NEW YORK — The proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector light rail line, known as BQX, received its first city council discussion Thursday when the council’s task force on the project received an update on the 3-year-old plan.
Gothamist reports that city officials testified the 11-mile route was estimated to cost $2.7 billion, a billion dollars more than the original proposal. Seth Myers, New York City Economic Development Corp. executive vice president, said the city would seek federal funding for about half the cost of the project.
Task force members — who represent the five council districts where the streetcar would be built — questioned whether the streetcar represented the best use of resources, with one suggesting a bus rapid transit route would have high ridership at a lower cost. The Economic Development Corp. has said it will study that alternative.
Actually, the “Hop” like BQX route (hopped it again Tues) would serve rapidly gentrifying areas and offer access to various MTA subway lines.
With as many stops as shown on this map, it is likely the overall speed of this route would be so slow that other alternatives (perhaps boats!) would be faster for most people traveling more than a few stops. Eliminating about half the stops would not only speed the route but also significantly reduce the cost.
Not being familiar with the waterfront territory I can’t comment on whether or not this project is needed or what benefits it will provide. I’ll say this, though: it will come it at three times the projected cost. Utility relocation and rebuilding all the infrastructure (street lighting, traffic signals) will cost a fortune. All this for a line that might provide some local service but would take a lifetime to ride end-to-end. Oh, for the days when New York City could build the former IND through Queensboro at an affordable cost – mile after mile of fast, frequent, high capacity trains.
New York City may want to add Manhatten to the proposed Brooklyn-Queens (BQX) rail line. With bureaucracy, politics and ‘studies’, it is inevitable that the cost of the proposed rail line will rise. Delays lead to higher expenses.
I hope when they say ‘streetcar line’, they mean light rail. Streetcars traditionally lack dedicated right-of-way and are subject to traffic congestion of motor vehicles along with buses. Light rail lines have dedicated right-of-way enabling faster movement and more competitive transit times.
For the long term, building BQX light rail line now would be more economical than the construction of bus lanes and then converting them to light rail later when construction and light rail vehicles costs are higher through inflation. Buses leave a larger carbon footprint wih their diesel exhaust while light rail trains are electric powered.