Open Shuttle

Subways are easy for me. Newer trains announce the stops in clear recorded voices, but once you get to know a line, it's easy to know what stop you're at -- and they're usually clearly marked. Also, it's easy to tell where you go after you get out of the train. See staircase. Walk up staircase. Exit through turnstile. You are now above ground.

The one thing that always confuses me, no matter how many times I disembark, is the shuttle from Grand Central to Times Square. This should be the easiest train in the world: it makes two stops, Grand Central and Times Square. Getting out at Grand Central is easy. Getting out at Times Square is not.

Coming away from the shuttle tracks, I see what looks like a sea of fluorescent lights and signs. There are no 90-degree angles. I have enough trouble swapping from dark to light, so lots of bright lights can throw off my directional sense. Walking forward is an act of faith, and walking to the left or right runs the risk of accidentally stepping through a station exit or, heaven forbid, the N/R/Q platform.

After a lot of wending and weaving through the crowd, I end up at the stairs that lead up to the 1/2/3 trains. These stairs are clearly marked with yellow and green, to indicate to weary travelers that, yes, these are steps, and if you continue to walk forward without picking up your feet, you will injure yourself. So don't.

It's great to live in a city that allows you to feel like a human being, even if you don't drive. It feels even better to know that the one place that constantly turns me in circles is the same place that everyone else dreads. Hooray for Times Square and its equal opportunity annoyance.