I realize that on most of the maps I’ve made for this series there are a couple new subway lines which I’ve not described. I probably should have put this section closer to the beginning, but no matter. These two proposals, the Triboro RX Line and the Atlantic Ave Super-Express Line both come from the Regional Plan Association, the major non-profit planning organization for the New York Metropolitan area. The RPA’s plans are famous for being influential despite not being legally binding. The first RPA plan from 1929 laid out proposals for a complete rethinking of the highways in and around the metropolitan area (which were only later implemented by Robert Moses decades later). Other RPA plans have called for the redevelopment of the New Jersey waterfront, something which has been underway for the last couple decades.

TriboroRX

Triboro RX Line through southern Brooklyn from Bay Ridge to Broadway Junction.

The Triboro RX Line was proposed in the Third Regional Plan back in 1996. The idea is simple: there are many unused or under-used rail lines that cross through the outer boroughs which could be used to provide passenger rail service to undeserved areas of the city. What’s more, many of these lines link up, in a sort of rail network, so that with only marginal extra construction a new “loop” or “crosstown” subway/commuter rail line could be created. The line was called Triboro RX and began at the waterfront in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The Long Island Railroad Bay Ridge Line was once part of the rail system which brought city dwellers to Coney Island back in the late 19th and early 20th century. When many of these lines were converted to subways the Bay Ridge Line stopped carrying passengers and today only carries freight. The line makes a broad arc through southern Brooklyn from Bay Ridge to Broadway Junction, almost as if you drew it with a compass.

What makes this line so appealing is that it would connect to every subway in Brooklyn (except the Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown Line) and would act like a shuttle to bring passengers over to lines which might not connect even in downtown Brooklyn or Manhattan. The line would also bring subway access to areas of Flatlands, East Flatbush, and Canarsie which today are woefully under served.

Rendering of the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway

An interesting side note is that this is not the first time that mass transit has been proposed for this corridor. Back in the 1960s Robert Moses wanted to use this right-of-way for a highway, the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway. To get public support for the plan the proposal called for a below grade highway with mass transit along side (see drawing at left). Above, to cover the highway, would have been a linear park system with large apartment buildings, dubbed the Linear City. While it was an interesting idea, in reality such a project would have destroyed neighborhoods, increased traffic, and dotted the landscape with offensive and inhuman towers. The park probably would have been thrown out in early plans because of cost overruns and most likely so would have the mass transit line. Because this corridor is still so important, the idea of a Cross Brooklyn Expressway is still being mulled around by transportation planners, in some cases combined with a cross harbor freight tunnel.

Triboro RX through Jackson Heights.

After the Triboro RX whips around southern Brooklyn it comes up through Broadway Junction. At this point the line would, if built as a subway, run along the same tracks as the BMT Canarsie L Line. The Canarsie Line at this point is elevated but runs along side the Bay Ridge Line which is sunk below grade (click here to see a picture I took of this spot). Plans as far back as the 1960s called for demolishing the elevated structure and rebuilding it in the railroad trench. If the Triboro RX was built then this would be part of the plan, with the current elevated stations replaced with new below grade stations. The trench at this point could be built over with a park and/or housing, much like the original Linear City plan at a much smaller scale.

After Broadway Junction the Triboro RX would continue along the Canarsie Line until it (the Canarsie Line) turns towards Bushwick, at which point the Triboro RX would head through Ridgewood and into Middle Villege, Maspeth, and into Jackson Heights. In Jackson Heights there are two options for where the line could run; The original RPA plan just has the line continuing along the existing railroad line up into Astoria but there is a little know abandoned subway tunnel and station at the Roosevelt Ave station which could be used to more conveniently connect the Triboro RX to the Queens Blvd Line (E,F,M,R trains) and Flushing Line (7 train). The additional station was built by the IND when the Queens Blvd Line was first constructed in the 1930s. The original concept was for a subway to the Rockaways to use the station, one service would connect to the Queens Blvd Line while one service would terminate at Roosevelt Ave. (For more information check out the Roosevelt Ave page at Joseph Brennan fantastic Abandoned Stations site.)

The Triboro RX would continue along through Astoria where it would travel up to 7 stories in the air along the Hell Gate Bridge. Stations at this point would need to be engineered into the viaduct which would add to the cost but would allow for spectacular views of the city (and of course, transfers to other subway lines). On Randalls Island there could also be a station, though it would likely have the lowest ridership in the system. The island is home to concerts, ball fields, and a psychiatric center and is well served by buses but a station would do more to open the island up to people who’ve probably never thought about going there.

TrXiboro RX through the south Bronx.

The last section of the line enters the south Bronx through Port Morris and has two possible routes; The first, as proposed by the RPA, would utilize an abandoned freight rail tunnel which used to serve the port and warehouses. The tunnel runs under St. Mary’s Park and links up with the MetroNorth Harlem River Line at Melrose Ave. Here the Triboro RX would turn back south and head west under 161st St to Yankee Stadium. The RPA plan calls for the line to terminate at 161st/Yankee Stadium but I propose that the line link up with the IND Grand Concourse B/D Line and head into Manhattan, terminating at 145th St. This would make for fewer transfers and allow Manhattan better access to the outer boroughs (so, if a subway tunnel to Staten Island was to be constructed, this line would be the only subway route to travel through ever borough).

An alternative route would take the Triboro RX closer to Hunts Point before turning west under 163rd St. In my Second Ave Subway proposal I call for a 4 track subway under 163rd St to serve two Second Ave trains to Throgs Neck and Co-op City. If this tunnel was to be built then the Triboro RX line could share the trackage. After 3rd Ave it would continue to Yankee Stadium, thus creating a crosstown subway of sorts through the south Bronx.

Atlantic Ave Super-Express

Atlantic Ave Super-Express from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

The Atlantic Ave Super-Express comes from a 1999 RPA proposal. The MetroLink was the RPAs concept of an integrated Second Ave Subway system which would save on construction costs by utilizing existing infrastructure, much of which I covered in my Second Ave Subway proposals. A major element to the RPA proposal was the conversion of the Long Island Railroad Atlantic Branch which runs under Atlantic Ave from Jamaica to Flatbush Ave. The RPA proposed continuing the Second Ave Subway from lower Manhattan to Atlantic Ave where the subway would run express out to Jamaica with two branches, one to Jamaica Center and another to JFK Airport. Interestingly, the RPA also proposed that these two branches terminate, in Manhattan, at Grand Central Terminal via a short spur under 42nd St.

The most important, and most expensive, part of a Super-Express subway along Atlantic Ave would be the connection to Manhattan from Brooklyn. Over the last 10 years planners and politicians have tried to find a way to connect lower Manhattan with either the Long Island Railroad or just to JFK via a subway or extension of the AirTrain. The problem has been cost; any plausible plan would be in the billions. The most recent plans floated called for extending the LIRR into Manhattan via a tunnel with a new terminal in lower Manhattan. Because of the space required such a terminal would be prohibitively expensive. If, however, the LIRR along Atlantic Ave was to be converted to subway service then it could be cheaply connected to existing service via the Manhattan Bridge (into Chambers St) or via the Nassau St subway. Alternatively, if the Second Ave Subway was finished through Water St then this tunnel could then connect to Atlantic Ave (proposed for the MetroLink).

Map of planned but unbuilt BMT system with subway connections to the Brooklyn Bridge.

An even more radical idea would be to extend it over the Brooklyn Bridge where it would run from Chamber St, over the bridge and under Adams St to Atlantic Ave. Such a plan is not without precedent; trains ran over the bridge when it first opened and when the BMT was building their subways through lower Manhattan there was a very serious plan to build this exact connection. There was originally to be two large loops, one which ran from DeKalb St in Brooklyn, over the Manhattan Bridge to Chambers St and down through Nassau St, under the East River via the tunnel, and linking back up with DeKalb St back in Brooklyn. This loop was built. The second one, a much larger loop was not. This loop would have started out at Broadway Junction in East New York. Using the Broadway Elevated Line (J/M/Z trains), it would enter Manhattan via the Williamsburg Bridge where it would run to Chambers St via the Centre St Subway. After Chambers St it would make a sharp turn and head to Brooklyn via the Brooklyn Bridge. From here trains would make their way back to Broadway Junction via any number of the elevated lines which snaked through Bedford-Stuyvesant at the time (Myrtle Ave, Lexington Ave, or Fulton St Els). Today, however, it may seem impractical to have trains running on the Brooklyn Bridge, but in a future where gas is much more expensive it would make sense given how many more people trains can carry. (For more information and better diagrams showing this proposed connection check out the Chambers St page at Joseph Brennan fantastic Abandoned Stations site.)

On the Brooklyn side, the LIRR terminates at Flatbush Ave so a new tunnel would need to be cut from Flatbush to the East River. This would be the most expensive part (along with a new tunnel if such a plan was chosen) but one which is also not without precedent. When the LIRR was originally built it in fact ran all the way to ferries on the East River. A large ditch was cut through Brooklyn Heights but the soot and noise so disturbed the populous that the railroad was ordered to cap the trench, thus making it a tunnel (and some would argue the first subway in the world). But tunnel system was so primitive that riding through the tunnel with the soot and noise was unbearable for riders. Soon the tunnel was shut down and service cut back to an above ground terminal at Flatbush Ave. The tunnel fell into legend until it was rediscovered by Bob Diamond in 1980. Today you can even take tours of the tunnel (for more information check out the BHRA’s web site.) Of course if a subway was to be built today it would not be able to reuse such a tunnel.

The Atlantic Ave Super-Express through Broadway Junction.

After Flatbush Ave the Super-Express Line would run down Atlantic Ave, making the existing stop at Nostrand Ave, to Broadway Junction. Here there are two options, the first is that the line could continue along Atlantic Ave out to Jamaica with no extra stops along the way, or it could link up with my previously proposed Bushwick Trunk Line. The Bushwick Trunk Line would allow trains to loop back through Chambers St like the original BMT plan, this time is extra express tracks through both Bushwick and along Atlantic Ave. On the Atlantic Ave side there would be only two tracks along Atlantic Ave from downtown Brooklyn to Broadway Junction. At Broadway Junction the Bushwick Trunk Line would connect with the Super-Express to create a 4 track subway from Broadway Junction, along Atlantic Ave in East New York, out to Jamaica. There could be three or four different train services: an all local train from Jamaica to Chambers St via Bushwick, an express train from Jamaica to Chamber St via Bushwick, an express train from Jamaica to Chambers St via Atlantic Ave, and an express loop which would run through Bushwick to Chambers St and back along Atlantic Ave.

The Atlantic Ave Super-Express lines in Jamaica.

From Broadway Junction to Jamaica it may make sense to rebuild Atlantic Ave with 4 tracks and demolish the existing elevated structure which runs through Cypress Hills and Richmond Hill. The elevated line was supposedly built to allow for an express track but one was never added. Because of this, and due to the fact that this section of trackage is the oldest in the entire New York City Subway system, it may be a good investment to replace the elevated structure with a 4 track subway along Atlantic Ave. Though passengers would no longer have a subway so close to them, a relocation would get rid of the blight which the line brings and allow for a much quicker commute into the city. And while some people would have to walk further, moving the line south would bring subway service closer to others.

In Jamaica Center the Super-Express Line would use the Archer Ave Subway. The original plan for the Archer Ave Subway (which would have served another super-express subway through Queens) was to have two branches, one running east along the LIRR right-of-way to Queens Village, and one running southeast along the Far Rockaway branch through Laurelton and Rosedale (which would replace LIRR service with subway service). These two extensions should still be a high expansion priority regardless if the Super-Express Line is built. Due to the congestion along the LIRR it might not be feasible to use the LIRR right-of-way to Queens Village so a two track subway might be built along Hollis Ave. This would more evenly distribute subway service but would be much more expensive. Another possibility is that if the IND Fulton St Subway extension was to be built then the two subways (that and the Super-Express) could link up allowing Queens Blvd trains to reach further into southeastern Queens.

Conclusion

I left these two expansion ideas for last because, while they score points in terms of cost, they seem like scraps compared to major projects like the Second Ave Subway. A giant loop subway connecting all boroughs seems good on paper but in reality it might not have the ridership to justify the cost. A crosstown subway from Brooklyn to Queens was planned for decades before it was finally built as the G train and today the G is perhaps the most loathed line in the system; it runs very infrequently and runs only 6 or 4 car trains as opposed to the usual 10 cars. It basically acts as a glorified shuttle. If the G, which actually runs between large employment centers and through dense residential neighborhoods, can hardly work out, how is a massive system like the Triboro RX to work? But at the same time the Triboro RX would run through major areas of the city which are far from other subways and would connect to almost every other line in the system.

The Atlantic Ave Super-Express also looks good on paper but once again the benefit might not out weigh the cost. The city has been trying for the last decade to bring the LIRR into lower Manhattan (or some variation) but the cost has just been too great. Still, the existing Broadway El can only serve Brooklyn for so long before it becomes obsolete. Converting Atlantic Ave into a subway which would serve new areas of the city and connect to the existing system to save on cost may, sooner rather than later, become a high priority project.

Note: Unlike my previous posts I am not going to include another system map to show how these two projects would add to the system as a whole. In my next and final post I will explain how all the projects I discussed fit together with a giant system and geographical map.

The futureNYCSubway

1. Introduction
2. IND Second System
3. Post War Expansion
4. The Second Ave Subway: History
5. The Second Ave Subway: To The Bronx and the Nassau Line
6. Brooklyn: Bushwick Trunk Line
7. Manhattan: West Side and Hudson Crossings
8. Queens: Flushing Trunk Line
9. Staten Island: The Last Frontier
10. TriboroRX and Atlantic Ave Super-Express
11. Conclusion: the vanshnookenraggen plan

1924 BMT map showing existing elevated lines (in black) and proposed subways.

Because of how and when Brooklyn developed in the 19th Century it has today one of the most extensive subway and elevated rail networks in the entire nation, and it is only one borough of the city. So many lines criss-crossed Brooklyn back in the day that, unlike many other cities who’ve expanded service over the last century, Brooklyn has actually lost miles of tracks due to the dismantling of elevated lines through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Borough Park. Still, Brooklyn remains one of the most well served areas in the nation in terms of subway lines. However, there are still major sections of Brooklyn that developed after World War II and outside the range of subway service.

The city foresaw this development and planned to build subways to Flatbush, Flatlands, and Sheepshead Bay but was stopped by the Great Depression and changing priorities (e.g. the car). When the Independent subway released its grand expansion plan in 1929 it included a major trunk line though northern Brooklyn that branched out to reach the Rockaways and Sheepshead Bay. The lines connected to the 6th Ave and 8th Ave Subways had at one time up to 8 tracks servicing four different subways branching off into Brooklyn and Queens.

Much has changed in northern Brooklyn since those days. Back then there were three major elevated lines in northern Brooklyn; the Jamaica Line elevated which still runs today (J/Z trains), the Myrtle Ave elevated which once ran all the way from dowtown Brooklyn to Metropolitan Ave but was cut back to Broadway in the 1950s (M train), and the long gone Lexington Ave elevated line which ran through Bedford-Stuyvesant along Lexington Ave and was also torn down. Many of the neighborhoods of northern Brooklyn suffered severe population drains after World War II. Much of the industry left and by the 1980s the area became one of the poorest in the nation.

It is amazing then how far we have come within a generation. Due to the low cost of real estate and the availability of large loft warehouses, Williamsbug has gone from a no-mans land to being the newest, hippest neighborhood in the city. During the 1990s due to waves of new immigration from South America, Bushwick began to stabelize. As gentrification moved east from Williamsburg areas of Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant began to gentrify. Today the area’s population has grown dramatically fom 10 years ago and ridership levels on every subway station in Williamsburg, Bushwick, and northern Bedford-Stuyvesant have risen. This now presents the problem: how will the century old transit infrastructure handle this new growth?

Now I am bringing this proposal back, a new trunk line serving northern Brooklyn with branches out to Queens and southeastern Brooklyn that will replace the antiquated Broadway and Myrtle Ave elevated tracks and allow for better local service and faster commutes from the far reaches of the city. This new subway is called the Bushwick Trunk Line.

6th Ave and 8th Ave Subway Connections

1929 IND Proposal for South 4th St subway.

The original proposal from the 1920s was called the South Fourth St Subway for the street under which it ran. It began in two places in Manhattan, both vestiges of the IND Second System. On the 6th Ave Line at 2nd Ave station there are 2 platforms and 4 tracks. Only the outer tracks have ever been in service with the inner tracks used, until 2010, as a terminal for the V train. The inner tracks were originally built to service trains coming from Williamsburg via a tunnel under the East River. This is the first part of the Bushwick Trunk Line proposal. The second is over on the 8th Ave Line. After Canal St station on the 8th Ave Line the express and local tracks diverge into two separate tunnels. Today the A and C trains run on to Brooklyn through on one set of tracks while the E uses the other set to terminate at World Trade Center. It is these tracks, the World Trade Center tracks, that were originally supposed to head east under Worth St. The so-called Worth St Subway made a short jog along Worth St to East Broadway and down to Grand St where it dove under the East River towards Williamsburg. Both of these tunnels, at some point in Williamsburg, would have come together to form a 4 track subway under South 4th St. There were various proposals for where this would happen and various schemes for how many trains would run. The line would have been able to handle 2 express and 2 local with branches out to the Rockaways and Sheepshead Bay.

Because my proposals encompass as vaster area then along South 4th St I’ve taken the liberty to rename the proposal the “Bushwick Trunk Line”. A trunk line is a main line of a railroad that is created by combining many different passageways that branch off at some point. For instance the Lexington Ave Subway is a trunk line because it combines the 4/5/6 trains in a subway under Lexington Ave. The Bushwick Trunk Line would combine trains from central Queens, Jamaica, Flatlands, Sheepshead Bay, and Bushwick into a single massive subway and redistribute them into Manhattan.

Bushwick Trunk Line connections into Manhattan with alternatives.

To update the original plan we have a few different options. On the 6th Ave Subway a new tunnel should still continue east along Houston St across the East River to South 4th St in Williamsburg. A station will be placed between Aves B and C to give subway access to one of the only areas of Manhattan still without close subway access. A proposal from the 1930s also brought in a connection with the Second Ave Subway which would branch off before the 2nd Ave station at Houston St and run parallel to the 6th Ave extension under Stanton St. The two subways would combine somewhere under the East River.

The 8th Ave Subway connection would be shifted south from the original proposal under Worth St to Chambers St where a new transfer facility would be constructed connecting the Lexington Ave Subwayand the Jamaica/Centre St Subway. From here the new subway would continue along the original route under East Broadway to Grand St and under the East River to connect with the 6th Ave extension to form the bulk of the Bushwick Trunk Line. Alternative alignments would have the subway running under Clinton St and merging with the 6th Ave extension before the East River or running the 8th Ave extension along Broadway in Williamsburg and connecting with the 6th Ave extension further east.

While in Williamsburg another subway connects to the Trunk Line; the Jamaica Line which today runs on an elevated track. A new portal would be constructed at the Brooklyn approach of the Williamsburg Bridge to connect the tracks on the bridge to the new subway. The elevated tracks would be torn down.

For those keeping track of the tracks, there would be two, 2 track tunnels under the East River meeting at a single 4 track station at Berry St and South 4th St. Continuing east the Jamaica Line would connect adding 2 additional tracks making 2 local tracks and 4 express tracks. These 6 tracks would run to Union Ave where at the Broadway Station on the IND Crosstown G Line is the shell of a 6 track station which was built in anticipation of the South 4th St Subway.

If you think about this in transportation planning terms then the Crosstown Line suddenly becomes a lot more useful. There is very little traffic between downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City but this was not supposed to be the case. The South 4th St subway was meant to meet with the Crosstown Line between downtown Brooklyn and Long Island City which would have added much more traffic to the line, distributing commuters more efficiently and taking pressure off transfer points in Manhattan.

Bushwick Trunk Line

Bushwick Trunk Line track map.

East of Union Ave the Trunk Line would run north of and parallel to Broadway which would require cutting a new street from South 4th/Union Ave to Beaver St/Flushing Ave. A routing along Broadway would necessitate the demolition of the elevated train before new service would be built to replace it. The city has a very poor track record of replacing elevated trains with subway service which is why the more expensive option of cutting a new street would be the better one.

The purpose of the Bushwick Trunk Line is to allow for modern subways to service outlying areas of the city, bring them together to sort passengers, and transport them out into different areas of Manhattan (and downtown Brooklyn). The different subways coming together in the Trunk Line are the Myrtle Ave Subway/Union Turnpike Subway (with a branch of the Crosstown Line), the Utica Ave Subway (with connections to the Canarsie Line), and the replacement subway for the demolished Jamaica Line elevated tracks. The Trunk Line would have 2 local tracks and 4 express tracks which would be below the local tracks.

6 tracks running from South 4th St under the new street would merge again with a new branch of the 14th St-Canarsie Line. This branch would break off the Canarsie Line after Montrose St and continue south under Bushwick Ave. This merger would occur right before a massive new transfer station at Myrtle St/Bushwick Ave. This station would be very similar to the West 4th St station with two sets of 4 track platforms separated by a mezzanine. 8 tracks would enter the station, 12 tracks would leave the station; 4 tracks for each branch line. To wrap your head around what I’m proposing here I’ve created a track map. A track map shows each track as a thin line. Here I have color coded each set of tracks to show which trains would run where. Platforms are the solid rectangles. Dashed lines indicate when a track runs below another track (3rd dimension).

After Myrtle Ave the different subways would branch off but a 4 track subway would continue east under Bushwick Ave to replace the Jamaica Line elevated. The new subway would go as far as the train yards at Broadway Junction where the tracks would rise to the surface and continue along the existing elevated structure. In a later post I will address what can be done about the existing elevated line.

Myrtle Ave Subway and Crosstown Subway Connection

Bushwick Trunk Line with alternative routings.

The Mrytle Ave Subway would be the first branch off the Trunk Line and would be a replacement for the elevated train currently along Myrtle Ave through Bushwick and Ridgewood. The Myrtle Ave Subway would split off the Bushwick Trunk Line after the Myrtle Ave station and travel northeast under Myrtle Ave to Fresh Pond Rd where it would rise to the surface, run at grade, to travel along side the Long Island Railroad Montauk Branch tracks. At this point there would also be a separate track system to connect the new subway to the existing Fresh Pond train yards. The subway would be 4 tracks serving 8th Ave trains.

A number of alternatives are available. The first would utilize an old freight rail line which terminates at Bushwick Place and Montrose Ave. This line once ran passenger trains from Williamsburg to Coney Island and Long Island but cut this service in the 1920s. The first alternative would have a subway branch off the Bushwick Trunk Line right after the Union Ave station running under Montrose Ave and rising to the surface to run at grade somewhere after Varick Ave along this stretch of track. The line would follow the freight tracks until Flushing Ave where they would run along side the LIRR Montauk Branch tracks, continuing east. A second alignment in this would run the subway under Flushing Ave for a while before connecting with the LIRR Montauk Branch. This second alignment would be more costly than the freight track alignment but would have the benefit of closer to residential areas.

Vestigial tracks as Bedford-Nostrand.

A downside to the Myrtle Ave Subway alignment is that it runs south of the current elevated subway through Ridgewood. An alternative that would address this would run the subway up Gates Ave to the point where it meets the LIRR Montauk Branch tracks. This alignment would serve more people as it runs through the heart of the neighborhood and would also run close by the Fresh Pond train yards but a major downside would be very disruptive construction along residential streets.

Though the Myrtle Ave Subway would mainly branch off of the Bushwick Trunk Line I also call for a new subway which would branch off the IND Crosstown Line after the Bedford-Nostrand Aves station. A commuter using said station will note that there are in fact 3 tracks with 2 island platform, strange since the Crosstown Line has only local service and runs with 2 tracks for the rest of its length (see pictures at NYCSubway.org). There are two thoughts to why this extra track exists, the first being that it was designed to be a terminal station for service changes, and second that it was designed to be a junction station where two subway lines would combine. The middle track at Bedford-Nostrand continues east while the outside tracks curve to the north. The third track then splits into 2 tracks but dead ends (which could be used for layups of trains of extending service east). This dead end is where we start, continuing the subway along Lafayette Ave to Broadway where it would curve northeast under Kossuth Pl and Stanhope St, connecting with the Myrtle Ave Subway before Knickerbocker Ave.

This additional tunnel would allow service from central Queens three options of service: an express into Manhattan, a local into Manhattan (both of which would allow for easy transfers to uptown or downtown trains) and a local to downtown Brooklyn. The new Crosstown Line Connection would also finally repair the connection between northern Brooklyn and downtown Brooklyn which was severed when the Myrtle Ave elevated was taken down in the 1960s.

Union Turnpike Subway

Union Turnpike Subway through Forest Hills.

The Myrtle Ave Subway would continue east into Queens through Glendale along the LIRR Montauk Branch tracks to Forest Hills. After Woodhaven Blvd the subway would run under Union Turnpike. The Union Turnpike Subway would continue east under Union Turnpike to the Nassau County border. This 4 track subway line with three trains would be the first to open up a large section of central Queens to new subway service into downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn. The subway would intersect the Queens Blvd Line so commuters would be able to switch to express trains to Long Island City and midtown Manhattan. At Queens Blvd/Union Turnpike there would be a connection between the tracks of the two subway lines which would enable trains from the Union Turnpike Subway to access the existing train yards just north of Union Turnpike, the Jamaica Yards.

An alternative alignment would run the subway under Metropolitan Ave through Middle Village. This alignment would run closer to residential areas but would also be much more expensive than a subway running at grade along the LIRR tracks. The Metropolitan Ave alignment would, however, allow for an alternative western alignment of the new subway which would swing up and around Forest Hills to merge with the Queens Blvd Subway (as opposed to running south of Forest Hills.) This alternative alignment would be a good option if funding comes up short which would prevent the subway from just ending in the middle of nowhere (Please note that I am not saying that Forest Hills is the middle of nowhere.)

Union Turnpike Subway through Utopia and Glen Oaks.

(Side Note: In these and future posts I include in each proposal from all previous expansion plans so that they build on one another. As such in each of these maps here you can see my plans for Second Ave Subway extensions into Queens. For explanations of these extensions see the Second Ave Subway post.)

After Forest Hills the Union Turnpike Subway would run one of two ways: the first would be straight down Union Turnpike to the Nassau County border, and the second would be a more northernly route under Jewel Ave. This second alignment would require a large “S” curve in the routing of the subway after Forest Hills which would run the subway at grade along the Van Wyck Expressway up to Jewel Ave where it would turn east again. With either alignment the 4 track subway would run to 188th St where the local trains would terminate and the express trains would take over. The subway past 188th St could either run in a 2 track or a 3 track tunnel to allow peak period express trips (much like the IND Grand Concourse B/D Subway does today). An alternative to running the subway out to Glen Oaks would have the line jog south at the Clearview Expressway to connect with an extended Hillside Ave subway to Queens Village and Bellerose.

Utica Ave Subway

Utica Ave Subway through Flatlands and Sheepshead Bay.

The Utica Ave Subway comes from the original IND Second System expansion plans from the 1920s and 30s. This area of Brooklyn was still largely undeveloped at that time and the subway would most likely have been built as an elevated structure to save money. After the neighborhoods of Flatlands, Sheepshead Bay, and Gerritsen developed after World War II it became too unpopular to build an elevated structure but too costly to justify a subway even though the demand was higher than ever. A subway under Utica Ave still remains in transit planners minds as ideas have been proposed for long term expansion during the last 50 years that involve a scaled back subway branching off the IRT Eastern Parkway 3/4 Line or the IRT Nostrand Ave 2/5 Line.

My updated proposal keeps true to the original with a slight difference. In the original proposal the Utica Ave Subway would branch off the Bushwick Trunk Line after Myrtle Ave and travel down Stuyvesant Ave to Fulton St. At the Utica Ave station on the Fulton St Subway there is a 4 track express shell station which was constructed in anticipation of the Utica Ave Subway. My proposal runs the subway a block east under Malcom X Blvd/Reid Ave to avoid demolition of a school building. From there the subway would run straight south down Utica Ave to Flatlands Ave. Here the subway could take a number of different routes. The first would be to keep running south to Flatbush Ave. Another would be to turn southwest under Flatlands Ave and run to Nostrand Ave where it would continue south along Nostrand Ave to Voorhies Ave. Both of these options were proposed during the 1920s and 30s plans.

Utica Ave Subway through Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights.

On major difference between the original plans and my plans are that I call for a connection between the 14th St-Canarsie Line and the Utica Ave Subway at Myrtle Ave (see track map above). Historical proposals all called for a 4 track subway with express and local service. However these proposals existed before the Chrystie St Connection which allowed 6th Ave trains to run into south Brooklyn. The original proposal for the Utica Ave Subway had local and express 6th Ave bound trains which is today not possible since adding a fifth service to the 6th Ave Subway would congest the line too much. This is why I propose a connection between the Canarsie Line which would run 6th Ave trains express and 14th St trains local. All trains on the Utica Ave Subway would run to midtown since there would be no less than four different points along the line where commuters would be able to transfer to express trains to downtown Manhattan (making Utica Ave trains running to downtown Manhattan quite redundant).

Then there is the extension of the IRT subway. Alternatives proposed in the past have run an IND and IRT subway parallel to each other or a combined subway. In the map to the right I explore both options. My only issue with extending the IRT subway south is that the Nostrand Ave Subway is currently only a 2 track local subway and extending the line so far south without an express train would make travel times much longer and be much costlier than just building a 4 track Utica Ave Subway with express and local service. Adding an express track to the Nostrand Ave Subway would be far too disruptive to service which at that point would make a new 4 track subway under Utica Ave justifiable.

Conclusion

To sum up the Bushwick Trunk Line services: 6th Ave express (restored “V” service) and 14th St-Canarsie local (a new “O” service) trains would run along Utica Ave, 8th Ave express and local trains (“A” service and a new “H” service), added by a Crosstown local train (a new “K” service), would run out along Myrtle Ave/Union Turnpike Subways, and Jamaica Line express and local trains (existing “J” and “Z” service) would continue to run out to Broadway Junction but in a new subway. All elevated structures between the Williamsburg Bridge and Broadway Junction would be demolished.

There are three major reasons why a new trunk line subway is needed for northern Brooklyn. Firstly, the existing infrastructure is old and cannot handle the foreseeable population increases. Northern Brooklyn was one of the worst hit areas of urban decay during the latter half of the 20th Century but has begun to stabilize with an influx of new residents attracted by low land prices. Secondly, any addition service to areas of Brooklyn and Queens which are today out of reach by subways need fast express capacity to ferry commuters from so far out into the central city. Current subways are either at capacity or are in no shape to be extended further out. This speaks to the failure of the city to properly plan for post World War II residential development. Had the original IND Second System proposals for a trunk line subway through northern Brooklyn been even partially completed then major parts of the city would be better accessible today.

Thirdly, there no more room for the city to spread outwards. Even with this current recession, population trends locally and globally point to increased urbanization. Brooklyn and Queens were consolidated into Greater New York City in 1898 precisely because they had space. Today, while they lack horizontal space, the average height of a building in these boroughs is still only a few stories. Highways and roads can handle only so much. New mass transit routes are needed if the city is to grow and growth in suburban areas of Brooklyn and Queens is the next logical step. As hard as it is to imagine now the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan were once small hamlets and farms. The suburban streets of central Queens may one day be home to large apartment houses. It is very probable that there will be resistance to such growth but there will come a time when it is inevitable and the infrastructure must be put in place lest the city choke on traffic.

These subway plans are only one part of this growth. I believe that the growth can be properly planned in conjunction with expanded infrastructure. If not what will happen city wide is what has happened to Williamsburg; the transportation infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the residential growth. There is much push back now towards more development due to the lack of capacity. If the South 4th St Subway had been built 60 years ago then this would not be an issue. The city is building an extension of the IRT 7 Line to the Far West Side of Manhattan in anticipation of development, what would happen if the city built subways to where there already is major development choking current infrastructure?

Subway Diagram

Subway diagram showing Bushwick Trunk Line and Second Ave Subway systems.

The futureNYCSubway

1. Introduction
2. IND Second System
3. Post War Expansion
4. The Second Ave Subway: History
5. The Second Ave Subway: To The Bronx and the Nassau Line
6. Brooklyn: Bushwick Trunk Line
7. Manhattan: West Side and Hudson Crossings
8. Queens: Flushing Trunk Line
9. Staten Island: The Last Frontier
10. TriboroRX and Atlantic Ave Super-Express
11. Conclusion: the vanshnookenraggen plan