If you are hoping to catch a direct train to New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)you are out of luck.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the government agency that regulates the LGA, announced Monday that after a thorough review of public transit options, recommend AirTrain to LaGuardia officially removed.
Instead, an expert panel consisting of three aviation and public transport experts recommended that the agency simply improve bus service to the airport.
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The proposed improvements are divided into two phases.
The first is an upgrade to the Metropolitan Transport Authority’s Q70 LaGuardia Link bus service, which currently connects Jackson Heights and Woodside in Queens. Recommendations include building a one-mile bus-only lane on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, adding more frequency to meet growing demand, and improving route finding and signal priority signage. bus route to reduce travel time.
Phase two will see a brand new shuttle launch from LaGuardia to its final stop on the N/W metro line at Astoria-Ditmars Blvd station in Queens. The proposed bus will stop at all three LaGuardia terminals and will be operated by all-electric vehicles, the report said.
The Council recommends that the new bus use dedicated lanes for rush hour traffic and that the accessibility of Astoria-Ditmars Blvd Station should be improved. The council said the new bus would “ensure ease of use by passengers at the airport”.
If this bus service works, it could take 10 to 15 minutes to get from the airport to the subway, and then another 30 minutes to N/W into downtown Manhattan.
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It’s been almost a decade since the AirTrain to LaGuardia was first announced by the then Governor. Andrew Cuomo in 2015, with an estimated cost of $450 million.
Over the years, the project skyrocketed in cost and scale, and AirTrain’s competitors are often cited that it would require traveling off the Mets-Willets Point subway line and Long Island Railroad station to eventually get to and from Manhattan. Other AirTrain opponents criticized that it would take land designated as parks and other public spaces from local communities.
That said, AirTrain won Final approval from the Federal Aviation Administration in July 2021 to allow construction of the elevated rail line to begin, at that time at an estimated cost of $2.1 billion. The AirTrain to LGA promises to provide a reliable, 30-minute commute from midtown Manhattan.
However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul pumped time off on recommended AirTrain in late 2021, after taking over Cuomo following sexual harassment allegations against him.
“I don’t feel obligated to accept what I inherited,” Hocul said at the time, before adding, “there are alternatives on the table that even the FAA says people are talking about.” that people don’t look as closely as they should.”
Hochul’s announcement led to the formation of an expert panel to study 14 possible public transport alternatives to LaGuardia, including AirTrain, ferry services and some far-fetched options like construction build a super detour.
The study “expresses a strong preference for ‘single-seater metro rides'”, the Port Authority statement said, but presents “serious, unresolved challenges in terms of building capacity”. and costs” to build a metro extension to the airport, the immediate focus should be on improving bus service, the panel concluded.
LGA is the only major airport along the Northeast Corridor that does not have a rail link, and it will continue to do so with the results of this mass transit study.
Going forward, the Port Authority will submit a proposal to enhance bus service to the Trustees over the next two to three months to begin the project funding process.
Today, nearly 90% of passengers arrive at LGA by private vehicle, causing severe congestion on the airport’s narrow lanes. It is hoped that the additional bus service will help alleviate some of this congestion.
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