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| Re: Queens Light Rail Map (with Subway Improvements) (592242) | |||
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Re: Queens Light Rail Map (with Subway Improvements) |
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Posted by trainsarefun on Sat Mar 29 10:54:58 2008, in response to Re: Queens Light Rail Map (with Subway Improvements), posted by Olog-hai on Sat Mar 29 03:10:22 2008. I think that there might be a model for light rail in some parts of NYC, but it would be a very different model from that depicted in the fantasy map referred to.This alternative model relies heavily on parkland corridor ROWs, which puts it emphasis, as against the fantasy map, on serving less stations but having higher ridership at those stations. The alternative model is premised on the idea that light rail really must have rather 'light' costs compared to heavy rail, otherwise the money is frankly better off being spent on other applications of greater utility. In order to flesh this out, one looks at maps of NYC - I'm going to use bus maps, since those are publicly available and free - and one looks for corridors that go through a lot of green on the map that one imagines there would be ridership along at station points. This is complicated by the fact that we have a lot of cemeteries and because people tend not to like light rail running over graves. Then the question becomes whether ridership along the routes would be sustainable given the money to be sunk into the effort. But that's step two, since one has to designate line routes first in order to assess ridership. Step one goes first then. Sticking to Queens, so that I can compare to the fantasy map, which I think is, well, fantasy, let's look at the map. One of the first things that strikes you is that we have a lot of cemeteries in western Queens. Oh well. Names in brackets are those of stations at or near the places described along the route. (1) Oakland Gardens-Kew Gardens But we also have in eastern Queens a parkland corridor, once used by trains actually. So from Cunningham Park's northeastern fringe (which abuts eastern Oakland Gardens)[OG terminal], through the park to somewhere around Francis Lewis Blvd and the LIE [Francis Lewis Blvd], heading NW via the Kissena Corridor [Utopia Pkwy], following the south rim of Kissena Park, [Kissena Blvd], continuing east toward [NY Hospital Queens-Booth Memorial Av] and [Botanical Gardens-Main St], connect somewhere near LIRR's Shea Stadium station [Citifield-(LGA Airtrain?)], turning south along FMCP's western rim, with a stations perhaps at [62nd Dr] (bus service going east to the Mall), and [69th Rd-Jewel Av] (bus service going toward 'downtown' Forest Hills available), before terminating somewhere by the park's southern tip [KG terminal]. But having said all that, it sounds like far too much crossing work, so it's relatively infeasible. Another try. (2) Queensboro Hill-Kew Gardens This is just a truncated version of (1), starting at [Queensboro Hill-Kissena Blvd] and proceeding per (1). Other than this, the light rail plans for Queens really are pipe dreams, and even what I've sketched is an extremely far, probably infeasible, reach. |
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