With the promise of accommodating an extra 128,000 commuters a day, a city-commissioned report issued this week has found that the extension of the 7 train into New Jersey, first championed by Mayor Bloomberg in late 2011, is "physically and operationally feasible," reports Dana Rubinstein.
"'The lack of new transit investment is creating a serious and urgent threat to New York City’s economic competitiveness,' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a statement issued this morning along with the study. 'Extending the 7 train to Secaucus is a promising potential solution—it would leverage existing investments and be compatible with other proposed projects—and is deserving of serious consideration.'"
"The report doesn't include any cost estimates," notes Rubinstein, "Those will have to await the next step in the project's planning: an advanced feasibility study conducted in cooordination [sic] with the federal government."
Comments
Derailed!
Eric Jaffe of The Atlantic Cities writes: "No sooner did that call go out (that the plan was 'a promising potential solution') than the MTA, the city's subway authority, put a serious damper on this solution's potential, saying the project was not "an economically viable idea."....
Also read Pete Donahue's piece in the Daily News , April 10: "The Bloomberg administration’s hope of extending the 7 train to New Jersey is dead on arrival. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority pulled the brakes on the proposal Wednesday hours after the city’s Economic Development Corporation released a report hyping the benefits of the cross-Hudson link...."
Bloomberg is to be commended for trying to make the best of NJ Gov. Christie's gross error in ditching the project two and a half years ago - on par with with FL Gov. Rick Scott's canning the Orlando-Tampa HSR two years ago.
I do think that in time, Christie's error will be fixed and the tunnels will be built - an Amtrak plan has already been proposed.. Christie should be held accountable though as his action did immeasurable harm to his state, the region, and regional Amtrak travel, especially their future HSR plan for the corridor.