A group of experts has suggested major changes to the New York City metropolitan area’s transportation system. There is a historical precedent for at least some of the proposed changes to be given the go-ahead.
The potential changes include moving Madison Square Garden in order to expand Pennsylvania Station, a new subway line that would connect Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx and ending 24/7-subway service, NBC News reports.
These proposals are all outlined in the 400-age Fourth Regional Plan, drafted by the Regional Plan Association.
The Fourth Regional Plan has been released and outlines potential improvement to the New York City metropolitan area’s transportation system. Pictured in a stock photo is the 7 subway train at 34th Street station
One potential improvement is to enlarge Pennsylvania Station (pictured) as part of an effort to consolidate different commuter routes
The three previous sets of changes recommended by the group – in 1929, 1960 and 1996 – have been adopted in some capacity in the past, NBC notes.
One proposal is a new ‘Triboro’ subway line that would begin in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and end near Pelham Bay in The Bronx.
The line would snake its way north through Brooklyn, up through western Queens and on to the Bronx.
It would be the first to link just the three boroughs.
Another proposal would cut 24/7 subway service on in favor of bus services.
The cut would allow for more consistent maintenance services on different subway lines that are otherwise in constant use.
And a particularly radical proposal is to completely revamp Penn Station, which has long played second fiddle to Grand Central.
The Penn Station proposal would involve moving Madison Square Garden (pictured) which currently sits atop the station
Another proposal is to create a ‘Triboro’ subway line linking Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx. And one other proposal calls for eliminating 24/7 subway service in favor of buses. Pictured is a G Train, which links Brooklyn and Queens
The proposal calls for moving Madison Square Garden, one of the City’s foremost entertainment complexes, which currently sits atop the station.
The proposal calls for linking the many different commuter rail services – Metro-North for Connecticut and Westchester County, NJ Transit for New Jersey, and Long Island Railroad for Long Island – under a single commuter system with more consistent service.
Other proposals include tolls for drivers heading into much of Manhattan (south of 60th Street at roughly the border between Midtown and the Upper East and West Side), more runways for the metro’s major airports (John F Kennedy International and Newark Liberty International), a publicly controlled subway improvement system and more pedestrianized space.
Cost estimates were not released for all of the proposals but many of them would be expected to cost billions of dollars.
New York City has 8.5million residents. Its metropolitan area has between 20million and 25million and itself is part of a vast urban agglomeration extending from Washington DC to Boston.