After 5 decades of abandonment, and recent inspiration from the much-lauded High Line, a rusty railway stretching three-and-a-half miles through central Queens may become NYC’s next elevated greenway.
Lisa W. Foderaro reports: “'QueensWay' [is being reconceived as a] would-be linear park for walkers and bicyclists in an area desperate for more parkland and, with the potential for art installations, performances and adjacent restaurants, a draw for tourists interested in sampling the famously diverse borough.” Many feel the project is long overdue and supporters like Will Rogers, president and chief executive officer of the Trust for Public Land, say that “[i]t’s Queens’s turn” to soak in some of New York City's limelight.
Though potential obstacles include fund raising challenges, Foderaro highlights progress already made: "the trust has already raised tens of thousands of dollars for the project, in addition to the state grant [that will fund a community planning survey and feasibility study].” She also vets the land trust's capacity, adding that “it has broad experience in fostering linear parks, having worked on four dozen such parks, mostly on ground level, around the country," including the Bloomingdale Trail, an elevated railway to park conversion in Chicago.
Many apparently stand to benefit from the development. “About 250,000 residents live within a mile of the proposed park, and its backers see all kinds of ancillary benefits, from health to traffic,” says Foderaro.
QueensWay differentiates itself from the High Line in several ways. For one, the city already owns the land in question, and will not need to acquire it, as it did with the High Line. Also, the project does not call for the reconstruction of “a steel structure... requir[ing] nothing more than the clearing of tracks, the selective removal of trees and the pouring of asphalt” in some places. QueensWay will also welcome bicycles, now prohibited on the High Line. Finally, QueensWay is being promoted as a ‘cultural trail’ that "will be defined by the neighborhoods it passes through” in contrast to the High Line, which re-defined its surrounding neighborhoods.
FULL STORY: In Queens, Taking the High Line as a Model

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.

Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.

From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service