The dream of having a light rail transportation system in the areas of Brooklyn and Queens is becoming a reality. In July last year, the advisory committee comprised of developers, transportation experts and civic organizers, addressed the need for a more robust light rail system that could connect Brooklyn and Queens.
Now that the non-profit group called Friends of the Brooklyn Queens Connector has officially tackled the issue, a detailed proposal has been released revealing the route and the potential design of the streetcars.
According to 6sqft news, the route of the new streetcar system follows the waterfront between Sunset Park and Astoria, and would link ten Brooklyn and Queens Neighborhoods along the 17-mile route. A study by the advocacy group revealed that the cost of the project is about $1.7 billion, with an additional $26 million in annual operational costs. The group also estimates that the new transport system could bring in $3.7 billion in tax revenue.
Developing a viable light rail transit system will give folks easy access to the booming economies in the area.
The Friends of the Brooklyn-Queens Connector has influential members such as community leaders, transit experts, and big names in business development, like Doug Steiner of Steiner Studios, investor Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, and Helena Durst of the Durst Organization real estate firm.
Gothamist media said that a streetcar system is not new in Brooklyn. The area used to contain a web of trams, but they stopped between 1930 and 1956 as General Motors took control and replaced them with buses.
The construction of the planned railway system on the Brooklyn Queens Connector could start by 2019. A spokesperson of the de Blasio administration has told the Daily News that they could be open to the idea - but due to the delays of the Second Avenue Subway, where the second phase is projected to begin in 2019, it's probably safe to say that they won't all be commuting by light rail transit any time soon.
