Come Again?

Color me skeptical over the MTA's latest pronouncements that they will be able to expand services and complete long heralded projects. Today, Eliot Sandler, CEO of the MTA, gave a state of the MTA speech, and it was filled with lovely platitudes, but it completely misses the mark.

He foresees a major expansion of the systems under MTA auspices by the year 2050.

In the space of an hour at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union, Mr. Sander not only called for completion of the authority’s major capital projects, like the first phase of the Second Avenue subway and the East Side Access project to link the Long Island Rail Road with Grand Central Terminal, but also outlined a building program over the next 25 to 40 years that will “rely heavily on the M.T.A.’s diamonds in the rough: underutilized or dormant freight and commuter rail rights-of-way that can be transformed into subway lines; and lightly used middle tracks on subway lines that can be used for new express services.”

He proposed extending the Second Avenue subway to Lower Manhattan, where the line would then travel under the East River and on to Downtown Brooklyn and Jamaica, Queens, via the Long Island Rail Road’s Atlantic Avenue branch, with a connection to the AirTrain to Kennedy International Airport. The Second Avenue subway could connect to new tracks on land owned by the L.I.R.R. in Queens. Tracks on Rockaway Beach could be used to provide new rail access to southern Queens. The Regional Plan Association’s circumferential subway line, meanwhile, would convert a lightly used Bay Ridge freight line into a subway service that would run in an arc from southern Brooklyn to Queens to the Bronx.

Mr. Sander also envisioned expanding Metro-North service to Co-op City, Parkchester and Hunts Point in the Bronx. Also in the Bronx, he discussed the possibility of extending the D train north and east to connect with the No. 2 and 5 subway stations at Gun Hill Road for more direct connections between the central Bronx and Manhattan’s West Side. The Metro-North Williams Bridge station nearby could be part of a new subway and train hub.

On Staten Island, the northern and western shores could be “excellent candidates for bus rapid transit and light-rail efforts.

Mr. Sander mentioned the possibility of expanding the use of shuttle trains on Long Island; allowing Metro-North trains to travel over the Tappan Zee bridge to Orange and Rockland Counties; and developing a second AirTrain service, to La Guardia Airport, by building a new link from the L.I.R.R. station at Woodside, Queens, along or above existing rail and highway rights-of-way.

2050???

That's not particularly comforting given how the MTA has completely botched the Fulton Street project, is behind schedule on the East Side Access and Second Avenue Line, and funding for all those projects is lacking.

Where is the money going to come from?

Let's get the easy projects out of the way. AirTrain was not done by the MTA, but by the Port Authority using fees collected at the airports. It was put in service behind schedule (due in part to the death of a worker during the testing phase), but it now provides a very useful service to relieving congestion on the airport grounds and enables passengers to get into Midtown Manhattan connecting at Jamaica. AirTrain is a project that the Port Authority will likely have to undertake if there's a chance of seeing it completed in the next 20 years.

Creating new express service on underutilized third tracks makes sense, which makes you wonder why it was never contemplated before. At least there's some thought going on here. Residents living near underutilized rail lines (freight or commuter) might have different thoughts about turning those lines into active passenger lines. I think it would be an excellent idea on Long Island, especially since it would relieve congestion on the LIE, feeder roads, and the bridges and tunnels to the mainland. Commuters would benefit from additional options, but no costs are associated with this, meaning that it is nothing more than an empty platitude.

Staten Island's transportation situation is a complete mess, and there are competing interests to see whether new transit links are built. Some don't want to see increased traffic that a new Goethals Bridge link would provide, despite the fact that the existing bridge is out of date, lacks breakdown lanes, and can be terrifying to drivers because of the narrow lanes. Any additional links to the rest of Manhattan or New Jersey would require new links. The Port Authority is behind the Goethals Bridge project (when it happens), so the MTA isn't involved.

By now, you should be sensing a theme. The MTA hasn't distinguished itself for its capital project. It might have gotten itself out of the 1970s black hole, but it cannot handle major capital construction projects without going significantly over budget that threatens the very survival of the projects underway.