Bushwick Spur at Morgan Avenue

Earlier this year DOT published a 289 page study of passenger service on the Lower Montauk line, an LIRR right-of-way between Long Island City and Jamaica that hasn’t seen passenger service since 1998. Their conclusion: implement service via DMUs (diesel multiple units) similar to those in use on the SMART train and the Union Pearson Express, build relevant infrastructure (stations, signaling, etc), and activate service with subway-like fares and frequent rush hour service.

Will the study catch the eye of an aspiring politician? The crux, vis-a-vis gaining support, is not to see this as one-off.  As a trunk line it could become the backbone for regular DMU service to other parts of the city.

The Bushwick Branch, for example, ought to be considered in efforts to decrease the bottleneck on BMT Canarsie Line (L). Service might also continue east from Jamaica to undeserved parts of Queens, or perhaps to Belmont (a site that keeps getting considered for new stadiums). It could also work as part of often-proposed X line (imagine, for example, a Bay Ridge to Long Island City loop).

The current Long Island City LIRR station, with connections to the 7, may need to be its first terminal but in the future the Montauk cutoff could be restored to provide additional connections. Could thinking bigger and in phases be the key to more political support and excitement?

The Bushwick Branch passes near four of the L’s Bushwick stops (Morgan Ave, Montrose Ave, Jefferson Ave, and Dekalb Aves). Further west ferries, buses, and the G train provide alternative transport. Further east passengers have the J,M,Z and A,C lines. Little redundancy exists, however, in this growing part of East Williamsburg.  Service to Long Island City ought, with properly designed transfers, to compete favorably with the area’s current travel times to midtown Manhattan:

One challenge arises from the spur’s connection to the Montauk branch, which is just east of Flushing Ave. In addition to several at-grade crossings the connection leads east, to Jamaica, instead of west to Long Island City. A shortcut could be taken just west of Page Place. This is milepost 2.9 of the Montauk Branch and, according to to the DOT study, a small spur already connects the Branch to an active lumber and construction service facility.  Perhaps a structure could be built to allow the the active spur to remain in operation alongside a new service? There is also a building on the east side of Grand Avenue, currently housing a grocery store, that would need to be moved or altered.

No doubt there will be naysayers wary of accelerating the area’s deindustrialization,. Certainly zoning of the East Williamsburg Industrial Park should be preserved where appropriate, but does anyone seriously expect this area’s growth to stop over the next several decades? The next century? Should we not begin transit planning now?

Source: CityLimits

Source: NYC Planing