Officials from New Jersey have increased their pressure for another rail tunnel into Penn Station and an expansion of that station. This project would cost $5 billion, much of which would be paid for by New Jersey. That's New Jersey state money flowing into a project that benefits New York as well.Four big projects have momentum. The fifth major project planned for the city is the extension of the No. 7 Flushing line to the far West Side. That's Mayor Bloomberg's top priority, and is expected to be financed without any money from the MTA, so that one seems to be doing just fine too. The Regional Plan Association reportedly supports all of these projects. So does startsandfits.com, which views rail transportation as the mode of the future as oil becomes more and more expensive.
The two projects with the biggest recent boost from the federal government are the two LIRR projects. At right is a simulated version of what the official LIRR map would look like once it is extended to Grand Central and the Financial District.
Overall, this news points to the fact that the federal government increasingly sees the metropolitan area as a huge economic growth engine for the nation, and that helping it function helps to build the nation's wealth. This is most clearly seen in the fact that New York State each year sends more to the federal government than it receives back in governmental expenditures, and that New York City sends more to Albany than it receives back in expenditures. The federal government wants to help us pay for much needed transit services, and so does New Jersey. How much will Albany contribute?
- Rail to Kennedy given $2 billion in budget [NYT via UTU]
- N.J. senator prefers river tunnel to JFK link [Reuters via UTU]
- Budget boosts LIRR project [Newsday via UTU]
- U.S. backs N.Y.C. subway, midtown rail plan [NYT via UTU]
- NJ Transit to push new river tunnel [NYT via UTU]
- Access to the Region's Core
- Posted at 11:30 PM |
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