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It feels like 2005 again! TWU President Roger Toussaint and Straphangers Campaign attorney Gene Russianoff want the MTA to delay its vote on the West Side rail yards. The vote, scheduled for Wednesday, would consider the city's $500 million bid for the area Mayor Bloomberg hopes to turn into Hudson Yards. After the Jets stadium debacle last year, the rail yards were appraised at $923 million, which is why Toussaint and Russianoff are asking that the MTA hold out for a whole lot more, as the money could fund equipment and other expenses. And wanting more money for valuable land makes sense, which is probably why the MTA will accept the $500 million offer, as it seems to operate in bizarro world.
And the MTA is trying to encourage advertisers to buy ad space on the back of Metrocards. This is another area where the MTA needs to be more savvy. Sure, it's nice that the MTA can put its own messages on the back of Metrocards or in subway cars, but the fact that we see so many of their ads means the MTA isn't making money on that space. And that money could go to things like maybe offsetting fare increases one year.
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...or they could use the money to print a few extra MAPS so we could have MORE THAN 2 PER SUBWAY CAR!!
Instead of extending the #7, the MTA should strongly consider the Vision 42 proposal. The reason is that you could connect midtown river to river (UN to Javits) with easily accessible above ground transit and create more room for pedestrians at the same time.
wow. I've never seen vision42 before, but I've gotta say that I like it.... a lot!
better yet..... remove all the vehicles from midtown completely. europe's definitely got the right idea on this one, and NYC should lead the way for America.
Vision 42? I know something that would work even better for a lot less money:
A BUS.
light rail on 42nd street will never happen. Why? Because the 7 train is being extended. Additional light rail would make no sense.
Actually, light rail on 42nd St makes a lot of sense. It's called "redundancy". Light rail is also more attractive to riders than buses, which will increase ridership.
Are they still talking about vision42? Damn, I remember that from years ago. Won't ever happen, unfortunately. Nobody likes light rail, no matter how much sense it may make.
Better would be extending the N train to LaGuardia Airport. It's maybe five miles from the Ditmars terminus up to LGA, rather than running a new spur off the #7 through Sunnyside like the planners always say they want to do. Who needs a subway to the Javits Center, anyway? Doesn't the M42 go there?
Actually, studies show that people do like light rail. I agree though that extending the N to LGA would be a great project. Too bad the MTA dropped it.
light rails are the public policy macguffin of our age.
Dhex, Realist, Jeebus, et al
Light rail has a number of benefits over subway and bus service.
1. Lower cost than subway and easier to maintain than a bus fleet. Electric motors and streetcars last much longer than diesel buses
2. Less time from point to point. Buses have to fight traffic (unless they get serious about a M42 Bus Rapid Transit Lane) while light rail has dedicated or priority lanes. For the #7 you have to go into the steamy underground about 100-150 ft. but light rail is at street grade or close to it. Entering and exiting are very quick.
3. Connections to Far East side & Penn Station. The #7 does not stop from the East River over to almost Lexington Ave. A lot of people work over by the UN and East Midtown that have quite a hike from the subway. Plus, the light rail idea could also wrap around and go down to Penn Station, providing a one seat ride from Grand Central to Penn Station.
Well, yes. *Any* valid form of mass transit to LGA would be appreciated, and the 7 line extension on 42nd may never happen (if it happens, it's definitely not going to penn, which has me a little irked, but that's more of a personal issue)
The fact is, people don't like buses. They're slow, unpredictable, and generate a good deal of pollution. The light rail as envisioned by Project42 is only intended to offset the lack of vehicular traffic on 42nd street if it ever were closed to vehicular access.
Hopefully this will gain some traction as the NJ light rail system goes active...
Umm, NJTransit's had a light rail system for years.