You're out of luck if you were hoping to take a train straight to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York.
The projected AirTrain to LaGuardia has been formally canceled, according to a Monday announcement from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the organization in charge of managing LGA. This comes after a thorough analysis of all available mass transportation options.
Instead, the three aviation and mass-transit experts on the expert panel suggested that the organization simply enhance bus service to the airport.
The suggested changes are divided into two stages.
The first is to improve the current Jackson Heights and Woodside LaGuardia Link bus route Q70 of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in Queens.
The ideas include creating a mile-long dedicated bus lane on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, increasing the number of frequencies to meet rising demand, upgrading the wayfinding signage, and giving the bus precedence at transit signals to cut down on travel time.
In the second phase, a brand-new nonstop shuttle would run from LaGuardia to Queens' Astoria-Ditmars Blvd station, the last stop on the N/W subway line.
According to the report, the proposed bus would make stops at each of the three LaGuardia terminals and be driven entirely by electric vehicles.
The panel advises that the Astoria-Ditmars Blvd Station should be made more accessible and that this new bus should operate in designated traffic lanes during rush hours.
This new vehicle would "assure ease of usage by airport travelers," the commission said.
It would probably take 10 to 15 minutes to get from the airport to the subway, then another 30 minutes to take the N/W into midtown Manhattan, if this bus service does begin.
Over ten years have passed since former governor Andrew Cuomo initially unveiled the $450 million AirTrain to LaGuardia in 2015.
Throughout the years, the project's cost and size increased, and opponents of the AirTrain frequently pointed out that, in the end, they would have to travel a great distance to the Mets-Willets Point subway and Long Island Rail Road station to get to and from Manhattan. Some opponents of AirTrain complained that it would rob the neighborhood of property designated as parks and other public areas.
Nevertheless, the elevated rail's construction may start in July 2021 once the AirTrain received final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. At the time, the budget for the elevated rail was expected to be $2.1 billion.
Midtown Manhattan travelers could expect a dependable 30-minute transit time to LGA thanks to the AirTrain.
However, after taking over for Cuomo amid claims of sexual harassment against him, New York Governor Kathy Hochul put the brakes on the projected AirTrain in late 2021.
Furthermore, Hocul added, "there were alternatives on the table that even the FAA acknowledged that people were suggesting people were not looking at as closely as they should." At the time, Hocul remarked, "I don't feel forced to accept what I have inherited."
Following Hochul's statement, a group of experts was established to investigate 14 potential mass transit options for LaGuardia, including the AirTrain, ferry service, and some extremely unlikely ideas like establishing a hyperloop.
According to the Port Authority statement, the study "expressed a strong preference for a 'one-seat ride via subway'," but given the "serious, unresolved constructability and cost challenges" to building a subway extension to the airport, the panel decided that the immediate focus should be on enhancing bus service.
With the results of this mass transportation study, LGA will continue to be the only significant airport in the Northeast corridor without a train link.
In order to start the funding process for the project, the Port Authority will provide its suggestion for additional bus service to its Board of Commissioners in the following two to three months.
Nowadays, almost 90% of travelers arrive at LGA by private car, which leads to significant traffic congestion in the airport's congested lanes.
Perhaps, the extra bus service will lessen some of this traffic.
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