It is an unspoken rule among NYC commuters, especially during rush-hour, that the stairs leading into and out of a subway station should have 2 lanes of traffic. Even if there isn't a bar separating the two lanes, we expect others to be smart enough to know that the rule still applies. This is why it REALLY PISSES ME OFF when herds of people treat the stairway as one lane of traffic and don't let people trying to go the other way get through.

One particular instances that comes to mind is a few months back when my boyfriend and I were trying to catch the subway somewhere and as we were headed down the stairs to catch the train that just approached, a herd of commuters got off that same subway and headed up the kinda-narrow subway, allowing us no space to get down. What to do? Let the commuters pass and wait to catch the next train? Or, charge through the crowd and stick your arm in the closing door forcing it to open up and let you on? Well, naturally, I chose the later. I charged through the crowd, pushing and shoving and cursing the whole way down. But, after my brave and particularly frustrating decent, I noticed that I was alone and, unfortunately, had to let the train go. All that work for nothing! What happened? Well, my boyfriend decided to wait at the top of the stairs for the crowd to pass and then come down. Why? Because he's CRAZY! Well, that and he said that apparently it's also a rule in situations like this (with a narrow staircase) to let the big crowd get up (or down) the stairs and the few people trying to get through the other way are supposed to wait. I think this rule is stupid. Just because I'm one person, doesn't meant that I don't have somehwere to be, ya know? I mean, in this particular instance I don't think I was in a terrible rush, but that's not the point!

I believe that there should always be two lanes of traffic in a subway station. What do YOU think?

p.s. I have no clue who the guy in the picture is, but he sure does look HAPPY, doesn't he? In fact, he looks suspiciously too happy to be in the subway station. Anyway, it was the best photo I could find on Google that illustrates just what this post is all about.