Regional Plan Association
A Boston Marathon argument for a Penn Station redo
Today, advocates for the replacement of the existing, depressing Penn Station argued that the nation's largest transportation hub is inherently unsafe. More
No Seoul-style platform doors for New York subways, even in new stations
There's really only one known way to prevent straphangers from falling—or being pushed—onto the tracks, as happened to the unfortunate Ki Suk Han this week. More
(6)Introduced by Al Gore, Bloomberg advocates anti-storm infrastructure, but not sea walls
Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning gave what was billed as a big infrastructure speech, in which he dismissed one of the biggest-ticket infrastructure proposals of all. More
New York isn't Holland, as far as the sea-wall-resistant mayor is concerned
Michael Bloomberg spent much of his radio show this morning questioning the argument for sea walls around New York City. More
A post-hurricane argument about New York's waterfront infrastructure
Mayor Michael Bloomberg isn't convinced that it would be worthwhile to spend billions of dollars on tidal barriers in an attempt to mitigate the impact of future superstorms on New York City's lower-lying neighborhoods. More
'There could be worse': What New York isn't doing (yet) about the next storm
This week, New Yorkers learned just how vulnerable their city is to rising ocean levels. More
Why fare hikes in New York are never, ever out of the question
Logic tells us that at some point such hikes become unsustainable; excessively high prices deter customers and end up hurting the bottom line, as everyone knows. More
(2)An old idea about elevated bike lanes resurfaces, to the dismay of cycling advocates
"It was inspired by walking the High Line a couple of weeks ago," Grannis told me in an email. "And I am an avid bicycler myself." More
(2)What New York City can learn from Los Angeles about the transit biz
"When people ask me which major U.S. city is at the cutting edge of forward-thinking transportation planning, they're always surprised when I reply that it is Los Angeles," wrote Taras Grescoe, a nonfiction writer.
That idea might seem gratuitiously counterintuitive, given Los Angeles' well-earned historical reputation as a car-centric capital of gridlock and smog. More
(5)Can an even bigger cross-Hudson rail plan succeed where the last one failed?
The two-track railroad running from Newark to midtown Manhattan is, by Amtrak's estimates, the most heavily used passenger rail in the hemisphere. Yet the Hudson River tunnels upon which both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit rely are a century old and nearing full capacity. More
(1)M.T.A. chairman Lhota contrasts young ridership (good) with old Albany legislators (bad)
M.T.A. chairman Joe Lhota said today he hopes Albany's transit-funding intransigence is a "generational thing." More
N.J. transportation chief proposes sending commuter buses across Midtown Manhattan
Last week, Simpson, a Christie appointee, offered a rather more modest proposal to improve the lives of some New Jersey commuters. Some New Jersey transit buses, he said, should be rerouted so that they pick up and drop off some riders on the East Side of Manhattan, rather than at the heavily congested Port Authority Bus Terminal on Eighth Avenue. More
New and old M.T.A. chiefs on the political toxicity of congestion pricing
The current M.T.A. chief, Joe Lhota, and a former M.T.A. chief, Elliot Sander, today discussed the political toxicity of congestion pricing. More
M.T.A. chief Lhota would like to see the 7 go 'all the way down to 23rd Street, and the West Side Highway'
M.T.A. chairman Joe Lhota this morning said he would like to see another extension of the 7 train, to provide more mass transit access to underserved parts of Manhattan's west side.
"As far as big projects are concerned, I can actually see the extension of the No. 7 train to other parts of New York City's west side," said Lhota, speaking on a panel at the Regional Plan Association's 22nd annual regional assembly. More
The surprising return of the three-borough 'X line' subway
The idea goes something like this.
There are, for the most part, existing freight tracks running from Bay Ridge up through Queens and across the Hell Gate Bridge into the Bronx. Freight traffic on those rails is light. And there is, theoretically, enough space alongside them to accommodate some form of commuter rail.
“It doesn’t have to be a subway type car,” said Zupan. “It could be somewhat smaller, but still operate as a train with multiple cars.” More
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