Acknowledging that replacing an unused but possibly vital rail line with a park might be a miscalculation, yet another community board in Queens has voted against the proposed Queensway and in favor of looking into the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach Rail Line.
Community Board 5 voted 36-2 in favor of looking into railway activation, all but damning the Queensway project. The Queensway project envisioned a High Line-like park that would run through the middle of central Queens (central Queens, by the way, is already home to the beautiful but underused Forest Park, which the new elevated park would pass through). A reactivated rail line would help connect central Queens to central Brooklyn, as well as the Rockaways, possibly as part of the long-imagined TriboroRX line, a dream of transit advocates going on thirty years.
“Woodhaven Boulevard is just overwhelmed. We need relief and the only way to relieve traffic is with public transportation,” Board Chairman Vincent Arcuri told the Queens Chronicle. “The people in the Rockaways have been clamoring for public transportation better than what they currently have for years. That A train is like going on a safari."
The rail line, which was abandoned in 1962, would need significant upgrades to bring it back into service. The cost of the upgrades, however, would still fall significantly less than any other rail solutions for the area, which is already clogged with traffic. Friends of the Queensway did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Community Board vote.
The Queensway project has already received half a million dollars from the Cuomo administration, but has been hit with steady resistance from members of the community who feel that transit, and not another park, is what's needed.
C'mon guys, this would be beautiful.
Update: Queensway has reached out to Gothamist with the following comment -- "Past studies have shown conclusively that rail reactivation is not feasible for cost, environmental and logistical reasons. As a result, the QueensWay sits as a prime example of urban neglect. We are highly confident and excited that when our study is complete, we will have a plan that will - as State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli rightfully noted in his report on economic development in Queens last week - help revitalize our neighborhoods, serve the thousands of families looking for safe, usable park space and highlight the cultural diversity and greatness of Central Queens. These projects take time and a lot of planning and we are making some very exciting progress."
