This nonsense building a light rail system in staten island is a joke....Build the subway tubes connecting southshore line (tottenville) to the 4th avenue subway via owls head park to 59th street brooklyn (the structures/shafts are there since the 1920's) reactivate the northshore line

(arlington) and connect it to the southshore line and subway tubes to brooklyn at what is now edge water plaza(edgewater street/bay street) realign the mta bus network in staten island to feed the south/north shore subway to brooklyn and remaining boroughs and add express bus service to hudson-bergen light rail via bayonne bridge.. at some point this will have to be done period...!! the verrazano narrows is well beyond capacity..the sir is a railway to nowhere...the express bus lanes on 278 are empty...and traffic on staten

island is beyond pathetic... lets go beyond this and add the cross harbor tunnel from new jersey to brooklyn... another great idea that would eliminate truck traffic and the pollution asssociated with it.. the population of this city is expected to rise by 1 million within 20 years..we are still using a system from 100 years ago..what a city ..what a joke...!!!! it took 5 -10 years to build the first nyc irt subway by hand....its taking almost 100 to build the 2nd avenue subway with modern equipment..what a pathetic joke...

A subway link between Manhattan and SI should have been built years ago, and they had plans between NYC, SI, Bklyn & NJ way back in the 19 teens. Amazing.

Think about this: the city just paid a fortune to rebuild TWO ferry terminals and buy NEW boats when they recieve NO revenue in return.

The city could link Manhattan and Staten Island and get $2 a pop and keep the ferry as a tourist attraction. Imagine a 5 min ride across the harbor instead of 25mins! Geniuses

Originally published in New Yok Times:

Put Commuters in Pole Position

By VINCE DIMICELI

Published: January 15, 2006

JUST because Nascar and its fans are car enthusiasts, that doesn't mean the proposed Nascar track on Staten Island has to add to the island's traffic problem. In fact, if Nascar could help finance the revitalization of the oldNorth Shore line of the Staten Island Railway, the track's construction could improve area transportation.

The line, which has a West Shore spur that runs through the heart of the track site in the Bloomfield section, ended passenger service in 1953 when buses were a viable - and less expensive - option to train service. The city owns the property, but hasn't worked toward reopening the line. Meanwhile, the West Shore spur, along with part of the Arlington Railyard, is being rehabilitated to once again accommodate freight service from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and lug garbage out of the island's new rail waste-transfer station at Fresh Kills.

With all this work going on, and with Nascar already heavily invested and desperate to get into New York City, islanders should demand that they get dividends. And those dividends should include a direct rail link to Manhattan.

If this sounds crazy, consider something crazier: the island is the only place in the tri-state region that doesn't have direct train links to Manhattan. Nascar's track could put an end to that.

The North Shore line, with its connection to New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge, is the key. Reopen the line from the St. George Terminal, and you instantly give residents on the island's North Shore - along with any fan who shows up at a race - easy, quick and car-free access to the Staten Island Ferry. Then take things a step further: connect the lift bridge to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line, and you're half-a-dozen stops from Penn Station without changing trains. Staten Islanders would then have their fastest commute to Midtown in history (along with a rail link to Newark Liberty Airport), and the Nascar track would have a connection to the nation's rail system and an international airport.

Islanders could further benefit from more transportation investment: run a spur of the active South Shore line from the Pleasant Plains station along the West Shore Expressway (like the AirTrain to Kennedy International Airport along the Van Wyck Expressway) where it can hook up with the Nascar line near Fresh Kills. This would create a rail loop around Staten Island, giving the majority of islanders access to the train. Finally, lay about two miles of track through Fresh Kills Park to the Staten Island Mall, where you could end up with a centrally located park-and-ride terminal with the eight-lane Richmond Avenue feeding into it.

Commuters could then shop at the mall after work, pack their purchases in the trunk of their cars and drive home.

Who would oversee such an undertaking? Given the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's lack of interest in the island, this seems like the perfect job for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Howland Hook as well as the island's three vehicular bridges to New Jersey, one of which - the Goethals - the Port Authority is bent on twinning or replacing. Islanders should insist that if a new bridge is built alongside the Goethals, the existing structure be used for passenger-only train service, thus alleviating any conflicts the passenger service would have with freight operations.

But it would take a big business with a lot on the table to get the ball rolling. According to The Staten Island Advance, Nascar's new $4.48 billion television deal hinges on the island track. With that in mind, I would say that ball is in Staten Island's court.

Vince DiMiceli is the senior editor of The Brooklyn Papers.

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I've posted this in other places. Any thoughts?

A narrows tunnel was proposed in 1923 from Richmond to Brooklyn it was totally viable but dropped.How do i know because i have a copy of the original contract drawings from 1923.

Very intresting

Garth, while the red color choice for your font usage is raw, it seems a lot of people are "mad" at you for using it over the photos. It's very non-design, but in essence designed well for "non-design". great work!

The 'simple' solution is to put the highway system in through the "Greenbelt", as was intended many years ago. At that time, the many influential people on Lighthouse Hill, etc, feared the disruption to their mini-mansion lifestyle. So, instead, they had the highway plan scrapped, and the strips of land that had been set aside were turned into a 'greenbelt'...It will never ever happen, but the only solution to ever getting the traffic moving is to pave over the Greenbelt; and why not re-forest "The Dump", as a replacement...

A better choice of font is needed.

That said, I think some sort of light rail line would work very well in Staten Island. An intresting solution would be to extend the NJ Transit Hudson Bergen Light Rail Line to the ferry terminal, where it could connect with the Staten Island Railway. The MTA does offer some joint service with New Jersey Transit in the form of some trains to Port Jervis and some place else west of the Hudson out of Hoboken, so why not a joint portion of the light rail line? I also think that there are some NYCTA express buses from Staten Island that go through New Jersey (without stops), too.

There are all sorts of intresting things I'd like to see on Staten Island, but since biking isn't really an option (no bike racks on buses for one) and the lack of subways why bother?

Perhaps if the Second Avenue subway ever gets built they could try a cross harbor tunnel (with a stop on Governor's Island) and link up with the Staten Island Railway. Or extend the R train across the Narrows, which was the original plan.

I agree 100% that the red text looks seriously unprofessional. I don't know what font it is, just that it needs to go away. First time I saw it I thought it was a joke. I'm still not sure why they decided to do it...

Increased bus and train service won't make a difference. The buses won't be able to go any faster (slower, really) than they already do thanks to all the other traffic.

They can't put a train line on 278. There's not enough space to fit it, and there's too much buildup on the outside of either direction to shift the car lanes to the sides and then put a rail line in the middle.

Right turns on red are totally legal in NY state, but only allowed in the city if a sign says you can do it. SI has a lot more places where such a thing is feasible, though I don't see how that could cut down on traffic.

The problem is that SI was a podunk little colony with narrow roads that got developed before the Verazzano (aka the "Guinea gangplank") got built. That bridge opened the floodgate for Brooklynites to leave their declining neighborhoods and find more space and fewer "undesirables." It also made it easier for those who'd moved out of Brooklyn to Long Island or New New Jersey to go visit relatives who'd stayed put. It's a car culture there. Always has been. And there's no space to make any of the major roads wider.

First thing i would do to ease congestion on SI, is to NOT ALLOW A NASCAR TRACK ON IT. 100K racefans per race? They say it's only 8 races a year. But in between there are qualifying heats and practice, TO WHICH NASCAR SELLS TICKETS TO. Not to mention the amateur track days there. The month before any of the races at the track, Staten Island will be UNLIVEABLE. NO TO NASCAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umm, it would seem to me that the obvious font choice would be... Gotham...right? Some u/lc would also look better than the Courier Red.

As someone who grew-up on the north shore of SI (and rode a bike to school everyday which I parked in a nearby friend's garage), I do not see these proposals adding up to much more than added convenience for automobile users. I do see great potential for Staten Island if the right transportation policies are set in place. But this is not good policy:

1. Very little about pedestrian safety,

2. Nothing encouraging biking except the greenway, no new bike parking, no new protected bike lanes

3. Nothing about more mixed use zoning in the sprawling residential areas miles from a commercial areas, necessitating car trips for all daily needs OR more transit oriented development along the SIRT

4. Nothing about Carpooling, ride share incentives

What they need is to:

Reactivate the northshore RR, run a light rail over the Bayonne Bridge to connect the SIRT with the Path. BRT on Hyland Blvd, Forest Ave, Victory Blvd, Clove Rd and Richmond Terrace.

The one big bright spot in the plan is: The City's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Port Authority will soon re-activate eight miles of rail track around the Arlington Yards Freight Terminal, which will remove 100,000 trucks a year from the road. Currently containers are taken off ships and transported by trucks on Staten Island. Transporting goods by rail and connecting them to the national freight grid in New Jersey will help to ease congestion on the roads.

since the borough president's office long ago sold out to crooked real estate developers who have built too many homes on the island without enough infrastructure, a subway line is an eventuality.

Looking at the island, there is a place on the north shore where the SIRR comes close to the upper bay, and on the other side of the bay is the N/R line. Even a subway right next to the VZ is possible (they talked of building a tunnel before they built the bridge).

As Staten Island becomes more populated and the city as well its only a matter of time until it happens. Though most likely not for another 50 years, just like the 2nd avenue line.

"Manhattan-Staten Island subway tunnel or even a Brooklyn-Staten Island subway tunnel totally impossible as both would run through massive shipping lanes." - I dont understand this since the tunnel will be build beneath the rock under the water.

Not to be a font dork or nothing... eh, that's not Helvetica.

But agreed on the sentiment. Seriously - the red type, the reckless disregard for proportion, the ALL CAPS, the kerning - they just make this site look incredibly unprofessional.

"Manhattan-Staten Island subway tunnel or even a Brooklyn-Staten Island subway tunnel" totally impossible as both would run through massive shipping lanes.

Here's the thing about Staten Island: There will never ever be any massive gentrification to the extent of Brooklyn since there will never be a direct subway to the Island. Thank god. That and the police on the ferry will make you clean up your own puke if you are headed home drunk at 4am from the bar. Stay away, we're happy with our multicultural St. George and Guido infested South beach. Go to Jersey and leave us alone.

HBLR or (preferably) PATH over the Bayonne Bridge. Staten Islanders should look to NJ Transit or the PA for better transit.

The MTA can barely drill out a Second Avenue Subway let alone a Manhattan-Staten Island subway tunnel or even a Brooklyn-Staten Island subway tunnel.

I love the RED! And Helvetica! I mean, dude, it's fun because it's ugly.

mass transportation being made available on SI will only make Tony Fettucini more inclined to drive his car all across this wonderful island of staten...

Thanks MT

I favor light rail or reactivating the North Shore SIR, but in Staten Island, it's about cars, cars, cars.

www.forgotten-ny.com