7 Line Extension Will Be A Colossal Mistake
The 7 line extension is a topic I have covered in great detail since 2007. As longtime readers would know, I have been a vocal critic about the whole project, especially if it is to be completed without a much needed subway station for the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
This past Sunday’s edition of the New York Daily News contained a scathing article by Adam Lisberg in which he says the city will be making a colossal mistake in building this extension without the Hell’s Kitchen station:
New York’s mass transit system is a thing of wonder, but it was built with a few mistakes.
Like Penn Station’s subway stops, where the express and local platforms are separate, so you can’t wait for what comes first.
Like the Grand Central Parkway to LaGuardia, built with no room for train tracks, so you’re always doomed to a $30 cab ride.
Now, the city is about to make another colossal mistake, drilling a subway line without the stop that was always supposed to be in the middle – and Mayor Bloomberg is going to stand by and watch it happen.
The city is paying to extend the 7 train from the Port Authority Bus Terminal to 34th St. and 11th Ave., where it will give the Related Companies’ planned mega-development the subway access it needs.
Developers are supposed to pay for most of the costs through increased property tax, but taxpayers will be on the hook, too – starting with $46 million this year.
The project has stayed on its $2.1 billion budget, but only by eliminating a proposed station in the middle at 41st St. and 10th Ave.
Click here for the complete report.
As I have stated in the past, I am not a fan of this project. I feel it is a complete waste & benefits so little when projects that could benefit many more are left as pipe dreams. However at this point, it is obvious that the extension will be built regardless of the lack of legitimate need for it. Since it is going through, I agree it is a colossal mistake in not building a station in Hell’s Kitchen. Honestly, if that was the only station built in the extension, the project would make actual sense.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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