Hi Folks!

Hi Everybody:

 Sorry that I could not add anything recently to the blog, but nothing much positive has been occurring recently with the New York Subway system and streetcars for this region.  Every day, there seems to be a problem with the subway:  Either a signal failure, track or rail condition, fire department condition (fire), police action (crime or suicide), sick passenger, equipment failure, flood condition and so on.   It seems that the Brooklyn - Queens connector streetcar is dead because of political reasons or money reasons.  Many people are against this project because they are against development just for the sake of development.  Questions regarding the utility of this project, in terms of serving the public was raised.   Is there really a need for a streetcar where there are other options such as subway lines and bus lines?   Vast areas of the five boroughs, particularly Staten Island, eastern Bronx, eastern and southern Queens and Brooklyn are transit deserts.  If the Second Avenue Line was proposed close to a hundred years ago and a small portion opened last year, how long would eastern Queens residents need to wait?   And if the billions were available, how long would it take to clear the red tape and the actual building process itself?  Twenty Years?   About new subway equipment:  Yes  new equipment is in order, even a open gangway unit but essentially these cars will look like  thousands of R 160 cars already running.   When will the last seat by window vanish?  This will be when the R- 46 or R-68 cars are history.  Yes, the new cars are air conditioned, shinny and have public announcements, but they are boring.   After x amount of years, when the cars became old and shabby, there will exist maybe two to three types of subway cars for the entire system.  Shutting down the "L" line for a year will also be a problem in many ways in terms of lost time, lost wages, congested streets and businesses running away.

Still, we must be thankful for what we have.  If I would have a choice of building a streetcar line, I would build a semi private right of way line at the end of a railhead such at 179 Street Jamaica, Co-Op City at the Pelham Bay Park station.  Other areas would be in Staten Island, Utica Avenue Brooklyn and so on.   According to a report listed in ERA Headlights, (Sorry, Do not Have the Source) reporting on a NY Regional Plan study showing that light rail is the most efficient way to transport passengers if certain criteria are met, such as the number of people using the service daily.  Most bus lines in Manhattan (in the 1980's at the time of study) meet the criteria.  This report was before the age of re-development and concentrated on efficiency and clean air.

For efficiency, the MTA should have been converting some diesel bus routes to streetcar ( with some private right of way running ) for the past thirty years.  This has nothing to do with development but with efficiency.  Having a large electric vehicle that is railed is an efficient means of transporting passengers having one driver.  If there is no money to extend the "F" in Queens or the "6" in the Bronx, why not build light rail at the end of the line?  It is cheaper than building a subway.

This is my humble opinion.  ...and the construction need not be fancy;  a simple covered station stop(s) would be sufficient.  You have the electric supply already at the end of the subway line (600 V).  Why not try it out using second hand equipment from Europe and temporary prefabricated tracks and some simple wooden poles for overhead support?
Tramway Null(0)