At Last: Broadway Lafayette B/D/F/V Connection to Uptown 6 Under Construction

Second Avenue Sagas blogged about this nearly two years ago and I linked to the story back then (as well as lifting this rendering just now). This would be a major improvement for Brooklynites bound for the East Side.

This may not be on MTA Capital Construction's Major Projects list, but projects like this have a tremendous improvement on quality of life . . . a few minutes a day for hundreds or thousands of people adds up to a lot more happiness in the world.

The thrust of the Daily News article today is on the temporary inconvenience to area merchants, but that shouldn't overshadow the ongoing benefit the riders will see from this connection.

Exciting Times for Transit Planning in New York City

The prospect of bringing back the F express seems to have captured the imaginations of many, which has been very gratifying. Thousands of people are eager for a better, faster, more comprehensive mass transit system.

Credit where due, the PlaNYC proposals have stimulated people's way of thinking about transit and our city. The voices in the wilderness for the past several decades have suddenly been handed a megaphone. Suddenly it seems we're taking a fresh look at the way New York gets around, and open to making big changes for the better. I'm excited about what's going on in this city today.

Here are some other proposals that are under consideration:

• Connecting the BDFV & 6 trains at Broadway-Lafayette
• Pedestrian and bike lanes on the Verrazano Bridge
• Demolishing the Gowanus Expressway after building a tunnel along the seawall - a pet project you'll here lots more about here at FirstandCourt
• Building the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel to get truck traffic off our streets and highways; trucks are destructive to infrastructure, pollute our air, and dangerous to others sharing the roadspace; a freight tunnel from New Jersey to Sunset Park would allow the movement of millions of tons of freight east of the Hudson without trucks.

Those are some of the things that get me excited about the future. We need the type of dedicated, responsible leadership that will make these proposals a reality.

Long Overdue Bleecker - Broadway-Lafayette Connection Unveiled

Second Avenue Subway Sagas has renderings and information on this planned connection between two dysfunctionally-conjoined subway stations.

Needless to say, this project will greatly improve the utility of the F line. Investing in transit makes people's daily lives better. More like this, please.

Photo credit: Lee Harris Pomeroy / www.wai.com