Randall John Gregory II (or Randy, for short) is not only a graduate student at the School of Visual Arts, but he is also an innovative thinker and designer for the masses. Recently, we think Randy has been putting his design skills to good use in the realm of mass transit. He has put together not just one or two designs, but 99 different proposals to improve the New York City subway system. Most of his proposals are low-cost and easy to implement, and can help the MTA go a long way in improving the safety and comfort of their riders.
Randy is a designer specializing in brand development, front end web development/design, layout, print design, experimental design, user experience, and consultation. His work related to Subway Improvements has been published in New York Magazine and on several other blogs including his own 100 improvements to the New York subway.
We would like to thank Randy for sharing his work with our readers and allowing us to present it to you in a slightly different order than he has it on his blog site.
Visit www.randygregorydesign.com to see his other work.
Platforms and Stairs
The following proposals are designed to improve platforms and stairs.
55. Stair Lighting
Generally, the lighting at outdoor stations leaves much to be desire. And in bad weather, it’s easy to lose your footing. The installation of lights in the stairs would provide some piece of mind, and also improve the overall ambiance of those stations.
63. Station Colors
There is a certain industrial feel to the subway stations. Some stations, like Union Square, are completely gorgeous in their layout and design, and the new stations, like Fulton Center, are incredible in their scale & move towards a friendlier environment.
However, many stations could benefit from some color, namely the color of the lines they represent. BDFM could be painted in brilliant Pantone 165, and the 7 line could have swirls of purple throughout the line, adorning walls and columns alike.
79. Edge Sensors
At my talk at hyperakt, it was suggested that there should be some kind of system to prevent people from getting too close to the edge. This system would feature some sort of sensor built into the edge, that when obscured by a foot, the line would illuminate brightly, alerting the rider or personnel of the station that the user is too close to the edge. This way, precautions could be taken. If there is a police presence, they could be alerted as well, in case of violence or potential suicides.
44. Stair Mesh
When it rains in New York, typically water gets tracked into the subway, and usually ends up on the stairs, making gross puddles…but what if there was a way to conserve that water? If the stairs were built with a high-grade water absorbency system, that could collect the liquid and let it drain for processing, we could have drier stairs & another way to keep the stations clean, along with another source of water, once purified.
23. Designated Directions on Stairs
At first glance, this could be seen as a hopeless gesture. But in countries like Japan, this works. People see the arrows, and follow accordingly, minus rush hour. A man can dream, right?
18. Escalator Markings
If you’re kind (or observant), when you use the escalators, the rule is “stand on the right, walk on the left”. Subtle reminders like these markings would help remind users of this rule, and keep busy New Yorkers moving.
21. Express/Local Markers
We’ve all had that moment where we step up on the platform and wonder which train is which. There is existing signage, but it’s not the best. The addition of visual markers like these would make it easier to differentiate.
22. Notifications on Platforms
Once again, playing off of the concept of not knowing which train is which, why not have massive typography on the ground of the platform? This mockup also shows the proposed “blind line”.
19. Directional Lines
Throughout the system, we’re directed to trains via a system of signs. These signs can be confusing in certain stations, like Union Square or Grand Central, where there are multiple signs for the same station in different locations. Perhaps a series of guidelines on the floor can help guide users throughout the underground
49. Solar Panels on Outdoor Stations
The installation of solar panels on outdoor stations can help power the grid of the subway, and as an extra source of income, the MTA could sell earned energy back to the city.
37. Protective Barriers & Doors
Last year, there were 139 deaths on the subway. By looking at the numbers of deaths per station MTA can pick the stations with the largest number of fatalities and install the protective doors. In certain Asian countries, they have walls in place that keep people away from the tracks. These walls could also serve for advertising purposes, and eventually, provide an environment for air conditioning.
Cars
Following are the proposals made by Randy to improve the cars.
38. Car density
It’s a real pain when you’re standing on the platform, and the car you always get on is full. So then you have to run to the next car, not knowing if it’s going to be full or not. And sometimes, you miss the train, causing even more tension & anger.
Live tracking, based on the weight of the cars, could determine this info. When you get to the platform, you can check the screen, and figure out where to stand. This results in better distribution of riders.
24. Subway Timers
One of the biggest problems the subway has are people attempting to squeeze into the car as the doors are closing. This is attributed to a number of reasons, one of them being that the riders don’t know how much time is left before the doors close, which cause them to hurry to a train, endangering themselves, fellow riders, and potentially causing time delays on the entire system.
Timers located near the doors could help alleviate this problem. Start them at 30 seconds, and countdown. At zero, doors close. This way, if someone sees the train with 5 seconds left, and they’re 20 seconds away, they’ll second guess about trying to run for the doors.
53. Gym style flooring in Cars
Standing in a train car can be painful at times. Especially if you have bad shoes on, and you’re taking a long trip, like a ride to Coney Island, or the A line from Washington Heights to Midtown. A soft gym style flooring could relieve our feet from the strain of standing. Not too soft, and not too hard.
46. Bike Racks
56. Safe Inter-Car Passage
42. Textured Grip
57. Straps 
51. LED lighting in Cars
Currently, the MTA is updating the Verranzo bridge with energy-efficient LED (light emitting diode) lighting, which will cut energy costs by 73% and will substantially reduce maintenance costs. If the lighting in all of the cars were replaced by LED’s, we could see the same benefits, if not more. Also, the riders would appreciate the nicer lighting.
5. Subway Car Ramps
In the proposed handicapped areas, there should be some form of ramp, which can help the handicapped get on the train. In the existing handicapped zones, there isn’t any difference between the areas that they can get on/get off versus anywhere else on the platform.
26. Wifi
26. Wifi on the trains. It helps in situations when people get stuck on the trains, so they can communicate with their jobs, friends, and family…for example, if you’re on the 1,2, or 3, and the lines get shut down because of a missing inmate. Or, keep track of your tasks/directions as you plan out your busy schedule. Or even watch cat videos on Youtube. Wifi would enable a whole new level of ease on the trains.
Furthermore, the various platforms in the station are inconsistent, so a ramp system in some form could help, despite the “gap”.
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