of people, for one.

1 minute read

September 24, 2013, 7:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"For the first time since at least the era of token fares, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is redecorating its stations, rethinking its systemwide network of turnstiles to match ridership trends amid wide-scale demographic shifts in the city," writes Matt Flegenheimer. And it's turning to Disneyland, and a detailed examination of passenger traffic flows, for lessons on where to locate station furniture.

"The authority has responded with a series of proposed tweaks culled from the Disneyland playbook of pedestrian funneling, using the location of turnstiles as cues to create a desired traffic flow," Flegenheimer explains. Such tweaks include relocating emergency gates and replacing high-entry turnstiles with low-entry ones.  

"So far, fare areas in three stations have been adjusted: at Rector Street, and at Marcy Avenue and Nassau Avenue in Brooklyn. Ten more hubs have been flagged for the next round of renovations. After that, the authority plans to continue modifying fare areas at an average of 10 stations each year."

Sunday, September 22, 2013 in The New York Times

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