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| Re: Diagrams Re: Air Train question (581905) | |||
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Re: Diagrams Re: Air Train question |
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Posted by RIPTA42HopeTunnel on Thu Mar 6 15:21:37 2008, in response to Re: Diagrams Re: Air Train question, posted by Charles G on Thu Mar 6 12:04:38 2008. Even for those with access to an auto and being dropped off at the airport, those coming from Brooklyn would find that the most direct route and least traffic would involve exiting the Belt at Cross Bay and being dropped off at the Howard Beach station.Getting from the Belt Parkway to Coleman Square involves making a lot of turns on narrow residential streets with a lot of stop signs. It's also hard to find if you aren't familiar with the area. I can't see a lot of people doing that. How can that be? You have argued strenuously that the charge at Howard Beach is a pedestrian toll and not a rail fare. I agree, because the charge is made to people who cross the line whether or not they ride the Airtrain or simply decide to wander around the parking lot. How can a pedestrian toll be bad transportation policy? Because it favors drivers over pedestrians and transit riders. You don't buy it? Do you really think HB residents want hundreds or even thousands of cars per day exiting the Belt at Cross Bay and turning Coleman Square into an impromptu Kiss-and-Ride? That's the first logical argument I've heard in favor of charging for entry at Howard Beach. However, in addition the difficulties accessing HB noted above, the same could be accomplished by charging people a subway fare to enter the station and still maintain a free transfer to AirTrain, or by charging all AirTrain riders, including parkers, equally. The other reason presented was that there was no reason to build a second station in the long-term lot other than to serve the subway station. They currently use shuttle buses to serve the outer reaches of the lot and could certainly extend those shuttles to serve the small section of parking near where the HB subway station is. To the extent that the line cost more to go and additional 0.3 miles (some of it over swampland) and to build another station, why shouldn't those for whom it was built specially contribute more? Not only would not extending AirTrain to the subway sever the existing connection from the subway to the airport, I also don't think a single station would adequately serve a parking lot that size. The number of people arriving at JFK via public transit has tripled (!) since the AirTrain was built. I assume that includes trips coming from Jamaica. The real test is how much growth there has been at Howard Beach. |
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