Header Ads

Brooklyn and Queens may be linked by a new train line

January 06, 2022 0
Brooklyn and Queens may be linked by a new train line

One of the most frustrating things in NYC has been how long it takes to travel between its outer boroughs. Between highways and subway lines oriented toward Manhattan, so many of NYC's neighborhoods have become transit deserts, leaving 900,000 residents with super long commutes.

New Yorkers are over it.

This week, in her State of the State Address, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the state will create an Inter-Borough Express, a new rail service that connects Brooklyn and Queens via old and unused freight tracks spanning 14 miles between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and Jackson Heights, Queens.

RECOMMENDED: NYC Ferry kicks off the new year with a brand-new stop

The unused train tracks run through Astoria, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood, Middle Village, Maspeth, Elmhurst, Bushwick, Borough Park, Kensington, Midwood, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Lots, Brownsville, East New York, Sunset Park and Bay Ridge according to Gothamist.

Hochul directed the MTA to immediately commence an environmental review to get the project "rolling down the track."

"We need to reconnect neighborhoods that were severed by asphalt highways, disproportionately impacting communities of color," she said.

The Regional Plan Association has called for a similar connection since 1996 and already, the MTA started its own feasibility study in 2020 looking at the route for passenger use, according to Gothamist.

Once complete, the Inter-Borough Express would provide end-to-end travel time of less than 40 minutes, serve some 74,000 to 88,000 weekday riders (attracting more than 2 million new annual trips to public transit), connect residents and workers to the LIRR and up to 17 subway lines, significantly expanding access to jobs and services across the metro area, providing new service where 71% of residents are minorities and 33% are below 1.5 times the federal poverty line.

"Stronger rapid transit in Brooklyn and Queens is long overdue," Hochul says in her State of the State plan. "Both boroughs have exploded with residents in recent years, and these communities rely heavily on public transportation, with 57% of households in Brooklyn and 36% in Queens not owning cars. For hundreds of thousands of people in the Interborough Express right-of-way, crossing from neighborhood to neighborhood is slow and tedious because existing subway lines are oriented toward Manhattan. Yet many new work opportunities, schools, and services are within the outer boroughs themselves."

The best part is that because the rail lines already exist, the project will be completed much faster than if it were starting from scratch. 

"We applaud Governor Hochul’s announcement to bring new transit options to Brooklyn and Queens, particularly as the city is experiencing worsening traffic congestion and the effects of climate change," says Renae Reynolds, the executive director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign. "This project will bring high-quality transit to more neighborhoods–including some that are currently transit deserts–and better connect almost a million residents in Brooklyn and Queens with new jobs and opportunities throughout the city."

Needless to say, New Yorkers are excited about it because it'll make getting to work, visiting friends and family and exploring other neighborhoods so much easier.


Tags:

No comments

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Powered by Blogger.