SHB_p003

SC11132014

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com november 13, 2014 • THE COURIER SUN 3 PUSH TO REVIVE ROCKAWAY TRAIN AFTER STUDY PREDICTS HALF A MILLION RIDERS A DAY BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com @sal_licata1 A controversial new study has ignited community debate over whether to scrap plans for the QueensWay park project and instead restore the Rockaway Beach Rail Line. The study released this week found that the rail line would serve as many as half a million riders a day, strengthening elected officials’ argument to restore it. “Unlike the QueensWay, which cares about one small area, increased transit is all about Queens and the city,” Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder wrote on Twitter in a heated debate with the senior vice president for city park development at The Trust for Public Land, Adrian Benepe. The cost to reactivate the rail line, which has been out of commission since the 1960s, was estimated to cost about $700 million. The MTA’s proposed capital budget from 2015 to 2019 is roughly $32 billion, which would mean that the reactivation of this line would use 2 percent of the total budget. But the QueensWay would only cost about $120 million to fully build out. Advocates for the QueensWay say the land would better be used as parkland, rather than for transportation. “MTA has neither plans nor funds to reactivate service on the long-abandoned line,” Benepe said. “QueensWay is THE way!” Goldfeder thinks otherwise. “The rail line would connect north and south Queens like no other form of transportation,” said Goldfeder at a press conference in Queens College. “The results of this study clearly show that reactivating the Rockaway Beach Rail Line is the best, most costefficient way to decrease commute times, improve access to existing parkland and grow our small businesses in Queens.” The study, “A community impact study of proposed uses of the Rockaway Beach Branch right of way,” surveyed thousands of residents and assessed transportation and park needs in the surrounding communities of the rail line. If reactivated, the study says, the rail line will ease congestion and commute times, and connect north and south Queens in a way that is currently not available with existing subway lines. The project was studentled under the watch of Dr. Scott Larson, director of the office of community studies at Queens College. “We did not come to the conclusion of what the best use for the land would be. That wasn’t the point of it,” Larson said. “We did it to add to the debate and provide objective information.” A summary of the study reads: “The Rockaway Beach Branch line presents a unique opportunity as a potential transportation improvement. The effect would be faster travel between southern Queens, including the Rockaways, and northern/western Queens, Midtown Manhattan and points north.” It goes on to mention that while ridership in south Queens is low compared to other parts of the city, commute times are long and the restoration of the line could lead to positive savings in travel times for the riders. Currently, there is a debate on whether the land should be used to restore the transit line, make access for the QueensWay, or use the land for both transportation and park features. “The QueensWay would be free to everyone,” said Mark Matsil, a representative from The Trust for Public Land. “We have support from many elected officials. The QueensWay is economically feasible.” Matsil said they are in the process of raising funds for the design phase of the QueensWay. But Goldfeder believes that more and improved transit in Queens is a top priority for the borough, and not using this existing infrastructure would be a waste. “Complete restoration of the rail line will increase transit options for every resident in Queens and NYC, create quality jobs, boost our economic development, ease commutes and congestion and clean our environment by taking thousands of cars off the road,” said Goldfeder. “I urge the MTA to include restoration of the Rockaway Beach Rail Line in their next capital plan.” Photo courtesy of thequeensway.org Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder Proponents of the QueensWay say that’s the best use of the abandoned rail line. Assemblyman Goldfeder is advocating to restore the Rockaway Beach Rail Line.


SC11132014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above