12 FEBRUARY 16, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM EDITORIAL Time for LaGuardia AirTrain to take fl ight We feel terribly for those unfortunate THE HOT TOPIC STORY: Lady Gaga is coming to Queens this summer as her world tour stops at Citi Field SUMMARY: In the wake of her phenomenal Super Bowl 51 Halft ime Show performance, Lady Gaga announce REACH: 16,150 (as of Feb. 13, 20 17) COMMENTS: ESTABLISHED 1908 Co-Publishers VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA SCHNEPS Editor-in-Chief ROBERT POZARYCKI Classifi ed Manager DEBORAH CUSICK Assistant Classifi ed Manager MARLENE RUIZ Reporter ANTHONY GIUDICE © 2017 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC. General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503 FAX: 1-718-224-5441 E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com WEB SITE: www.qns.com ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY FOR 108 YEARS COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears. It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any other requirement.TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New York Press Association SNAPS ICE STORM IN BAYSIDE PHOTO BY JEFFREY PFLAUM Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @QNS or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). travelers heading to and from LaGuardia Airport last Friday who were subjected to one of the worst traffi c jams in Queens history. The congestion was so bad that some people, stuck on the Grand Central Parkway leading into the airport, left their taxis and walked up the parkway exit ramp to the terminals. Not even the two Queens buses serving LaGuardia Airport were an option; they were both rerouted because of the heavy volume. You couldn’t make a better case for the proposed LaGuardia Airport Air- Train line than that the Great LaGuardia Logjam of 2017. This line, proposed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, must be built as quickly as possible. Prior to the huge traffi c jam last week, Cuomo announced that the Port Authority was seeking requests for proposals to build the LaGuardia Air- Train, which would link the terminals to Willets Point; the train would most likely run above the Grand Central Parkway. A new transportation hub would be built at Willets Point to connect AirTrain riders with the 7 line or the Long Island Rail Road. While this is not the one-seat ride to and from LaGuardia that some transit advocates want, the LaGuardia AirTrain would be a boon to Queens in many diff erent ways. It would be more eff ective than limited or local bus lines heading to and from the airport, and the Willets Point hub would serve as another springboard toward redeveloping the area into the borough’s newest residential and retail destination. Of course, there are challenges. The AirTrain would take travelers off the streets leading to the airport, but many of them would then use the already extremely crowded 7 line. Connecting to the LIRR at Willets Point would be a quicker alternative than the 7 line for most travelers, but service isn’t as frequent, and a oneway LIRR ride from Willets Point to Penn Station is $6 during off -peak hours, more than double the $2.75 7 train fare. The MTA has added trains to the 7 line in previous years, and one wonders if the line has the capacity to accommodate any more. So the next logical step would be to create an LIRR express between Penn Station and Willets Point, where there are two platforms and multiple tracks, and invent a discounted ticket to ride both the express and the AirTrain (the JFK AirTrain fare is already $5, and it likely won’t be any less when the LaGuardia AirTrain gets rolling). A combined AirTrain and LIRR express train option would be the cure for most of the traffi c problems that ail LaGuardia Airport.
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