Governor Cuomo’s proposal to overhaul LaGuardia Airport has brought a great deal of attention to the meager state of one of the region’s most important airports. While LaGuardia is a vital link to the region, its annual passenger count pales in comparison to the masses of people relying on trans-Hudson tunnel and bus infrastructure that is decaying or at capacity.
A Tri-State analysis* shows that nearly 200 million people made a trip across the lower Hudson River (Holland/Lincoln Tunnels and George Washington Bridge) via various transit modes in 2014 while roughly 25 million passengers traveled through LaGuardia Airport–only an eighth as many people. Over the past decade, while passenger growth at LaGuardia has held relatively steady, trans-Hudson transit travel has increased over 20 percent. While the two indicators are no apples-to-apples comparison, these counts show how critical it is to invest in both Gateway and a new Port Authority Bus Terminal. Given the magnitude of people who rely on this fragile and obsolete infrastructure today and how closely intertwined the region’s growth is on expanding trans-Hudson transit capacity, it is even more important to the region that these projects be funded.
Lower trans-Hudson trips greatly surpass annual passenger counts even when considering the three major regional airports serving the New York area. In 2014, the combined passenger totals at Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy, and LaGuardia airports added up to just over 115 million people–just over half of all transit trips across the Hudson.
While projects such as Gateway, a new Port Authority Bus Terminal and PATH signal upgrades may not have the media power of a new airport, their influence on the day-to-day mobility of people and the region’s economy should not be underestimated.
*Data Source: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit and the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak).
[…] Cuomo Fixates on LaGuardia, Which Serves One-Eighth as Many People as Hudson River Crossings (MTR) […]
We keep talking about the Gateway, but ARC was far greater economic impact for the region. Gateway is an Amtrak project. ARC was a for everyone project. Because a few shortsighted people shut it down and the Feds never calling their bluff, a better option is salvaged to never be heard from again?
We need another crossing, no doubt. Make it best one we can build.
The ARC was an expensive farce, a terminal when it should have been a through station, a station far underground poorly connected to the existing station and a line that could not be extended further east. The new Amtrak project has the potential of providing far better service if the Balkanized handling of the region’s transit can be cured. And New York must contribute since it gets most of the benefit, NOT New Jersey. Go back and read the EIS for the ARC if you don’t believe me.
[…] Access to the Region’s Core rail tunnel project. Cross-Hudson capacity was cramped then, and it’s only gotten worse. Meanwhile, the Gateway Project, a $24 billion plan to build another set of tunnels under the […]