Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley thinks her Queens district deserves some of the light rail transit benefits that Jersey City, Hoboken and Bayonne — just across the Hudson River — have been enjoying in recent years.
In order to provide additional public transportation options, Crowley is proposing to use already-existing railroad tracks in her district to build a light rail line between Glendale and Long Island City along the Long Island Rail Road’s Montauk branch.
“It’s a railroad that is in excellent condition that has no rail cars on it, so it’s a waste of track. It has no real use and there is potential for park-and-rides and development around the rail,” Crowley told POLITICO New York.
Joan Byron, policy director at the Pratt Center for Community Development, said the fascination with light rail has a lot to do with perceptions of bus service, which she said works just as well, if not better.
"Poor people and people of color ride the bus," said Byron. "But we want something shiny and new that young white millennials will ride."
Byron said light rail tends to work best in cities that are trying to get people out of their cars and that don't already have lots of mass transit.
"You have to do something really shiny to get them not to drive," she said.
Please concentrate on improving surface transit in your district. It's already here, and it sucks.
45 comments:
If it doesn't link to manhattan,it's useless. If it doesn't link with the Rockaways,she's a racist.So how many homes will be demolished for stations and parking? This women is either a dolt or delusional. too expensive for such a small percentage of ridership.
In the 1990s, the MTA floated several plans to extend subway service through the region. They ultimately rejected the idea because the number of riders even with anticipated new development would not justify the exorbitant cost (not to mention that the idea had no funding). This is nothing but a pipe dream floated by a talentless ditz. What has Crowley accomplished after being in the council for two terms?
Fresh Pond station is expected to see a huge increase in trash trains from Long Island passing through over the next few years. The rails will be used more frequently, putting the kibosh on this nonsense.
In the 90s ridership on the line was so low it wasn't worth the cost for the LIRR to build cheap, simple, raised concrete platforms with a ramp on one end for wheelchair access. So when they got their C3 railcars that they would only use with high level platforms they shutdown the 'stations' on the lower montauk. Now hipsters like transit so it's time to run trains again? And it has to be 'hip' light rail like HBLR or Portland, not LIRR because...?
Have known she was a DITZ for years - could not believe she was voted in again.
"If it doesn't link to manhattan,it's useless."
Time to get rid of the G Train! Time to get rid of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle! (These lines do have opportunities for a transfer to a line to Manhattan, by the way.)
" If it doesn't link with the Rockaways,she's a racist."
Oopy linoleum bang-bang whooey hah?
"So how many homes will be demolished for stations and parking?"
Uh. Zero. It's not the same as a subway and part of the problem in that area is that there's people living there and very little public transportation that is convenient. Buses compete with all the traffic (and are therefore slow) and routes cannot go in the direction of this existing rail line because of the existing street layout. You'd have to use SEVERAL different bus routes and transfer SEVERAL times to achieve the same trip that would be covered by this one rail line. Also, many people could walk to the light rail stations from their homes.
"In the 1990s, the MTA floated several plans to extend subway service through the region. "
A subway would require building new tracks and likely constructing either elevated lines or underground structures - both of which would drive the cost up dramatically. This project is proposed on existing tracks so it would be much less expensive than extending the subway.
In Jersey City and other places across the country, there are light rail stations that are at grade. You just walk on. The rail line in question in this part of Queens has many locations like this where similar stations could be constructed. It would be far less expensive than a subway station.
"Fresh Pond station is expected to see a huge increase in trash trains from Long Island passing through over the next few years."
If these existing rail lines were used to transport people on a regular basis, it presents an even stronger argument to get rid of the garbage trains altogether. If the lines sit relatively unused without passengers, someone will want to use them for something else. That's where we are now. Are there some people who would prefer to keep the garbage trains? If there are, they don't live around here.
$20 million question: Just who will run this light rail system? The MTA? That's a laugh. Crowley is an idiot. She can't even get the MTA to add a few buses in her district. She is light on the gray matter.
To Anon. #6... It's nice to have someone from Crowleys office posting on this site.
There was quite a summer down in Montauk this year that Ms Crowley and Mario's son's flunky Pendergrast should be aware of if she plans to pander to her neo-constituents and spend more of our tax dollars on hard partying welfare for generation gentrification.
http://jezebel.com/note-to-partiers-youre-not-allowed-to-fuck-on-the-stre-1722220203
http://gothamist.com/2015/07/15/hipsters_montauk_fear.php
Lizzy, like most children, is fascinated by shiny objects.
This idea must have come from Hemmerdinger and the Atlas Park crowd. There is no way Dizzy Lizzy came up with this on her own. If you want to put in light rail the abandoned Rockaway line makes the most sense and would do the most good.
re: Anon 6.
1. The fact that there's an abandoned right of way tells you something: Once upon a time when people cared if revenue would cover costs, people decided this was not worth it. Queens adjusted to its absence.
2. Just because there's an idle right of way doesn't mean it has to be used for something. There's lot of other infrastructure that needs to be fixed. How can this be a priority? Let it go.
They want a light rail system only to encourage more over development.
I don't want to crap on transit advocates - HOWEVER - let's look at this quote for a second:
"It’s a railroad that is in excellent condition that has no rail cars on it, so it’s a waste of track."
Has this crazy bitch even LOOKED at these tracks lately?
Go by fresh pond - loads of freight cars. Go by maspeth - again, loads of freight cars. Go down to greenpoint avenue, and you'll see the tracks are virtually impassible because they are filled with - you guessed it - freight cars.
How completely stupid is this idiot? She is flat out lying to the public. For what? Who does she think she is fooling? And for the love of god how was this idiot elected?
Look, I'm all for more transit options - but this lady is out of her mind. Reopening the rockaway beach ROW (and not letting it become some cuomo-backed park) to relieve traffic on woodhaven blvd seems like a much higher priority to me.
"You have to do something really shiny to get them not to drive,"
BS. Take a look at the market: they live in the city so they can ride bikes and take mass trans. Shiny-ness has nothing to do with it.
There are many old rail rights-of-way throughout NYC, available for many decades now. Numerous abandoned (some as late as the 70s) LIRR routes. We still have no subway connections to JFK or LGA. That tells you something about the interest of putting new rail into this region.
Second Avenue Sagas:
http://secondavenuesagas.com/2015/10/20/from-queens-light-rail-support-from-pratts-byron-doubts/
Please concentrate on improving surface transit in your district. It's already here, and it sucks.
You want to improve surface transit? Dedicated bus lanes. But this would eliminate traffic lanes and cause an uproar by everyone on here. This seems like a useful transit option that will not impact traffic lanes in the neighborhood, but you seem to have a problem with that also.
That 'shiny' quote is also hilariously bad. Honestly I could give a fuck if my subway was filthy on the outside - so long as it gets me to work quickly, on time with a large degree of reliability.
Ask any commuter what they want - the most - and the answer will be reduced commute times.
"And for the love of god how was this idiot elected?"...Could have something to do with her last name.
You want to improve surface transit? Dedicated bus lanes. But this would eliminate traffic lanes and cause an uproar by everyone on here. This seems like a useful transit option that will not impact traffic lanes in the neighborhood, but you seem to have a problem with that also.
This shows what happens when someone who doesn't live in Crowley's district thinks they know what the neighborhoods are all about. Newsflash: Most of the bus routes in Crowley's district: The Q67, 38, 18, 45, 54, 58, 59, 55 run along ONE LANE ROADS. Even the major routes like Metropolitan and Grand Avenues have only one lane in each direction. So where would these miraculous dedicated bus lanes be installed, especially for those routes that run twice an hour or so? The lack of buses is the problem, the overcrowding is the problem.
Trust NOTHING these Mofo's Do and believe NOTHING they say... Everything she's doing now is about re-election and staying on the public teat... She needs to be seen as busy and responsible...
Can someone tell me why "people of color" is PC but "colored people" is racist? My color is pink, do I count in "people of color"?
What if one of the "poors" (or the "olds" or the "coloreds") tries to sneak on to the shiny new trains? Someone will need to protect the special snowflakes from life in the big city.
i dont think that anyone in her office can put 3 words together in a sentence
What us carless "millennials" could really use is an extension of subways further out into Queens, and a circle line subway that could get people from Queens to Brooklyn or the Bronx without having to go through Manhattan.
This is what the dizzy one should have done for her own area of Queens:
SENATOR AVELLA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF MAJOR MTA NORTHEAST QUEENS BUS STUDY
New “Limited-Zone” Bus Route Pilot Program Will Be Proposed As a Result of Study
Today, State Senator Tony Avella announced that MTA will be unveiling the results of a year-long study on New York City Transit and MTA Bus Company service performance in his Senate District. As a result of the study funded by Senator Avella, there will be modifications and additions to bus services to the areas where the study found room for improvement, a new pilot program to create “limited-zone bus service”, and other short and long-term adjustments.
As an area largely underserviced by other methods of public transportation, such as the MTA Subway system, Senator Avella sought to bring about improvements to the area’s bus service. The Senator’s bill, S.6353E, allocated $500,000 of New York State’s 2014-2015 fiscal budget to provide the MTA the funding to conduct the comprehensive review.
As one of the largest bus studies ever to be conducted by the MTA, multiple metrics were assessed to accumulate data. MTA primarily used GPS-data and automatic Fare Collection MetroCard data, but also received community input from public meetings with Community Boards 7, 8, 11 and 13, as well as a public workshop held at the Queensborough Community College where over one-hundred participants attended.
MTA analyzed thirty-nine bus routes operating in Northeast Queens, an area covering the 31 square miles bound by Flushing Bay and Van Wyck Expressway on the west, Hillside Avenue to the south, and Nassau County line to the east. While Northeast Queens bus lines were found to operate more reliably than the rest of Queens or other boroughs, many opportunities for improvement were found as a result of the study.
The recommendations were broken into short-term and long-term timeframes. Some of the adjustments will be made to address the bus routes experiencing the largest increase in ridership, while others will be made to account for bus routes that were diverging most from their intended schedules. MTA will also look to fill the gap of late night hours that some bus routes don’t service, especially those necessary for connecting to the 7 line.
In the short-term, MTA will be looking at scheduling additional trips to Q12, Q13, Q28, and Q58 bus lines, will create 24-hour service on the Q20A line in conjunction with the roll out of the Q44 SBS, will analyze the feasibility of overnight service on the Q13, Q30, and Q88, while overall striding to improve all bus lines’ adherence to their schedules. In addition, the MTA will look at modifying the travel path of the Q65 in Flushing to provide more reliable all-day service on Parsons Boulevard alongside the part-time Q26.
In the long-term, MTA will study alternatives to expand north-south service throughout Northeast Queens, and implement an additional Select Bus Service along major transit corridors, such as Hillside Avenue, Northern Boulevard and Union Turnpike. MTA will also explore the creation of a Downtown Flushing Bus Terminal where new developments are currently occurring.
The most exciting development that is resulting from the study is the proposed creation of a “limited-zone” bus route, the first route of its kind, specifically catering to the needs of Queens residents. The limited-zone bus route functions as a cross between local and limited service lines, stopping only a few blocks apart in some areas while subsequently traveling across non-stop sections. Currently, the Q12 and the Q88 are being studied to take part in this pilot program.
“Northeast Queens is heavily reliant on regular bus scheduling for supporting the transit needs of its community and I’m proud to have provided the means for MTA to refine and improve service in my district. Whether servicing commuters on their morning trip to work, students on their way to schools and colleges in the area, or the high population of senior citizens in Queens who rely on them for their daily errands, MTA and New York City Transit Bus lines are vital for our Borough.
It is incredibly impressive how thorough the study conducted by the MTA was in assessing the needs of Northeast Queens; the solutions offered to address the findings were more impressive still. The proposed pilot program for new limited-zone bus lines is but one example of how productive MTA’s study was for improving local transit and I look forward to seeing its implementation,” commented State Senator Tony Avella.
“While this study confirms that bus service in Northeast Queens generally exceeds the performance of buses throughout Queens and citywide, some areas were identified for potential improvements. We’ll look at some immediate, and possible mid-range and long term, solutions that embody our commitment to better service including a pragmatic approach to service delivery as we look at new ideas like limited-zone bus service in Northeast Queens,” said MTA New York City Transit Senior Vice President of Buses and President of MTA Bus Company Darryl Irick.
*STUDY AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST*
"put in light rail the abandoned Rockaway line" --NO THANK YOU! It is not simply "abandoned" it is wrecked. It cannot be "reactivated" as the dreamers dream. People opine about this "line" without bothering to ever LOOK at it. It's nothing but a tall narrow earth berm snaking between small private backyards with old rails scattered here and there. Give it up, Rockaway Line enthusiasts!
And then there's this:
***PRESS ADVISORY***
Council Members to Host Southeast Queens Transportation Town Hall
On Thursday, October 27th New York City Council Members Donovan Richards (D – Laurelton) and I. Daneek Miller (D – St. Albans) will host a Southeast Queens Transportation Town Hall. The event will feature various city agencies and transportation stakeholders including the Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Taxi & Limousine Commission, and Police Department. Local residents are urged to attend and participate in a discussion of ongoing transportation issues relevant locally and citywide. Southeast Queens has long been discussed as a “transportation desert” in New York City.
Who: Council Member Donovan Richards, Council Member I. Daneek Miller, Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Taxi & Limousine Commission, the Police Department, local transportation groups, community groups, and residents [*List in Formation*]
What: Southeast Queens Transportation Town Hall
When: Tuesday, October 27th, 7:00pm
Where: I.S. 59 (132-55 Ridgedale Street, Springfield Gardens, NY 11413)
Why: To provide a forum to discuss local and citywide transportation issues and policy proposals including those related to infrastructure, subways and buses, taxis, commuter vans, paratransit, truck traffic and commuter vans, among others.
Looks like crime is down on the trains,white millennials take Uber therfore criminals are not making a days pay robbing tech nerds
WANTED STUPID WHITE PEOPLE WITH MONEY TO USE MTA ROLLING MUGGING CATTLE CARS
To the Anon against the Rockaway line being reactivated, it is to bad you bought a house that abuts the line but the LIRR was there before the house and you should have thought about that. Woodhaven Blvd/Cross Bay is a parking lot during commuting hours and a rail line connecting Rockaway to Rego Park would ease that tremendously. With the rite of way being in place it could be brought back to life without a major fuss
just like the 42nd street shuttle
we can have the glendale shuttle so the whores and whatever from flushing avenue can get to glendale.
Poor Urban planning makes living near ones job very important.
Also to the anon against the much needed rockaway line, you don't have to worry because the plans are pretty set for a ludicrous elevated park that has already been initiated. You may have to worry about passerby gawking at you from above, or predatory developers taking over your properties and replacing them with giant glass tumors or luxury hotels.
You would think that if the city and state is capable extracting rooted trees and removing debris from the tracks that there might be the slightest possibility that the line can be activated so the many people who live in eastern queens can have another route to go to work or go to the beach in the summer. Especially since rockaway is ahem "hot" now.
But no, especially since Pendergrast was reportedly practically foaming at the mouth at the prospect at reviving two fucking stops for the big spending alcoholic hipsters. The main reason these cretins want this is because these were the jackasses that gentrified Brooklyn goddamn and got priced out and moved to glendale and the rest of middle and borderline queens, and they are probably at the point now that they can't afford their beloved Uber rides to get to their rooftop parties and open front bars and artisan restaurants (I guess the bars in glendale aren't cool, but wait there is that one on that superfund site, too expensive, no)
Take the bus with the rest of the proletariat. Or take those stupid pill colored purple and blue buses, or are they not around anymore?
Is the point here to provide urban transportation at reasonable cost to the largest number of riders or to screw some homeowners in Glendale and Forest Hills?
Just because a railroad ran through it 60 years ago doesn't mean that it is the best solution to Woodhaven Blvd's congestion.
"Just because a railroad ran through it 60 years ago doesn't mean that it is the best solution to Woodhaven Blvd's congestion."... You got a better one?
"Joan Byron, policy director at the Pratt Center for Community Development, said the fascination with light rail has a lot to do with perceptions of bus service, which she said works just as well, if not better.
"Poor people and people of color ride the bus," said Byron. "But we want something shiny and new that young white millennials will ride"
What an idiotic comment...
How is that idiotic? It's quite obvious that Crowley wants to attract to Glendale and Maspeth the same demographic that is pouring into Ridgewood. Those people won't take buses, which the people already living there do. And when they start coming, the area will be overdeveloped into oblivion. There's a pretty decent view of Manhattan from the Montauk line.
And this plan will come in on budget,
Earn revenue,
And serve the people of the community...
You Know there are some shiny bridges for sale...
"Poor people and people of color ride the bus," said Byron. "But we want something shiny and new that young white millennials will ride"
What an idiotic comment...
I think it's a sardonic comment dot dot dot, and apt. I believe when she meant poor people she was generalizing the white population that used to be middle class in that area. And to make Crowley look like a bimbo fool that she is. Well said Byron. Although for future reference just say poor people of all races and nationalities. And white is a color too.
#allcolorsmatterwhenyourepoorandignored
Shiny may be the definitive word to describe all the over-saturated development aka queens crap that's spread like CANCER over the boroughs. Spread the word
this is actually a very true statement in about 90% of the country, less so in cities that have 24/7 mass transit available.
-------
Poor people and people of color ride the bus," said Byron. "But we want something shiny and new that young white millennials will ride"
AS A LONGTIME QUEENS RESIDENT I THINK IT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA. THERE'S ONLY 2 OPTIONS, TURN IT INTO A CHEAP KNOCKOFF OF MANHATTAN'S 'HIGH LINE' OR MAKE IT A VIABLE TRANSPORTATION OPTION FOR QUEENS COMMUTERS WHO HAVE TO TAKE BOTH BUS & TRAIN JUST TO GET TO THEIR JOBS IN MANHATTAN.
JUST LOOK AT WHAT IS GOING ON TRANSPORTATION WISE IN THIS REGION.LONG ISLAND RAILROAD COMMUTERS WILL SOON BE ABLE TO TRAVEL DIRECTLY INTO THE HEART OF MIDTOWN, GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL. THERE'S ALSO TALK ABOUT BUILDING ANOTHER TUNNEL TO CONNECT JERSEY TO MANHATTAN. WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE BOROUGHS ?? I'M 100% BEHIND THIS IDEA, JUST HOPE GOVERNOR DOUCHEBAG DOESNT GET IN THE WAY OF PROGRESS!!
Typing in all caps just ensures no one gives a damn what you say.
the anon with caps sounds like Dizzy Lizzy in a tizzy
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