Comments on: Just say no to the Stewart Airport connection http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/ A New York City Subway Blog Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:57:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: With ARC in limbo, a hazy future for Stewart :: Second Ave. Sagas http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-175741 With ARC in limbo, a hazy future for Stewart :: Second Ave. Sagas Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:39:26 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-175741 [...] authority would have provided a 90-minute ride to the tiny airport, and I long believed this to be a waste of money. Stewart is just too far away and adds too much time to a trip to be as popular as it must be to [...] [...] authority would have provided a 90-minute ride to the tiny airport, and I long believed this to be a waste of money. Stewart is just too far away and adds too much time to a trip to be as popular as it must be to [...]

]]> By: Thinking big for the future and small for 2011 :: Second Ave. Sagas http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-137270 Thinking big for the future and small for 2011 :: Second Ave. Sagas Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:39:54 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-137270 [...] to planes. He wants a subway the LaGuardia, the PATH to Newark, a rail link to Stewart Airport (I do not) and better integration between the subway and the JFK AirTrain. It’s hard to dispute the [...] [...] to planes. He wants a subway the LaGuardia, the PATH to Newark, a rail link to Stewart Airport (I do not) and better integration between the subway and the JFK AirTrain. It’s hard to dispute the [...]

]]> By: Niccolo Machiavelli http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61444 Niccolo Machiavelli Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:17:26 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61444 It all comes down to the money in the end. The line doesn't get extended to LaGuardia for the same reason that the A or the LIRR don't directly serve Kennedy. It is all paid for by the Port Authority's Passenger Facility Surcharge that the airlines assured would be spent only on Airport and PA projects. Integrating the train with the existing system is obviously more valuable to the citizens but that involves mixing funds. It all comes down to the money in the end. The line doesn’t get extended to LaGuardia for the same reason that the A or the LIRR don’t directly serve Kennedy. It is all paid for by the Port Authority’s Passenger Facility Surcharge that the airlines assured would be spent only on Airport and PA projects. Integrating the train with the existing system is obviously more valuable to the citizens but that involves mixing funds.

]]> By: Jason http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61421 Jason Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:01:14 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61421 jeez, wish they had extended the N train to LGA. I always look at the subway map and see how close the elevated line comes to LGA, but not quite all the way. I know it would be cheaper and easier to continue the elevated line straight to the airport, but if the city invested a bit more and dropped the line underground, you would have no resident opposition, and extra stop or two added on to the line itself, and everyone who uses LGA would benefit from no longer having to shell out taxi money to get there. looks so easy yet everyone has to put their two cents into everything in this town and nothing ever gets done jeez, wish they had extended the N train to LGA. I always look at the subway map and see how close the elevated line comes to LGA, but not quite all the way.

I know it would be cheaper and easier to continue the elevated line straight to the airport, but if the city invested a bit more and dropped the line underground, you would have no resident opposition, and extra stop or two added on to the line itself, and everyone who uses LGA would benefit from no longer having to shell out taxi money to get there.

looks so easy yet everyone has to put their two cents into everything in this town and nothing ever gets done

]]> By: Marc Shepherd http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61417 Marc Shepherd Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:36:30 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61417 Mayor Giuliani was a big proponent of the LaGuardia Airport subway connection. It got as far as a planning study, but the project died when he left office. An extension of the N train was considered the most practical option, but there was neighborhood opposition, as it would involve extending an elevated line through a residential area. Airport capacity is a significant long-term issue for the New York region. You have to think 10-20 years ahead, because that's how long it takes to build or expand an airport. Mayor Giuliani was a big proponent of the LaGuardia Airport subway connection. It got as far as a planning study, but the project died when he left office. An extension of the N train was considered the most practical option, but there was neighborhood opposition, as it would involve extending an elevated line through a residential area.

Airport capacity is a significant long-term issue for the New York region. You have to think 10-20 years ahead, because that’s how long it takes to build or expand an airport.

]]> By: Benjamin Kabak http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61409 Benjamin Kabak Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:19:15 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61409 I'd love to see a LaGuardia connection, but that's a right-of-way issue as much as it is anything else. To connect JFK to the AirTrain, the MTA and Port Authority were able to build over highways. But LaGuardia is in the middle of Astoria. The best way would be to connect from Astoria Boulevard and run an AirTrain along Grand Central to LaGuardia. Still, there's not really enough room for it there either. I guess you could run a train from Shea Stadium/Citi Field along the Grand Central. That's a 3-mile AirTrain which is shorter than the route at JFK. I’d love to see a LaGuardia connection, but that’s a right-of-way issue as much as it is anything else. To connect JFK to the AirTrain, the MTA and Port Authority were able to build over highways. But LaGuardia is in the middle of Astoria. The best way would be to connect from Astoria Boulevard and run an AirTrain along Grand Central to LaGuardia. Still, there’s not really enough room for it there either.

I guess you could run a train from Shea Stadium/Citi Field along the Grand Central. That’s a 3-mile AirTrain which is shorter than the route at JFK.

]]> By: Ariel http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61408 Ariel Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:00:49 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61408 Instead of focusing so much on Stewart, the Port Authority, the MTA, and however else is involved needs to concentrate bringing better transit to LaGuardia. The transit options there are a shame and LaGuardia is already an essential airport. An AirTrain connecting the airport to the 7 train and a LIRR station would be more effective and would give the state a much better return on investment. Instead of focusing so much on Stewart, the Port Authority, the MTA, and however else is involved needs to concentrate bringing better transit to LaGuardia. The transit options there are a shame and LaGuardia is already an essential airport.

An AirTrain connecting the airport to the 7 train and a LIRR station would be more effective and would give the state a much better return on investment.

]]> By: Peter http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61404 Peter Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:51:35 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61404 A B I L L I O N Dollars to bring unneeded service to an airport that presently serves five destinations, one of which is already reachable by Amtrak in less time than it would take to get from Midtown to Stewart?? Right now, MacArthur Airport is slightly over an hour away from Penn Station on the Long Island Rail Road, and separated from the Ronkonkoma LIRR Station by.... a chainlink fence. A tightened schedule could make Penn Station-MacArthur in under an hour, and if the usual 11th Commandment of NY Government & Railroad Bureauacracy ("We Never Did It That Way Before")could be overcome, passengers could check in with their airline at Penn Station, take a nonstop or 2 Stop (Woodside, Hicksville) train, transfer to jitneys on the Ronkonkoma platform and be driven DIRECTLY to their gates, while their baggage was delivered to their plane. But nobody would make any money selling a $Billion worth of bonds, no expensive planning scenarios and alternatives would need to be studied and argued over, no lobbyists would be hired, no gigantic ballooning-budget planning & construction contracts would need to be funded, and no expensive trough constructed for the usual cast of sleazy politicians to gobble from. So, we better go with the Billion-$ Stewart Plan, and when it turnes out to cost a Billion-and-a-half, so that 350 people a day can fly to Orlando for $12 per ticket less than it takes to fly from Newark, all the better. A B I L L I O N Dollars to bring unneeded service to an airport that presently serves five destinations, one of which is already reachable by Amtrak in less time than it would take to get from Midtown to Stewart??

Right now, MacArthur Airport is slightly over an hour away from Penn Station on the Long Island Rail Road, and separated from the Ronkonkoma LIRR Station by…. a chainlink fence. A tightened schedule could make Penn Station-MacArthur in under an hour, and if the usual 11th Commandment of NY Government & Railroad Bureauacracy (“We Never Did It That Way Before”)could be overcome, passengers could check in with their airline at Penn Station, take a nonstop or 2 Stop (Woodside, Hicksville) train, transfer to jitneys on the Ronkonkoma platform and be driven DIRECTLY to their gates, while their baggage was delivered to their plane.

But nobody would make any money selling a $Billion worth of bonds, no expensive planning scenarios and alternatives would need to be studied and argued over, no lobbyists would be hired, no gigantic ballooning-budget planning & construction contracts would need to be funded, and no expensive trough constructed for the usual cast of sleazy politicians to gobble from.

So, we better go with the Billion-$ Stewart Plan, and when it turnes out to cost a Billion-and-a-half, so that 350 people a day can fly to Orlando for $12 per ticket less than it takes to fly from Newark, all the better.

]]> By: Kai http://secondavenuesagas.com/2009/06/02/just-say-no-to-the-stewart-airport-connection/#comment-61393 Kai Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:10:20 +0000 http://secondavenuesagas.com/?p=3028#comment-61393 <cite>This airport rail link may have been a good idea a few decades ago</cite> And it will probably be a good idea again in a half-decade or so, when (hopefully) the economy is in another huge boom and JFK, EWR, and LGA are bursting at the seams. Right now these three airports have enough capacity given the lower flight volume these days. This airport rail link may have been a good idea a few decades ago

And it will probably be a good idea again in a half-decade or so, when (hopefully) the economy is in another huge boom and JFK, EWR, and LGA are bursting at the seams.

Right now these three airports have enough capacity given the lower flight volume these days.

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