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'We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state of New York. It’s the perfect metaphor for what we can achieve with the ambition and optimism and energy that made this the Empire State in the first place, and I want to thank our many partners for joining us to build the airport that New York deserves.' — Gov. Cuomo — governor.ny.gov
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo alongside Vice President Joe Biden officially unveiled the proposed design for the new LaGuardia Airport earlier this week. The $4 billion revamp will transform the airport into a single, structurally unified main terminal, including expanded transportation access... View full entry
At the end of May, Metro will debut its FORWARD plan: a fully reconfigured bus network that emphasizes more frequency, better night and weekend service, direct lines through high-ridership corridors, and grid-style access to many parts of the city. The top five routes will now all get 15-minute peak service... Rather than lobby for more taxpayer funding or jack up fares, Metro looked for more efficient ways to use its existing resources. — CityLab
In an unfortunate sequence of events, reports earlier this week state that the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to cut Amtrak funding by an estimated $260 million -- one day after a fatal Amtrak passenger-train derailment in Philadelphia on May 12. As investigations on the accident ensue... View full entry
Gilles Vesco calls it the 'new mobility'. It’s a vision of cities in which residents no longer rely on their cars but on public transport, shared cars and bikes and, above all, on real-time data on their smartphones...'Multi-modal' and 'interconnectivity' are now the words on every urban planner’s lips...This model of denser, less car-dependent cities is becoming the accepted wisdom across the developed world. — The Guardian
Writer Stephen Moss talks to urban planners and transportation authorities around Europe to get a glimpse into how cities worldwide continue to wean themselves off car dependency and explore new forms of mobility, all while city density increases. View full entry
The current ferry plan will cost $55 million, with plans to expand to Coney Island and Stapleton in Staten Island once more money is secured. Additionally, service will be restored to the Rockaway ferry, which was put in place in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy wiped out subway service to the area. — 6sqft
On Tuesday, Mayor de Blasio gave his State of the City address where he announced plans for a new, city-wide ferry service that will serve neighborhoods including the Lower East Side, Astoria, the Rockaways, Sunset Park, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Bay Ridge, Red Hook and Soundview, among others... View full entry
With the right mindset, commutes can become an abundant source for inspiration. Creative commuters or commuters in need of a creative outlet are invited to send submissions about public transit to the New York Transit Museum's PLATFORM 2015.Now in its second year, PLATFORM 2015 lets commuters... View full entry
[NYC] neighborhoods with the best access to transit, usually in Manhattan...also have the highest median household income, and the lowest unemployment rate...
Neighborhoods with the worst access to transit (South Staten Island) had lower median incomes... and slightly lower unemployment rates...The neighborhoods with limited access to public transit, like the Flatlands in Brooklyn, fare the worst: their unemployment rate is nearly 12%, and their median household income is around $46,000.
— Gothamist
That or the subway was designed around, and continues to serve, historically-affluent communities...The study was conducted by NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management. View full entry
Many of us who have ridden inside an elevator since its invention 160 years ago are accustomed to hearing its ominous hums and creaks, as well as stories of malfunctioning elevators that cause people to be stuck inside for hours. So, the idea of hopping into a cable-free elevator in a mid to... View full entry
The Second Avenue Subway is the stuff of legend in New York City, the locomotive who cried wolf. Plagued by funding shortages, the project has been stop-and-go since the 1920s. Now construction is back to go; in late September, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) [...] requested $1.5 billion [...]. Michael Horodniceanu, head of construction for the MTA, has stated that the long-awaited line may be ready by 2029. In the meantime, the MTA is learning about, and acting on, geology. — cafe.com
Related: NYC Can't Afford to Build the Second Avenue Subway, and It Can't Afford Not To View full entry
The L.A. Metro Board of Directors officially approved the Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan in downtown L.A. to advance from planning to implementation. For the past two years, Metro has worked with a consultant team led by Grimshaw Architects and Gruen Associates to expand the iconic station... View full entry
After Qatar Rail appointed UNStudio as principal architect, the Dutch firm revealed their designs for the new Doha Metro Network, a major component of the Qatar Integrated Railway Project (QIRP). In an effort to motivate more Doha locals to use public transit, UNStudio's design of the Metro Network consists of traditional Qatari-inspired elements and four transportation lines — with an estimate of 35 stations for Phase 1, followed by around 60 stations for Phase 2. — bustler.net
Quite interesting that UNStudio released these designs at a time when Qatar has been making headlines as of late...Read more about the project on Bustler. View full entry
A top real estate executive from Brooklyn is proposing a high-speed sky gondola between the Brooklyn waterfront and Manhattan — a back-to-the-future form of mass transit that could ease congestion on ferries, subways and bridges.
The so-called East River Skyway would be comprised of high-speed aerial cable cars, moving New Yorkers to Manhattan in less than four minutes. The cars could accommodate more than 5,000 people per hour in both directions.
— nydailynews.com
An investor group hoping to build a high-speed train capable of cutting the travel time between Baltimore and Washington to 15 minutes says in a filing to state regulators that it has lined up more than $5 billion in financial backing. The commitment is from the Japanese government, which hopes to showcase the technology behind superconducting magnetic levitation or “maglev” trains to an American audience […] — Washington Post
The article notes that the maglev train has detractors, many of whom complain at the cost, which is far higher than other high-speed rails like those currently being built in California. For more information on the California project, check out the Atlantic's coverage here.Meanwhile, Joanna Symons... View full entry
The CTRC’s efforts are part of a larger phenomenon of rail station preservation occurring throughout the Rust Belt, including places such as Cincinnati’s Union Terminal, and Detroit’s Michigan Central Station. And while a geographic disadvantage and heavy rehabilitation costs make for an uphill battle, the Buffalo nonprofit and its ebullient members have high hopes for the future. — beltmag.com
You don't have to be a New Yorker to submit design ideas for a river-to-river, auto-free light rail boulevard in Manhattan's iconic 42nd Street: Open to all architects, planners, and urban designers, the Vision42 design competition invites proposals from around the world to transform the street... View full entry
