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| Re: AirTrain Proposed To Connect (7) Line With LaGuardia Airport ($450 Million, 5 years) (1335126) | |||
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Re: AirTrain Proposed To Connect (7) Line With LaGuardia Airport ($450 Million, 5 years) |
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Posted by NIMBYkiller on Thu Jan 22 22:52:21 2015, in response to AirTrain Proposed To Connect (7) Line With LaGuardia Airport ($450 Million, 5 years), posted by gOlD_12tH on Tue Jan 20 12:04:12 2015. Some options I'll throw into the mix after reading this entire thread:1. Ferry from Marine Air Terminal to 34th St, Pier 11, and Jersey City. You could also maybe add a stop at either Fulton Ferry Terminal or Atlantic Av in Brooklyn 2. Cut Astoria El back to Astoria Blvd and dive underground before reaching Ditmars and make the LGA extension from Ditmars underground 3. Branch off the Astoria El just before Astoria Blvd and eliminate the 37th St overpass so the tracks can dive underground before reaching the Hell Gate approach, and have a station before the underground section to ease the blow of less service to riders at Astoria Blvd. Run it with a 12tph Ditmars and 8tph LGA. I think there might be just enough space to run one track onto either side of the el just south of Astoria Blvd to make the actual connection. 4. Airtrain running Jamaica-Willets Pt-LGA-Astoria Blvd. You get your easy access to Manhattan via N, and excellent LIRR access at Jamaica. PW branch and fastest LIRR access to NYP/GCT can be reached with LIRR making Willets Pt a full time stop with boosted service, which works well in conjunction with my proposal to run full time city ticket service on reduced headways W of Bayside as an alternative to trying to extend a subway out that way. Also, you get access to downtown Brooklyn via LIRR from Jamaica. 5. Airtrain running Jamaica-Willets Pt-LGA-Jackson Hts. Same LIRR comments as option #4. Just not sure of how the line would get from the BQE to 74th St (Would a Broadway El for those 2 blocks actually get approved?). The other issue is that both the QB express trains and 7 trains are packed in like sardines with track capacity maxed out. I know we've argued about the reality of time savings of express vs local out of 74th St, but the reality is that even if it's only minimal time savings, people will see express or count the stops on the map and try to cram onto the express services. Not good. The flip side of that argument is that the Q70 is already sending people there, but an airtrain would certainly intensify the numbers. The benefit also is that it provides one hell of coverage options throughout the city. 6. LIRR branch off the PW line just west of Willets Pt at the GCP right into the terminals. Provides speedy one seat access to 2 midtown terminals (and if they build Sunnyside station, access to Queensboro Plaza area). The problem here is west end terminal capacity during rush hour and just how frequent service could be (this wouldn't be nearly as much a problem if LIRR wasn't cutting off FBA). In Stockholm, the Arlanda Express I believe operates every 20 mins, although that airport has about 84% of the usage that LGA has and it is backed up by a local train. It's slightly less efficient for LI travelers to go to Woodside than Jamaica, and it probably adds to a downtown Brooklyn travel time, and has less coverage throughout Manhattan, but it's probably more appropriate for the majority. Also, if the powers that be could ever get their shit together and act like big boys, we might even be able to have an LGA-Sunnyside-NYP-Newark-EWR Rail Station service. 7. Keep the current method of Q70, M60, Q48, NYC Airporter, and perhaps a new bus to Jamaica. Q70 has made this a real option 1 is a decent, inexpensive, quick to implement option, but sucks for midtown and downtown Brooklyn access. 2 is insanely expensive, so let's just say no. 3 is so-so depending on how busy that 37th St overpass really is and if branching tracks can actually fit on either side of the el just south of Astoria Blvd. 4 is a standalone option that is similar to what we've done with our other 2 airports in that we basically just extend the airport out to the train station. We often bitch about not having a one seat ride to the airport, but how many terminals are actually a one seat ride? Even at Zurich airport, you still have to get on a tram after the train station to some of the terminals. 5 is just as good as 4, but with the negative of dumping everyone onto already overcrowded services and the benefit of providing connections that cover a far larger swath of the city than any other option. 6 is geared almost exclusively towards folks heading into Manhattan, but is the fastest one seat ride option and not as insanely expensive as some of the other options, but has a capacity issue on the western end. I love Option 5 because it provides the absolute best connectivity of any option, but the truth is that the crowding at 74th is something to be concerned with, so with that being said, I think 4 is the best option. 6 would also be great, especially if it could be tied in with service to EWR rail station. I wonder, of the travelers using LGA, what percentage are headed to LI vs Manhattan vs Queens vs Brooklyn vs elsewhere (NJ, BX, SI, Westchester, CT, etc). If they could do 1, 4/5, 6, and keep the Q48 and M60, I think I'd wet myself. |
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