for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com AUGUST 27, 2015 • times 13 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com AUGUST 27, 2015 • THE COURIER SUN 21 letters oped VISIT QueensCourier.com FOR MORE STORIES An alternative to light rail for western Queens BY LARRY PENNER Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s proposed light rail line for western Queens would connect Glendale and Middle Village with Long Island City. It sounds great on paper, but there has been no planning feasibility studies, environmental documents or preliminary design and engineering efforts necessary to validate any basic estimates for construction costs. Crowley’s belief that it would be well under $100 million doesn’t add up. New Jersey Transit’s Hudson Bergen Light Rail cost $1.2 billion and Newark Elizabeth Light Rail cost $694 million 15 years ago. Clearly costs would be far greater in today’s dollars. There is no money to support any work for advancement of this project contained within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s original $32 billion 2015-2019 Five-Year Capital Plan. Ditto for the revised $28 billion version or the city’s $78 billion 2015-2016 municipal budget. The proposed route will traverse several neighborhoods, impacting thousands of people living nearby. How will they react to potential noise and visual impacts? There are serious legal and operational issues to be resolved with the Federal Railroad Administration. They have regulatory jurisdiction over significant portions of the proposed route which would run on existing active freight tracks. Light rail and freight trains will coexist on the same narrow corridor. There is no available project budget to justify key project component costs. They would have to cover a series of new stations. These will have to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access standards; grade crossing, signal and safety improvements, new light rail rolling stock, land acquisition, potential business relocation along with construction of a new maintenance, operations and storage yard to support any light rail car fleet. Other Queens elected officials, transit riders and transit advocacy groups all have their own transportation priority projects that may conflict with this proposal. Queens residents might prefer restoration of service along the LIRR Rockaway branch, also known as the White Pot Junction Line. This was abandoned in the 1950s. It started off as a spur from the LIRR mainline east of Woodside at Rego Park running to Ozone Park connecting to the A line subway near Aqueduct Racetrack. Others want to reopen the Elmhurst LIRR station on the Port Washington branch, initiate permanent new ferry service from Astoria, Bayside and the Rockaways to Manhattan. Many want construction of either Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and/or Select Bus Service (SBS) on various routes and corridors in different neighborhoods. Don’t forget the Flushing Intermodal Bus Terminal project which has been on the books for over 50 years. Rather than spend several hundred million dollars to build a light rail system which could take a decade or more, why not ask the LIRR to resume service on this corridor? They could run a two-car scoot service reconnecting Long Island City, Glendale and Middle Village with other communities including Richmond Hill and other intermediate stops to Jamaica. The LIRR could use existing equipment which would afford far earlier implementation of service versus light rail. This would provide connections east bound to the J/Z and E subway lines, JFK Airport via train to plane and Jamaica LIRR Station. Queens residents would have access to all LIRR branches except the Port Washington line. Larry Penner is a concerned self-described taxpayer and citizens’ civic activist. He has been an avid letters to the editor contributor for over 20 years. RESIdEnTS haVE RIghT TO ExpRESS OpInIOnS On SChOOl lOCaTIOnS I take exception with your Aug. 20 editorial, “NIMBYists unfairly target schools.” The editorial cited three locations where new schools have been proposed, two in Bayside and one in Flushing. People who own homes have invested their life savings in those homes and when new construction is proposed near them, they certainly have a right to express their opinions and not blindly go along with what the city wants. In the case of the Keil property site, the proposed school will literally be adjacent to people’s backyards. Would the editorial writers like that to happen where they live? To me, there is nothing wrong with people voicing legitimate concerns about what will be happening in their neighborhoods. There is also the question of why the School Construction Authority and the Department of Education do not meet with civic and community leaders, elected officials and concerned residents to discuss where schools are actually needed and what impacts need to be addressed at various proposed sites. Residents may actually be able to propose alternative sites, which would make more sense and have the least negative impact on their community. Unfortunately, the School Construction Authority is notorious for ignoring the public and their concerns. The mayor and the City Council should be working to make all city agencies accountable to the public. After all, the public pays taxes to support those agencies and their employees. These agencies must listen to, respond to and respect public concerns. Henry Euler Bayside aRE wE pREpaREd FOR anOThER dISaSTER lIkE huRRICanE kaTRIna? As we approach the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, are we any better prepared to deal with such a huge disaster should it occur again? Will our emergency services, along with other governmental agencies including the National Guard, be better prepared with another similar crisis of such a huge magnitude? It was poor planning and coordination among the state, local and federal officials that caused such unnecessary suffering and death in New Orleans in August 2005. Over 1,000 people lost their lives, and many thousands more were left homeless, along with hundreds of injuries, as well as hundreds of pets dying. Never again should such a failure of coordination at the state, local and federal levels of government be allowed to happen. It should not have happened on Aug. 27, 2005. John Amato Fresh Meadows ThOSE ThREE aMERICanS On ThE TRaIn In FRanCE aRE hEROS Those three Americans who were on board that train in France really are true heroes. They risked their lives in order to bring down a potential killer who was armed and ready to start shooting innocent passengers. These fine, brave young men are examples of those who are willing to get involved, and that is a very commendable quality. We, as Americans, should be proud of their bravery and unselfishness. God bless them and all those who care enough to get involved in today’s world to help those in need or danger. John Amato Fresh Meadows IdEnTIFY ThIS plaCE GO TO www.qUEENSCOURIER.COm aNd SEaRCH “IdENTIfy THIS PlaCE” TO fINd OUT wHERE THIS IS View More Neighborhood News ridgewoodtimes.com
RT08272015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above