| A Point of View on NASCAR and Commuters Neighbor and writer Vince DiMiceli wrote the following article for the NYTimes about how Staten Island could possibly get NASCAR to increase rail service on the island. Post your comments on this topic at community.lookingnorth.comunder the NASCAR heading. It's a new set up, so if the NASCAR entry isn't up yet, please check back. Thanks! Put Commuters in Pole Position By VINCE DIMICELI Published: January 15, 2006 in the New York Times Just because Nascar and its fans are car enthusiasts, that doesn't mean the proposed Nascar track on Staten Island has to add to the island's traffic problem. In fact, if Nascar could help finance the revitalization of the oldNorth Shore line of the Staten Island Railway, the track's construction could improve area transportation. The line, which has a West Shore spur that runs through the heart of the track site in the Bloomfield section, ended passenger service in 1953 when buses were a viable - and less expensive - option to train service. The city owns the property, but hasn't worked toward reopening the line. Meanwhile, the West Shore spur, along with part of the Arlington Railyard, is being rehabilitated to once again accommodate freight service from the Howland Hook Marine Terminal and lug garbage out of the island's new rail waste-transfer station at Fresh Kills. With all this work going on, and with Nascar already heavily invested and desperate to get into New York City, islanders should demand that they get dividends. And those dividends should include a direct rail link to Manhattan. If this sounds crazy, consider something crazier: the island is the only place in the tri-state region that doesn't have direct train links to Manhattan. Nascar's track could put an end to that. The North Shore line, with its connection to New Jersey via the Arthur Kill Lift Bridge, is the key. Reopen the line from the St. George Terminal, and you instantly give residents on the island's North Shore - along with any fan who shows up at a race - easy, quick and car-free access to the Staten Island Ferry. Then take things a step further: connect the lift bridge to Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line, and you're half-a-dozen stops from Penn Station without changing trains. Staten Islanders would then have their fastest commute to Midtown in history (along with a rail link to Newark Liberty Airport), and the Nascar track would have a connection to the nation's rail system and an international airport. Islanders could further benefit from more transportation investment: run a spur of the active South Shore line from the Pleasant Plains station along the West Shore Expressway (like the AirTrain to Kennedy International Airport along the Van Wyck Expressway) where it can hook up with the Nascar line near Fresh Kills. This would create a rail loop around Staten Island, giving the majority of islanders access to the train. Finally, lay about two miles of track through Fresh Kills Park to the Staten Island Mall, where you could end up with a centrally located park-and-ride terminal with the eight-lane Richmond Avenue feeding into it. Commuters could then shop at the mall after work, pack their purchases in the trunk of their cars and drive home. Who would oversee such an undertaking? Given the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's lack of interest in the island, this seems like the perfect job for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Howland Hook as well as the island's three vehicular bridges to New Jersey, one of which - the Goethals - the Port Authority is bent on twinning or replacing. Islanders should insist that if a new bridge is built alongside the Goethals, the existing structure be used for passenger-only train service, thus alleviating any conflicts the passenger service would have with freight operations. But it would take a big business with a lot on the table to get the ball rolling. According to The Staten Island Advance, Nascar's new $4.48 billion television deal hinges on the island track. With that in mind, I would say that ball is in Staten Island's court. Vince DiMiceli is the senior editor of The Brooklyn Papers. |