Quote:
Originally Posted by antinimby
I very much disagree. A large, modern airport today in a major metro area without some kind rail access is very disappointing and not first rate no matter how shiny or new the facilities are. BRT is not the same and should only be considered a stopgap.
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I don't really disagree with this, except that there are a ton of more important rail expansion projects in the region, so I don't think this should be a priority. You would get crazy high ridership, for example, if you built a new line through central Queens, or expanded Brooklyn's Nostrand Ave. line southward, or rebuilt rail along the Webster Ave. corridor in the Bronx.
Airport rail doesn't generate particularly high ridership, and LGA is only the #3 regional airport. And if you expand, you will have to go underground which will cost mega billions. Giuliani tried expanding the subway to LGA and there was massive opposition to an elevated alignment.
And LGA has a very unique usage. It's extremely corporate and Manhattan-centric. Its only international flights are to the Carribean, Central America, Mexico and Canada. You aren't getting the international tourists and the like; you're getting executives on corporate travel, who have black cars waiting.