42nd St LRT

[Spartan]

I came accross this site today. I thought the idea of a light rail loop on 42nd St and 34th St was a good one. I am interested to know what you New Yorkers think. The site is full in info and images.

Vision42

[lammius]

I came accross this site today. I thought the idea of a light rail loop on 42nd St and 34th St was a good one. I am interested to know what you New Yorkers think. The site is full in info and images.

Vision42

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Someone working at that center came to speak about it at my school last semester. It's an interesting and wonderful proposal, IMO. With how crowded sidewalks and the traffic lanes on 42d street are I think this will serve as a good way to move people around.

[Cotuit]

This was my idea!

Well, ok not really, I'm sure many people have thought of this. Crosstown transit is a definite need for the city. I don't know how well closing 42nd and 34th Streets to cars would go over, but that is the only way that it would work. The M42 bus can take an hour just to inch from Grand Central to Port Authority at times. I think BRT could work on New York's grid system, but of course I'd prefer LRT. There are plenty of places where LRT could work in the outer boroughs as well.

[Spartan]

In London they have certain hight traffic roads restricted for buses only. Do you think something like that could go over in Manhattan?

[lammius]

In London they have certain hight traffic roads restricted for buses only. Do you think something like that could go over in Manhattan?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Spartan, I like the idea of an LRT corridor along 42nd Street and not a busway for the following reasons.

LRT would free up a large area for sidewalk expansion, giving pedestrians more room to navigate the area (the sidewalk is always packed around Times Sq).

Even if the busway were designed to allow pedestrians to mingle about it diesel fumes are not pleasant for people walking around the buses.

LRT is higher in the "hierarchy of transit" and would be more popular for people who have a thing against buses.

A busway would be cheaper but I doubt the political opposition to LRT on 42d would deal mostly with money, rather just the closing of the street to private vehicular travel.