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| Re: More Woodhaven Blvd bullcarp by ''CityLabs'' (304090) | |||
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Re: More Woodhaven Blvd bullcarp by ''CityLabs'' |
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Posted by BrooklynBus on Thu Apr 2 23:43:20 2015, in response to More Woodhaven Blvd bullcarp by "CityLabs", posted by Joe V on Thu Mar 26 17:45:54 2015. The Wavehttp://www.rockawave.com/news/2015-04-03/Top_Stories/Transportation_Debate.html 2015-04-03 / Top Stories Transportation Officials Weigh Best Public Transportation Option By Harry Kane Proponents of the Select Bus Service say its the best option for quicker travel to Manhattan.Rockaway commuters have long yearned for an upgrade to their transit system, calling for easy access into Manhattan and other boroughs with the hopes of revitalizing the area by attracting new homeowners and businesses to invest in the community. Several solutions have been proposed to add to the much-needed public transportation infrastructure. Some say it?s best to restore the former Long Island Rail Road Rockaway Beach Branch, which connected passengers from the Rockaway Peninsula across Jamaica Bay and through Broad Channel, running north into Rego Park. But the proposals for the return of the LIRR along the abandoned rail bed have been derailed due to opposition from other communities along the tracks who feel that a train passing through residential neighborhoods would create too much noise. In an effort to overhaul the current transit service onto the Rockaway Peninsula, the city has unveiled a new design concept for a bus that can provide faster commutes to and from Rockaway. The solution that has been proposed, however, may only be a piece of the needed transit infrastructure required to enable redevelopment critical to economic growth. The Select Bus Service - NYC's new, innovative bus service, aimed at reducing travel time and increasing customer comfort - was unveiled by The New York City Department of Transportation on March 24. If the money needed to revamp the bus service is allocated, SBS would run on the same line as the existing Q52/53 route, and would provide faster and reliable service for commuters. NYC Commissioner Polly Trottenberg laid out the plan, which is expected to cost $200 million. Originally, at a city council hearing, Trottenberg said that on average, it costs $10 million for SBS, but she was not counting the cost of equipment and other items. In total, $28 million was the original figure proposed to add SBS along Woodhaven Boulevard. But somewhere along the line the estimate jumped from $28 million to $200 million for the SBS project. Allan Rosen, who is a retired Director of NYC Transit Bus Planning, and had worked at the MTA for some 25 years, explained that previous SBS projects have been scaled down versions of full Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which is prevalent in areas outside New York that have wider streets. DOT wants to attempt a full BRT project along Woodhaven Boulevard, and has therefore upped their rough estimate to $200 million. The amount of federal funding will determine how much of the BRT features will be incorporated, Rosen said. The new plan would dedicate a travel lane, physically separated for buses along Woodhaven Boulevard, from the Rockaways to Elmhurst or Woodside depending on the bus line, and create a "bigger and bolder" bus line, according to DOT. The bus service would save the estimated 30,000 riders, who use the bus on a daily basis, anywhere from 25 to 35 percent in reduced travel time over the 14 mile commute, says the Department of Transportation. "It'll make things slightly better for bus passengers," admitted Rosen. "It'll take ten minutes off an hour and a half trip, which is not really going to be that noticeable. If they only have two lanes over the Long Island Railroad overpass, it'll just bring Woodhaven to a complete standstill and force drivers onto the Van Wyck Expressway and onto the Jackie Robinson Parkway and onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway." Rosen doesn't foresee much improvement in bus running times during the off-peak hours. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. traffic moves just fine, he says. "You can do 30-35 miles per hour. To say that the buses are going to save time during the midday or weekends" that's absolute nonsense. They will save time during rush hours, maybe 15 minutes. I don't think it will be anymore than that, once you factor in the increased walking distance to get to the SBS stops." "Travel by car will suffer," he continued. There would be delays of 15 to 30 minutes. According to Rosen, when traffic concerns were raised at meetings, DOT representatives promised they would maintain three traffic lanes for general traffic throughout the corridor. The latest proposal released on March 24 guarantees only two lanes over the Long Island Railroad overpass and two lanes under the Long Island Railroad, just south of the Long Island Expressway. "That's going to cause significant bottlenecks," he said. "That'll back up the entire Woodhaven Boulevard. It is just not going to move at all." Traffic delays can also affect response time for police, fire and other EMS vehicles. While proponents for the new and improved bus service, which may commence in 2017, say it will be beneficial for bus riders, others say it's still not enough, and that there's a need for the return of the long disputed Rockaway Beach Line (RBL), which many commuters feel is a superior alternative to the bus. In a study conducted by Queens College, regarding possible ridership, were the RBL ever to be rebuilt, a report states that the train would generate 500,000 rides per day and that's just to start. And advocates for the RBL railroad say, if the train line were to be reactivated, the trip into midtown Manhattan would be roughly 43 minutes. The Rockaway Beach Branch Rail Line has been out of commission since 1950, following a fire on the Jamaica Bay Bridge. The northern portion of the LIRR line was later closed in 1962. The IND Rockaway Line or A train replaced the old RBL. And while there has been support in recent years for reactivation, there?s no real plan to get it underway. In fact, Rosen says, realistically once the federal government sinks a huge sum of money in one geographical area; they're not going to sink more money into another transportation system like the railroad. "Rail far surpasses buses, and people prefer rail," Rosen said. ?Rail stimulates economic development, buses do not because they are more temporary in nature. As far as bus rapid transit simulating economic development "I don't see it at all." A possible plan to turn the abandoned railroad into a park, destroying the hopes of the RBL forever, is underway. The QueensWay project would be similar to Manhattan's High Line-style park that runs along Chelsea's unused rail corridor. In December of 2014, The Regional Economic Development Councilawarded $443,750 to the QueensWay project. If the Select Bus Service were activated along Woodside Boulevard, chances are the 47-acre park would likely replace the abandoned railroad, according to Rosen. As previously reported by The Wave, Assemblyman Philip Goldfeder has often advocated for the restoration of the old rail line. "Elected officials, union leaders, and community members from every part of the borough and as far as Manhattan have expressed full support for the complete restoration of the Rockaway Beach Rail Line and increased transit options," Goldfeder said. "It's clear that reactivating the Rockaway Beach Rail Line is the best and most cost-effective way to expand transit in Queens while easing commutes, creating jobs, cleaning the environment and expanding our economic development," Goldfeder added. "I will continue to fight until this becomes a reality and our families in Queens have the transportation options they need and deserve." Philip McManus from the Queens Public Transit Committee said the reactivation would cost roughly $700 to $800 million to resurrect the 3.5- mile "forgotten spur" that travels over Jamaica Bay from the main line of the LIRR. "We're not totally against Select Bus Service or improvements of bus services," McManus said, "but when you totally disregard that there's a train track only 2-6 blocks away, that's politics, pure and simple." "For them to ignore the Rockaway Beach Line, it stinks at City Hall," McManus said. Return to top |
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