Transit in the NYC Region, After the Storm: Rebuild It Better

[CHamilton]

From Streetsblog:

It was Rahm Emanuel who said, back in his White House days, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste.” As far as crises go, the damage Sandy caused to New York City’s subway system, with its tunnels submerged in seawater, would certainly qualify. Throughout the region, other rail systems have been damaged too. Blogger Cap’n Transit notes that some powerful people are now on the record saying that this is the time to make the transit system stronger:

Since they began to realize how much the subway system had been damaged by the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, leaders have been making statements like this one from Governor Cuomo: “We will rebuild the subway system and it will be better than before.”

...

Let’s look at this as an opportunity...: if you could rip out a section of the subway or commuter rail system and replace it, with 90% federal funding, what would you improve?

 

[CHamilton]

With the A Train Gone, Traveling to the Rockaways Becomes Much Harder

When the waters receded, the A train’s foundation was gone, removing a major transit link from the peninsula’s 130,000 residents.
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The direct train ride has become an odyssey from a slow-moving crowded bus to the train miles into the mainland.
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The MTA says its aware of the frustrating commute, but can’t promise relief until summer.

 

[jis]

From Streetsblog:

It was Rahm Emanuel who said, back in his White House days, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste.” As far as crises go, the damage Sandy caused to New York City’s subway system, with its tunnels submerged in seawater, would certainly qualify. Throughout the region, other rail systems have been damaged too. Blogger Cap’n Transit notes that some powerful people are now on the record saying that this is the time to make the transit system stronger:

Since they began to realize how much the subway system had been damaged by the storm surge from Hurricane Sandy, leaders have been making statements like this one from Governor Cuomo: “We will rebuild the subway system and it will be better than before.”

...

Let’s look at this as an opportunity...: if you could rip out a section of the subway or commuter rail system and replace it, with 90% federal funding, what would you improve?

A Blog written by some with close to zero understanding of the actual cost of what is being proposed. Widen and straighten out PATH tunnels? Really? The only way to achieve that is to shut it down and build a completely new system. Is that the best use of the money needed? Or would one rather spend it on extending the system to cover additional areas and remove bottlenecks elsewhere making more effective use of the money?