New York City Subway POI

I really do not think I want to be holding my nuvi while it guides me to 125th st. I don't think I would be holding it long.

Also, it does not work underground to find out which stops to get off at. It would only guide to the where the stations are "above" ground.

Saw this in the news yesterday. May help with putting together the POI file.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10048756-2.html

I took my $2,000 camera and shot photos and nobody grabbed it, therefore, my Nuvi is probably safe to help me get around. I go to New York 3 or 4 times a year and new have any problems. They have the best food, shopping and entertainment and with a custom POI I think that would make finding everthing even easier.

I wasn't sure if it would work underground or not!

Your GPS definitely will not work underground. You may get really weak signals by the entrances, but definitely not while riding the subway.

Hi
You need to update a bit. NYC is incredibly safe (the complaint amongst residents is that Manhattan has become boring). The big problem in Harlem (what is meant by above 125th St.) is that it has become too expensive. Don't know about Garmin theft rate, but on murders per cap we look like Ann Arbor (and safer than any other big city). Because Harlem came to prosperity a bit later, it, and parts of Brooklyn and Queens are still a very nice mix of a variety of groups, stores, restaurants and other good things.

It would be cool to know where to drop a friend off at the subway when one is driving home from NJ or the Island.

Neal

Don't get me wrong, there are many places that are very safe in NYC. It's just a few pockets still that I would move briskly through. Especially at night like 125th. Midtown and downtown, SOHO, Hells Kitchen, Bowery etc..I don't think is an issue.

Yes, car navigation is good but the post was implied for subways so I am assuming by foot and not car.

Well since we established it won't work underground, I would still like to know where the entrances are around the city to catch a subway. I always have to ask someone after I have waisted time walking around looking for one. How do we get this kind of a POI created? When I travel to New York I can plot a few proximity points for subway stations, however, is there an easier way? Is there a subway map which can be changed/interpreted into longitude and latitude points?

Here is a good place to start..

http://www.mta.info/nyct/subway/index.html

I live in NYC and take the subway everyday.. Yes I do by 125th street too. I take it anytime of the day and had no problems for the last 30 or so yrs that I lived here.. If you look for truble, you will find it. If you dont, your safe!! lol

Maqybe I will help creating this since I could also use it (like when the subway is bugging out and I need to take a differnt train and have wife pick me up, She will know right where I am then..

Now if only my work would slow down to do this..

I posted a question a week or two ago if anyone was interested in one and got a luukewarm response.

Anyway, Istarted working on one. I have Manhattan, The Bronx and part of Queens done. Another week or two and I should have the entire system done.

how are you putting it together? using the street map?

You have a good idea there.I bet it will get lots of downloads.Wish I would had something like a few years back to located the subway entrances.

Take it from someone who got jumped during rush hour riding from Grand Central to Times Sq., if something happens, you are on your own. That includes MTA employees who will merely blow the horn and halt the train, as well as the other suits around you. Yes, NYC is an incredibly safe place all things considered. However, one must still use common sense. Having a 2k camera in plain sight, using a nuvi to find one's way around is not a great idea imho, nor is having the latest iPhone or BlackBerry clipped to your belt. It took about 17 years before the above happened to me in early 2k7. Maybe I was a cowboy fighting back, but the detectives said I did the right thing (man to man, not on the record). I guess all those Law and Order episodes over the years made me feel the way I did. I have ridden the subway many times since, and it doesn't bother me one bit to mind my own business.

i agree. It wouldnt recieve a signal under ground. It would be useful to have a "subway map" type style POI database for above ground stations though

geocamp - I'm not sure how you are creating your POI file, but the NY transit system has just been added to Google Maps. It includes subway stations, bus routes, everything.

There are a few sites that have platform maps. Using this information and Google Earth (as well as personal experience), I should be creating a position from which one can see a station entrance at street level. I'm sure that once posted, I'll receive suggestions on tweaking some of the station positions. I'm glad to see that there's more interest in this project. I still foresee an upload in the next week or two. I was working on the L and M services in Brooklyn/Queens this evening.

When I go to NYC I Drive from Cleveland, while there I park my car on E103rd at Lexington in Harlem. only after dropping my luggage of at my hotel in east side mid-town. I drop into the Subway and take the #6 back downtown to my hotel usually the Metropolitan. doing this saves me a minimum of $40.00 bucks a day to park, knowing I have to return to my car every other day and move it to the other side of the street for street cleaners to do their thing or face a ticket.
Is my car safe in Harlem? Am I safe there?
Sure, NYC has changed over the years, I have been doing this three times a year for the last 5 years for a week at a time. I don't spend money on cabs, and ride the subway everywhere at anytime.

You have to love the new cleaner safer NYC

Bob

i usually park at JFK long term parking. its very safe and the subway comes to your car door (airlink then subway direct).

Well, it appears to have gone full circle. I will definitely use a custom POI with the subway entrances mapped. Thank you for all your comments. New York is a great city and with a little more convenience it will be even better. Thanks again!

i wouldnt take my gps out on the subway :<

I've lived my entire life in and around NYC.
Anyway, to the request at hand...

I think that having the POI for the NYC Subway system (and the Long Island Railroad) stations is a great idea. Obviously this will not be helpful under ground and I don't believe that this was being suggested.

Say you are somewhere- anywhere in NYC and you wanted to find the closest subway station. The POI should guide you to one (and show you what few different lines may be in the area).

I've used the online website of the MTA to figure out what stations were closest to my position or closest to a destination, but playing with the PDF is unwieldy. I'd rather put in the location in NYC, let's say the office where my wife works, see the closest subway stations and then look at the online map if I need to figure out how to connect (if not already obvious).

A useful POI would list the station location and what subway lines run through it.

I certainly would like to have this resource on my GPSr (as well as one for the LIRR stations too!)

Thanks for the thought!

Rob - Long Beach, NY

Looks to me that many if not all subway stops are in the built-in POIs. No need to make a custom POI unless the built-in ones are missing stops or are at the wrong location.

I've noted that the built-in station POI's are, to be kind, lacking in accuracy.

I rather deal with customs poi so that When looking at the list of 50 or more.. I can find the closest to me at the time. using the built in ones are harder to use in my opinion.

I am looking forward to getting this file since As I said in a early Posting that Sometimes I get off a differnt stop and wife dont know where to pick me up so this will help her a lot in getting me when strandad due to a subway delay or something.. Like the Eastern blackout.

In fact, i could have used it over the last weekend for I needed to pick someone up from a subway station that I was not sure about. I had to go to the NYC subway site and put it in as my favorte to get there.

I'm excited to see that the POI has been created. I won't have much opportunity to test it out in the real world, but will play with it a bit. It will certainly be a valuable resource.

What is nice is that if you know your destination and can find the closest subway station, you can put the GPSr into demo mode, switch to pedestrian mode and know before hand how you would have to travel from the subway to the desired location. Knowing this, you don't have to take the unit with you if you deeply fear that it will be strong-armed from you in and around the NYC subway system.

Rob

i perfer the custom POI, thank you good job pal.

I see the Custom POIs do have more stations.. not sure why the built in ones were missing SOME stations. I also see the Built-in POIs are missing a bunch of the Metro North stops.

I see the NJ Light Rail and PATH locations are done. I'll work on a Metro North Custom POI.

Don't bother, I'll be uploading that file in the next day or two.

Thanks geocamp.

I have all three Metro North lines from Google Earth and thought I could save as a KML then convert to GPX. I got the points from the Google Transportation network link, but the kml only saves the network link... Argh.

If any one cares below is the network link to the Harlem Line:
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/230655

Others lines can be found after navigating from
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/dow...

This looks pretty sweet! Thank you Geocamp.

Thanks. I see by your location, you are in a good position to 'field edit' my work.