Division B (IND) Structure Underground Borough Queens Locale Jamaica | Services F (all times) Platforms 2 side platforms Opened 24 April 1937 Tracks 4 | |
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Line IND Queens Boulevard Line Transit connections NYCT Bus: Q1, Q2, Q3, Q17, Q30, Q31, Q36, Q43, Q76, Q77
NICE Bus: n1, n6, n22, n22A, n24, n26 Address Queens, NY 11432, United States Similar Jamaica–179th Street, Parsons Boulevard, 75th Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard, Avenue N | ||
169th Street is a local station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 169th Street and Hillside Avenue in Queens, it is served by the F train at all times. This is the closest subway station to the 165th Street Bus Terminal after the closure of the nearby 168th Street BMT Station on Jamaica Avenue in 1977.
Contents
History
This station was the final stop for the Queens Boulevard Line from the station's 1937 opening to 1950, when the line was extended to Jamaica – 179th Street. Trains had used both 169th Street and Parsons Boulevard as terminals. As a terminal, the station was considered inefficient due to being a local station.
Before the IND Archer Avenue Line opened in 1988, all Queens Boulevard express trains (E and F trains) ran to 179th Street, with the E running express along Hillside Avenue (rush hours only) and the F running local. At that time, this station was considered to be the most congested due to the numerous bus lines that either terminated just outside or at the nearby 165th Street Bus Terminal. The station was ill-equipped to handle the high passenger traffic volume transferring between the buses and subway. As a result, bars were installed to each of the seven 179th Street-bound staircases at platform level to "feed" the passengers into the staircase instead of crowding around it.
Station layout
This station has four tracks and two side platforms. The wall tile trims are orange with black borders while the platform and mezzanine columns are lime green. The name tablets have "169TH ST." in white lettering on a black background with an orange border. The wall tiles also have small "169" in white lettering on a black background.
The station has a full-length mezzanine above the platforms with a crossover between both platforms. There are seven sets of stairs to the 179th Street-bound platform and five to the Manhattan-bound platform as the mezzanine gets narrower on that side. Due to low clearance, a "DO NOT JUMP" message in black letters is painted on the white tiles of the ceiling above one of the 179th Street-bound staircases.
Exits
There are two fare control areas at either end, with the full-time entrance located at 169th Street since the 1990s. The part-time entrance is at 168th Street; this was the full-time entrance until the 1990s. At each entrance, staircases go up to all four corners of the street's intersection with Hillside Avenue. As originally built, the station had staffed token booths at both fare control areas.