TheNewYorkElevated Posted October 3, 2018 Share #151 Posted October 3, 2018 5 hours ago, BreeddekalbL said: Well his czar Giambrone is going back north https://therealdeal.com/2018/09/18/next-stop-canada-bqx-czar-stepping-down-next-month/ Seems like the project is entering development hell... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted October 5, 2018 Share #152 Posted October 5, 2018 Good! This project has few (if any) benefits. This same amount of money could be put towards local matching fund for SAS Phase 2. That would be a much better use of that money. Or put it towards doing Triboro RX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreeddekalbL Posted December 5, 2018 Share #153 Posted December 5, 2018 NO MELINDA! https://www.amny.com/amp/transit/bqx-streetcar-explained-1.24183187?__twitter_impression=true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted December 5, 2018 Share #154 Posted December 5, 2018 Well, if Amazon wants to spend its own money on this streetcar - and not expect “Amazon” Cuomo or “Amazon” de Blasio to spend taxpayer money - then I might be okay with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted February 6, 2019 Share #155 Posted February 6, 2019 https://www.rtands.com/passenger/rapid-transit-light-rail/vhb-lands-contract-for-environmental-review-of-proposed-brooklyn-queens-connector/ Quote VHB lands contract for environmental review of proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector February 06, 2019 Written by Paul Conley, Editor-in-Chief A proposal to build the Brooklyn Queens Connector, a streetcar line linking the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, took a step toward reality today as the city’s Economic Development Corporation approved a key contract. VHB Engineering, Surveying, Landscape Architecture and Geology, P.C., an architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting firm, won a contract of up to $7.2 million to conduct an environmental review that is required before construction of can begin. The Brooklyn Queens Connector, or BQX, would run for 11 miles along the East River waterfront, an area of the city that is underserved by other forms of public transit. The route, which has been revised since the original 2016 study, will link Astoria in the north with Gowanus in the south via Queensbridge, Long Island City, Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights and Red Hook. An LRV facility would need to be constructed with capacity for 40 vehicles. An overhead catenary with a 750V DC supply will be installed along the entire route. “The BQX will link long-disconnected neighborhoods and shorten commutes for over half a million New Yorkers who live and work along the Brooklyn and Queens waterfront. It is a 21st century solution to our city’s transit challenges and we’re excited to move the project forward,” a spokesperson for the Economic Development Corporation said in a written statement. Plans for the BQX were announced long before Amazon announced it would build its second headquarters in Long Island City, one of the neighborhoods that the streetcar would serve. Even prior to that news, the city estimated some 50,000 riders would use the line daily. Under the terms of the contract, VHB will “prepare a comprehensive compliant environmental review” as well as helping to prepare and file applications required under the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) rules. An environmental review that adheres to standards set by the federal National Environmental Policy Act would preserve the city’s ability to use federal funds for the construction of BQX and ensure that work meets permitting standards set by the United States Army Corps of Engineers or U.S. Coast Guard related to construction in navigable waters. Construction of the Brooklyn Queens Connector is expected to begin in early 2024 with the line opening in mid-2029. Adam Giambrone, the former Toronto Transit Commission chairman whom New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had hired to develop the BQX, quit late last year to accept a job in Saudi Arabia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RR503 Posted February 6, 2019 Share #156 Posted February 6, 2019 Yay, more money for consultants... This proposal needs to be left to die. Like now. That 7.2 million could be much better spent on bus lanes or service increases... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoHacksJustKhaks Posted February 6, 2019 Share #157 Posted February 6, 2019 12 minutes ago, RR503 said: Yay, more money for consultants... This proposal needs to be left to die. Like now. That 7.2 million could be much better spent on bus lanes or service increases... Who needs a well thought out, transportation solution when you got a hippy expensive streetcar that makes politicians and economic development companies egos bigger? *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted February 7, 2019 Share #158 Posted February 7, 2019 I swear, this is shaping up to be the Energizer Bunny of NYC-area transit projects. Just keeps going and going and... https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/bqx-streetcar-nyc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGA Link N Train Posted February 17, 2019 Share #159 Posted February 17, 2019 Apologies for bumping this thread but I’d like to share my thoughts on the BQX project (again). Here are the Facts: • A Streetcar is proposed by DeBlasio (and his administration if I’m not mistaken) to run from Astoria to Red Hook from the Queens and Brooklyn Waterfronts • $7.2 Million is a waste for a Streetcar that has been Shortened. We know that. • That Money can be better allocated on other projects that would prove to be more productive. Here are my opinions: • I’m not sure if this is a fact or if it’s just me, but I feel like the city has some weird obsession with the Brooklyn Queens Waterfront. I would understand why because of how appealing it is and the (potential) development that it has, not to mention money. • The BQX is a waste. We have the train, which somewhat parallels the BQX. We also have the Q69/Q100 LTD, The B32/B62 and the B61/B57. Better Alternatives: • The most obvious one is to make upgrades along the line. Extending it to at least 480’ in Train length. Increased service/ Reduced Headway’s. ADA accessibility along all stops. Etc. • We can also consider the option of adding bus lanes along 21st Street along with Extending the Q69 down to Greenpoint Avenue/Kent Street via 44th Drive and 11th Street/McGuiness Blvd. May not be as effective, but it could give Astoria/LIC Riders along 21st Street more options, as well as serving as an alternative to the north of Greenpoint Avenue. I propose this because I have some criticism against @RR503‘s Train extension. Which I’ll elaborate on in a different post. • The last Alternative would be some tweaks in Brooklyn Bus Service. Examples would include some service increases or potential reroutes in B32, B57, B61, and B62 Service. Maybe even a revival of B71 service. I won’t go in depth with this because I don’t know the Brooklyn Bus Network that well. Maybe any Brooklynites (or any former Brooklynites on here) can shed more light on this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bay Ridge Express Posted February 17, 2019 Share #160 Posted February 17, 2019 1 hour ago, LaGuardia Link N Tra said: Apologies for bumping this thread but I’d like to share my thoughts on the BQX project (again). Here are the Facts: • A Streetcar is proposed by DeBlasio (and his administration if I’m not mistaken) to run from Astoria to Red Hook from the Queens and Brooklyn Waterfronts • $7.2 Million is a waste for a Streetcar that has been Shortened. We know that. • That Money can be better allocated on other projects that would prove to be more productive. Here are my opinions: • I’m not sure if this is a fact or if it’s just me, but I feel like the city has some weird obsession with the Brooklyn Queens Waterfront. I would understand why because of how appealing it is and the (potential) development that it has, not to mention money. • The BQX is a waste. We have the train, which somewhat parallels the BQX. We also have the Q69/Q100 LTD, The B32/B62 and the B61/B57. Better Alternatives: • The most obvious one is to make upgrades along the line. Extending it to at least 480’ in Train length. Increased service/ Reduced Headway’s. ADA accessibility along all stops. Etc. • We can also consider the option of adding bus lanes along 21st Street along with Extending the Q69 down to Greenpoint Avenue/Kent Street via 44th Drive and 11th Street/McGuiness Blvd. May not be as effective, but it could give Astoria/LIC Riders along 21st Street more options, as well as serving as an alternative to the north of Greenpoint Avenue. I propose this because I have some criticism against @RR503‘s Train extension. Which I’ll elaborate on in a different post. • The last Alternative would be some tweaks in Brooklyn Bus Service. Examples would include some service increases or potential reroutes in B32, B57, B61, and B62 Service. Maybe even a revival of B71 service. I won’t go in depth with this because I don’t know the Brooklyn Bus Network that well. Maybe any Brooklynites (or any former Brooklynites on here) can shed more light on this topic. I'm so used to hearing about this, so I'm going to play devil's advocate for a bit. We're always thinking of plans that we never actually build because they aren't necessary for the time period. Look at the Northern Blvd line. The growth in that area on the was unprecedented, and yet while we never actually thought of building a parallel line back in the 1900s we do today because of the congestion in that area. Now, similarly, the BQX's demographics are prone to change, and perhaps the number of daily riders while increase exponentially like it did on the or the , say we're going to have some golden economic opportunities along the East River waterfront that we never even thought of (like Amazon HQ2 that happened recently, although that idea is gone now). In that case, we'll be wishing that we actually did build a BQX, all those years ago. But don't get me wrong here. I'm pissed as well that we're spending money unnecessarily on a line that already parallels the , doesn't do much for Manhattan, has been shortened and simplified yet somehow costs more money, and has a cost that does not justify its current ridership. All I'm saying is that things have the potential to change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted February 19, 2019 Share #161 Posted February 19, 2019 That Northern Blvd line would be a godsend for line riders, that’s for sure. It was needed decades ago. Flushing, Corona, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights developed so rapidly after the Roosevelt Avenue line opened. It’s kind of surprising the City-operated IND did not make it more of a priority, unlike the IND-built lines in Upper Manhattan (today, the ) and the Bronx (today, the ) literally blocks away from the existing IRT lines (today, the and lines). Those IRT lines were privately operated, and the City under Mayor Hylan wanted to put them along with the BMT (his former employer) out of business. But a big difference between the and the is that the areas near the grew so rapidly, continue to grow today, and crowd the line at all hours of the day. The is underutilized. trains may be crowded, but they’re also only four cars long. Make them eight cars long with the current R68 stock (or ten 60-foot cars) and they’re likely to be less crowded. That’s one reason I’m not a fan of building BQX. If the were bursting at the seams like the , the Lex and the QBL, then I might be more open to doing BQX. If the middle of the BQX wasn’t the one section of the proposed line that’s actually some distance from the (which goes well inland from Bed Stuy to Fort Greene), then I’d suggest the possibility of an isolated as a light rail line, possibly as the foundation of a Brooklyn-Queens light rail/streetcar system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGA Link N Train Posted February 20, 2019 Share #162 Posted February 20, 2019 @T to Dyre Avenue judging by your statement above, would you be open to the idea of reallocating BQX funds to Create a Relief of Some sort for the ? (this could include Atlantic Ticket for the PW Branch, Q66SBS, Northern Blvd Subway, Or even a way to expand the BQX Streetcar into a System which works similar to SBS/BRT) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T to Dyre Avenue Posted February 21, 2019 Share #163 Posted February 21, 2019 Glad you asked. The City haven’t allocated any money towards BQX yet (wonder if they ever will). I certainly would be open towards them putting said money towards relief for the existing lines. Or as a “down payment” on a Utica Avenue subway extension. De Blasio really seemed to be talking that one up for a while...what happened with that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted February 22, 2019 Share #164 Posted February 22, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 5:34 PM, T to Dyre Avenue said: That Northern Blvd line would be a godsend for line riders, that’s for sure. It was needed decades ago. Flushing, Corona, East Elmhurst and Jackson Heights developed so rapidly after the Roosevelt Avenue line opened. It’s kind of surprising the City-operated IND did not make it more of a priority, unlike the IND-built lines in Upper Manhattan (today, the ) and the Bronx (today, the ) literally blocks away from the existing IRT lines (today, the and lines). Those IRT lines were privately operated, and the City under Mayor Hylan wanted to put them along with the BMT (his former employer) out of business. You kind of answered your own quandary there. With the exception of Queens Blvd and the Crosstown, everything the IND built was intended to replace privately run operations by the IRT and/or BMT. By the time they actually got what they wanted, the collapse of the private railroads, the IND and its successors were flat broke. It would've been much better had the IND actually worked with the other railroads to give New Yorkers a more comprehensive transit network, but sadly, that was not the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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