GLNews New York: Clever subway designs to showcase in SoHo pop-up show

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Clever subway designs to showcase in SoHo pop-up show

Station skylights, antimicrobial benches, and subway cars for performers are all part of one artist’s vision for the transit system—and will be showcased in a pop-up show in Soho tonight where visitors will vote on the idea they like the best.

Randy Gregory, who created a hundred designs of transit ideas on his site improvesubway.tumblr.com, will hold the show at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art with the transit advocacy organization Rider’s Alliance, which is hosting the event this evening.

Gregory, who hails from Sunnyside, Queens, said the subway system has had a strong influence on his work. “I take the 7 train everyday,” he said. “It’s a very inspirational line. The whole subway system is inspirational.”

The designs on his blog run from the useful to the zany— such as safer passages between cars, stair lighting, and stations being painted in the color of their subway lines. “There are ways that could make being in the subway so much greater,” said Gregory.

The Rider’s Alliance will submit the top three suggestions to the MTA.

“We want to highlight some creative ideas for how to improve the subway, and to encourage other New Yorkers to bring their own ideas too,” said John Raskin, executive director of the Rider’s Alliance. “We want to showcase that sort of citizen activism, and show that grassroots contributions really do trickle up and get listened to.”