Rather than spend several hundred million dollars to build a light-rail system which could take a decade or more, why not ask the LIRR to resume service on this corridor? It could run a two-car scoot service reconnecting Long Island City, Glendale and Middle Village with other communities including Richmond Hill and other intermediate stops to Jamaica. The LIRR could use existing equipment, which would afford far earlier implementation of service than light rail. This would provide connections east bound to the J/Z and E subway lines, Kennedy Airport via AirTrain and the LIRR's Jamaica Station. Queens residents traveling to jobs and colleges in Nassau and Suffolk counties would have access to all LIRR branches except the Port Washington line. Ditto for those traveling to the Barclay Center and downtown Brooklyn via the LIRR Atlantic Avenue branch. There would also be connections westbound at either the Hunters Point or Long Island City LIRR stations to the 7 subway line.
12 comments:
An interesting plan that could be more fiscally responsible.
However, would it be truly "shiney and new"???
Now we don't want to blow any of the sensitive minds lounging in the offices of city planning and the EDC, do we?
Light rail in Queens provides enormous opportunities for graft. This plan? Not so much.
I assume this is the line they are talking about?
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/15/nyregion/end-of-the-line-for-lirr-s-10-loneliest-stops.html
This will never happen, makes to much sense. Gary W is correct about the graft. The people pushing for the light rail want the new line to have stops near the property they own. The names Hemmerdinger and Broadway Stages comes to mind.
They would have to spend a few million to build ADA complaint platforms (don't shoot the messenger, it is federal regulation). This wouldn't be a huge expense, it could be done under 10M.
Other trick is the LIRR would need actual rail cars to do it. Currently they don't have enough and have resorted to leasing extra train cars from maryland. This year it was one entire train, next summer it'll be 2 more. MTA under-bought on rail cars when they ordered them back in the 90s.
A shuttle would be a really good idea to get up and running before the L shutdown, but if you look at Crowley's presentation, half of it is about making a shiney new thing transit network so her real estate developer backers can rake in all the money.
Anyone that rides trains around Europe knows how much of a dump our trains are.
Come on! Can't we update this this system so we aren't running Windows 95 in an OS X world.
the existing heavy conventional rail on the tracks does NOT allow for light rail!
thats's why Dizzy Lizzy's first proposal touting 20 million suddenly went to over 40 million in a few weeks
she's now a train engineer - Choo Choo Charlie step aside
maybe she'll learn a bit about the FRA regs - i doubt it
you can't run light rail on the same tracks
so in a few weeks the budget doubled cause she likes shiny new things
imagine what this boondoggle will end up costing us
it fits their perverted plan to make driving as miserable as possible
you got close to a dozen ON GRADE crossings
you put all these trains on the tracks and the backups at crossings will be hell
then some jerk will try and beat the train
we know how that works out
To Gary W
this could be the next hot spot in queens put affordable really affordable basic no frills housing along the tracks people will flock to the areas new communities will spring up in a few years and business which will move out anyway will leave abandoned buildings ready to tear down...
Just like those NIMBY queensway dummies an unused track to shuttle people quickly to rockaway and back and maybe it will never work as a westway, that was a special situation
It just amazes me how many tens of thousands of miles of abandoned tracks we have in america.
People who want this are crazy
The lack of transportation is what has saved Glendale from the bulldozers. Put this shit in and you will have another Long island City situation with every 1 family home under the gun !
Keep it secluded and exclusive NO MORE CHANGES
To add frequent commuter rail and freight trains can not coexist on such a short space of track. The freight company that now owns that ROW of track will never allow this. You would need massive MASSIVE abuse of imminent domain that would be tied up
in the courts 20 years
This is assuming all those old structures/ bridges are structurally sound. I'm guessin rust never sleeps...
Never happen, those Glendale people will be pissed and up in arms like hornets. For commuter rail to co-exist you would need to add lay up tracks so commuter rail can pull to the side miles in advance to allow long freights to pass on the main track. **freights have priority--Its federal law**. To do these you would need to steal enormous 1/4 mile swaths of private property.
It will never happen without WWIII, 20 years in court battles because million $$ private homes & yards are not junk sheds like willets point !!
Ever see pictures of Laguardia jackhammering the Third Avenue El on account it was blight?
Post a Comment