The subways and buses carried 2.2 billion people (i.e., separate fares) during 2006. Some of that must be express buses, but if 2 billion took the regular bus/subway, and the fare were increased by 20¢ (which I don’t think would greatly diminish ridership), that would yield $400 million each year for capital improvements. Who says the city can’t afford to finance its own development?

No way in heck that would ever be built unless NYC financial health depended on it.

The extension of the 7 line in Manhattan will happen because of the rail yards. East side Q will happen due to the incredible over crowding on the 4/5/6 and the money losses due to traffic, ease of travel and other such transportation type effects on urban planning.

The LIRR to Grand Central… 50/50
Remodeling of Penn Station… 50/50

Fulton Street hub: Yes
Staten Island Ferry: Yes
Atlantic Ave (where the new Nets stadium is being built): Yes

That is pretty much it. Taking the “T” line all the way from 125 street to City Hall? I just doubt that will happen. I don’t even really see the purpose of spending billions to have a train go that far when there is plenty of train service below 14 street and as for the area between 14 and 42… well, maybe…

As far as this ressesion thing goes… believe it or not, getting labor and materials is cheaper during that time then others, its just a matter of finding the money.

So what happens next will be very interesting.

It costs $4 or less to get to and from work via subway in NYC. Twenty-four hours a day, every single day of the year, and it’s the same price if the commute is from Brooklyn Heights to Wall Street or Marble Hill to Coney Island (god forbid!). In New York, one doesn’t need a car just because one works late nights or at awkward weekend hours when the subway/bus service is terrible or nonexistent. Well, occasionally someone does, because there are certainly neighborhoods where there are serious gaps. But still, the subway is one inexpensive, close to universal way to get around. Now a proposal for a very moderate fare increase has been greeted as if the MTA were proposing to shoot rambunctious schoolchildren.

Here’s where I ‘m coming from: I disagree totally with Liu that the ride should be free (i.e., 100% subsidized by gov’t). (I also disagree with every single solitary other thing he said on the program, and I just wish he represented my council district so I could vote against him.) I think his notion is absolutely without merit, and as my reasons are frequently expressed ideas from economics, I won’t repeat them here. At the same time, I want to see more subway lines in NYC. I want the SAS to succeed. I would like a new, fast line from Second Avenue along Houston Street into Williamsburg, then out Metropolitan Ave and Union Turnpike to the Nassau border, to take some of the pressure off the other Queens lines and create a genuinely quick ride into Manhattan. I’d like to see the Flushing line maybe extended under Northern Blvd, also to the Nassau line. Ditto the 6 line to Coop City. There are lots of ideas for new lines to underserved outer borough neighborhoods, and if those were built then we might see a lot of new apartment buildings where now there are mostly attached houses, and maybe even business development where now there’s just residential.

What’s wrong with paying an extra $.50 (or whatever, maybe that’s a little too much in one hike) a ride now if it would help create a solid financial base for an ambitious expansion of NYCs subway? Even at $5 the round trip, that’s still cheap to get to and from work! And this will benefit the city. I mean really improve the city as a place to live and do business. And as for the people who cry poverty, that they just can’t afford it… I work in retail. The pay is very low. And yet some of my co-workers drive to work in Manhattan. The people who cry poverty over a 20¢ increase in the fare? They’re not poor. They’re cheap. There’s a difference.

The lower Manhattan end is anybody’s guess; by the time they’re considering it, it will be so far in the future.

That said, I’m a believer in public works as a way to alleviate the pains of a recession/depression. The WPA made some amazing. lasting contributions to our city . . . the difference this time is that the Reagan and Bush years have nearly bankrupted the Federal government.

This year the City had a surplus over $4 billion; I think Bloomberg was wrong to take half of it and give it back to property owners; the right thing to do when you’re on the cusp of a downturn is to strengthen the balance sheet. True, Bloomberg (belatedly) dedicated more funds to transit and paying down debt . . . but it should have been more.

With the addition of the Q Train stops on the UES, instead of taking the 6 Train, riders will be able to ride the Q directly to 57th St. and 7th Ave. or Times Sq., then transfer to the appropriate train that will take them anywhere on the west side (for the 57th and 7th stop, it’s a quick walk to Columbus Circle). Or the Q Train can take UES riders directly to Herald Sq. The difference may seem negligible, but it’s the difference between transferring once and transferring twice (or to get to Herald Sq., transferring once or not at all). This will make the west side much more accessible to subway riders.

Of course, I’d just take the bus across the park but I know most people fear the bus…

Most importantly, though, will be the HUGE help that the Q Train will provide the 4/5/6 line, which is constantly overcrowded during the morning commute.

I’m not even thinking about the benefits of the T line yet, because it is just SO far away in my mind…

Until there is an announcement otherwise, it is moving forward.