Comments on: Streetcars for Brooklyn: A New Life?

By: william

william — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:33:45 +0000

I had a dream the other day that there was a street car from the Prospect park B,Q station down Flatbush Ave. to the Loews Kings. Then today they just released news that the Loews Kings would be renovated. Then I coincidentally found your article. Is it all a coincidence? Let’s make it happen. i can see it.

By: Ted King

Ted King — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:52:27 +0000

The airport in the three aerial shots (lower right corner) is the inactive Floyd Bennett Field and part of the Gateway Natl. Rec. Area. They might put an extension out to this park as a "Nice To Have" item. Floyd Bennett Field [Wikipedia] Gateway N.R.A. [Natl.Park Svc.]

By: raymon samir

raymon samir — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 17:19:09 +0000

i want to know the tatal brooklyn street length

By: Matt Fisher

Matt Fisher — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:45:36 +0000

You forgot about including an image of the Combino Supra “caterpillars” as used in Budapest.

By: Allan Rosen

Allan Rosen — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:43:56 +0000

Streetcars in mixed traffic won’t work these days with the number of cars on the road. You really need a dedicated roadway and it will not be easy getting people to give up a lane of traffic.

However one place I feel streetcars can work is along the Fulton Transitway in Downtown Brooklyn. A new transit Center at Atlantic Center should be built where all but two or three Downtown Brooklyn bus routes could terminate. A free light rail system should run from there up Ashland Place to the Fulton Street Mall to Adams Street, then cut through the pedestrian way (formerly the old Fulton Street where the judges now park) up Cadman Plaza East, across Tillary Street, down Fulton Street or stay on Cadman Plaza East (Washington Street) to Brooklyn Bridge Park. It could be eventually extended down the waterfront to Red Hook. The vehicles could have many doors for quick boarding and discharging of passengers and could run continuously all day every 2 minutes to replace at least 80% of the buses now coming into Downtown Brooklyn including the removal of all the buses from Livingston Street as well. The facility would be indoors and weather protected. I think that would be a great start and may be doable.

By: Vin

Vin — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:01:34 +0000

AlexB: Express buses from the outer reaches of the city (Staten Island and south Brooklyn, mostly) use the Battery Tunnel all the time. I ride one every day. Indeed, many times it seems as though the tunnel is overflowing with buses – perhaps that is why the city has not put a local bus through the tunnel. In any case, the tunnel is perfectly well-equipped for buses, which are allowed to use it and do so frequently.

I do think putting a local bus route through the tunnel to the 4/5 station at Bowling Green is an idea worth exploring, though it may cause extra congestion, especially in the toll plaza. Perhaps one of the tubes could be open to buses only during rush hours.

By: Richard Layman

Richard Layman — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:30:54 +0000

Impressive post. DMIJohn, why can’t transportation expansion meet both equity and development objectives? Cities need development. It generates tax revenues and further economic activity. It is a big part of the financial justification for public investment in transit. Transit in and of itself can’t fix economic circumstances. Cities need a well rounded economic development strategy, based on the competitive advantages that a rich transit infrastructure provides.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:08:28 +0000

In that case, I think the best solution is light rail that serves runs on Court and hits the Borough Hall and High Street stations. It can either turn west on Atlantic and then go down Columbia, or stay on Court until Red Hook and then go west on Lorraine.

Such a line could even feed directly into the local projects. In Singapore, it’s common to have people movers which are called light rail connect the ubiquitous housing projects with the subway mainlines. In New York this means light rail lines extending from the 6 to Coop City, from the L to Starett City, from some line in south Midtown to Stuy Town, and so on.

By: AlexB

AlexB — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:21:18 +0000

Alon: You are right; in terms of capacity, no new crossings are needed from Brooklyn right now. Queens definitely needs more capacity than Brooklyn. I am mainly speaking from personal experience. The Brooklyn Battery Tunnel could be major time saver.

For example, I used to live right next to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel entrance. During my 45/50 minute commute to work near Union Square, 20/25 minutes were spent waiting for and riding a bus to Jay St/Borough Hall (practically the same walking time.) If the bus went through the tunnel instead of congested downtown Brooklyn, I could have been at Bowling Green instead of Borough Hall and shaved at least 15 minutes off my commute every day. It’s a shame that the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel can only be used by drivers. It could chop Red Hook commutes in half.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:44:01 +0000

AlexB: Brooklyn doesn’t have much need for extra crossings into Manhattan; my idea of a Brooklyn Bridge streetcar is intended mainly as restoration of previous service. The real problem is in Queens. Brooklyn and Queens have the same number of residents who work in Manhattan, and about the same transit modal share; Brooklyn has 9 two-track crossings into Manhattan, compared with 3.5 for Queens. Coming to think of it, the most important light rail projects in the city in terms of capacity are along 1st or 2nd Avenue, and crossing the Queensboro Bridge.