Transit Construction Commissioner A Report by the Chief Engineer submitting for Consideration a Comprehensive Rapid Transit Plan Covering all Boroughs of the City of New York {Reprinted from Minutes of Transit Construction Com- missioner of August 2, 1920) OFFICE OF TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION COMMISSIONER 49 Lafayette Street New York, N. Y. John H. Delaney, Daniel L. Turner, Commissioner Chief Engineer Ex iCtbrts SEYMOUR DURST When you leave, please leave this book Because it has been said "Ever'thinQ comes f him who waits Except a loaned book." AVI KY Al<( IIITI ( Tl RAI AND F* INI AIM S LIBRARY (ill I Ol Si YMOI'R \i. 1)1 KM ()| I) Y<)KK I.IUR ARY Si«ii«TICIAN8 JAH 26 1921 INTRODUCTION For proper municipal growth and development well-considered City planning is absolutely essential. No satisfactory City plan can be devised without giving proper study to transit requirements and facilities. In fact, without proper and adequate transit service normal municipal growth is certain to be retarded and abnormal and con- gested conditions develop in certain metropolitan districts and strangulation of growth results in neglected areas. The Transit Construction Commissioner, realizing the necessity of an orderly development of rapid transit lines in all sections of the City, authorized Chief Engineer Daniel L. Turner to study and formulate a plan representing his conception of the problem and its solution. The report was presented July 29th and was ordered printed for distribution without official action being taken upon its recommendations. The purpose of publication is to evoke suggestion and criticism. It should be borne in mind that it is not contemplated that the comprehensive transit scheme in its entirety should be undertaken at once but that it should be proceeded with gradually and continuously. 6ox orough subway, the Jerome Avenue elevated line, the Webster Avenue elevated line, and the West Farms branch of the Interhorough subway to the City line. West Bronx north of the Harlem River will also be made accessible to the Center by means of the new Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue trunk line. Ql'EENS In Queens, Flushing will be connected up with the Dual System by means of the Corona branch extension. The Steinway Tunnel line will be extended down Eighth Avenue, Manhattan, through the Center into lower Manhattan, thus providing direct access without transfer into and -through the Center for the Queens people now being served by the Steinway Tunnel line and its branches. Queens will also be brought into direct connection with Brooklyn by means of the proposed crosstown line connecting with the Brighton Beach line at Franklin Avenue, thereby giving Queens direct access to Coney Lland without requiring its people to enter and travel through Manhattan. Brooklyn The Fulton Street elevated line in Brooklyn at or about Ashland Place will be provided With a new subway and river tunnel connection into and through Manhattan, 5 thereby providing the territory traversed by the Fulton Street elevated line with the much needed improvement in its transit facilities. A new and direct subway and river tunnel connection into and through Manhattan will be provided for the Culver line, thereby relieving the much overloaded Fourth Avenue Subway, and consequently affording additional facilities to the South Brooklyn section. Another connection to Coney Island by way of an extension of the Nostrand Avenue line will be provided, thereby furnishing the people using the Intcrborough lines in Brooklyn and in Manhattan direct connection with Coney Island for a single fare. The crosstown line through Brooklyn connecting the Brighton Beach line at Franklin Avenue with the Astoria branch in Queens will provide convenient crosstown facilities along the water- front in Brooklyn, and because of the fact that it will intersect practically all other rapid transit lines in Brooklyn, will also afford a convenient medium of interchange between such lines. Richmond Richmond will be provided with its first rapid transit facilities by means of the tunnels under the Narrows connecting Richmond with the southern extremity of the existing Fourth Avenue Subway. Manhattan Two new East and West Side trunk line subways, with their branches at their northern and southern extremities, will provide the additional facilities required to meet the increased traffic demands through the congested Center, and will also afford additional access to the Center for those lines serving the outlying boroughs. The three moving platform lines will enable all the traffic which will reach the Center over the old and new lines to be distributed conveniently to any point within the Center. The new West Side trunk line, because of its proposed connection with the existing Lenox Avenue branch, and its new branch to be extended through the upper West Side of Manhattan, will furnish for the upper West Side section such new transit facilities as this rapidly growing territory requires. Consequently, the proposed 25-year program will mean greatly improved transit facilities for every borough of the City. It is impracticable to estimate the construction cost of this 25-year program because of the long period over which the construction would extend. At pre-war prices, however, it is estimated that such a construction program would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $175,000,000. At present prices it is estimated that this cost would amount to $350,000,000, so that the construction cost of carrying out such a program would probably be somewhere between these two figures. These figures do not include interest during construction or engineering and superintendence. No estimate has been made of the cost of equipping the lines included in the program. The operators of the lines would be required to do this. The work of carrying out such plans should be begun immediately and proceeded with gradually and continuously if the transit facilities of the City are in any degree to keep pace with the tremendous traffic growth. The new transit lines should precede the population. The new transit plan should be the basis of the City plan. Upon these two cardinal principles the future of the City depends. The foresight exercised in developing its transit facilities and in conforming its future expansion thereto will largely determine the prosperity of New York City in the years to come. Very truly yours, DANIEL L. TURNER, Chief Engineer. Dated July 29, 1920. 6 PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE RAPID TRANSIT PLAN COVERING ALL OF THE BOROUGHS OF NEW YORK CITY The Enormous Traffic Growth In the past the traffic on the street railway lines in New York City has nearly doubled every ten years. In 1913, the year the Dual Contracts were signed, the rapid transit lines in Manhattan and Brooklyn (subway and elevated lines together) carried 810,000,000 passengers. In 1920 the rapid transit lines, including the old and new lines, will carry about 1,333,000,000 passengers for the year. This means that the rapid transit traffic per year has already increased 523,000,000 passengers, although the Dual System is not yet completely in operation. The present year's rapid transit traffic — 1,333,000,000 passengers — is nearly one- half of the total traffic capacity of the Dual System. The Interborough trunk lines in Manhattan are saturated now in the rush hours one way. In about another ten years the whole Dual System will have become saturated with traffic. The first Interborough subway, just before service on the two new East and West Side lines was inaugurated, carried a maximum of 418,000,000 passengers per year. The old and new Interborough subways, although the new lines will have been in operation only about two years, will carry this year about 577,000.000 passengers — an increase of 38 per cent, in about two years. The New York Municipal Railway lines in 1918, at about the same time the East and West Side Interborough service was begun, carried about 258,000,000 rapid transit passengers per year. This year they will approximate 378,000,000 passengers — an increase of about 46 per cent, in two years. In 1910 it was estimated that the total traffic on all lines for 1920 (surface, subway and elevated lines) would amount to about 2,600,000,000 passengers. For the year ending June 30, 1920, the traffic amounted to about 2,400,000,000 passengers — practically substantiating the estimate of ten years ago. The total traffic to be provided for in 1945, twenty-five years hence, is estimated to amount to somewhere around 5,000.000,- 000 passengers. The population of New York then will be somewhere around nine and a half million people. The foregoing figures are sufficient to indicate the enormity of the traffic growth for which municipal transportation must be provided if the development and the prosperity of the City are not to be held back. The Dual Subway System In order to keep pace with the enormous traffic growth, the City must build more transit facilities — then more again — and still more again — and must keep on doing this continually. This necessity has been recognized since the inception of the first subway line. Before the first subway began to operate in 1904, studies were being made for additional rapid transit lines by Mr. Parsons, then Chief Fngineer of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. Subsequently Mr. Rice, who succeeded Mr. Parsons as Chief Engineer, carried on these studies, with the result that before the Public Service Commission came into office an extensive system of proposed new rapid transit routes had been laid down in Manhattan, The Bronx and Brooklyn. These proposed new lines to a large extent served as a basis for the routes subsequently included in the Dual Contracts. When the responsibility for the City's transit develop- ment was vested in the Public Service Commission, it continued with the development 7 program which had been initiated by its predecessor. Its Chief Engineers, Mr. Rice, Mr. Seaman and Mr. Craven, all submitted schemes for extensions. But despite all of the efforts of the public authorities, nothing material was accomplished in the way of providing for additional facilities until 1913, nine years after the first subway was put into operation. At this time, as a result of this nine years of effort, the Dual Subway System was consummated, and the contracts between the City and the Inter- borough Rapid Transit Company and the New York Municipal Railway Corporation were entered into on March 19, 1913. The Dual System contracts practically doubled the trackage and trebled the capacity of the then existing rapid transit facilities, including the City's subway system and the elevated systems of the Interborough Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company. The combined system, the old and new lines, has an estimated capacity of about three billion passengers annually. Since the Dual System contracts were signed the attention of the Public Service Commission and the Transit Construction Commissioner necessarily has been devoted almost entirely to the completion of these contracts. The extraordinary conditions brought about by the World War and later by our participation in it have greatly delayed the work and largely increased its cost, so that we have just succeeded, only now, after seven years, in getting the major portion of the system into operation. During this period, although various minor extensions of the system have been under consideration, no comprehensive plan for future development has been laid down. The Dual System contracts were nine years too late in getting started. The war has delayed their completion, so that now the construction program is fully ten years behind the transit requirements. The time has now arrived when we must look ahead again. A comprehensive plan for the enlargement of the rapid transit system must be developed. The work of carrying out such a plan must be begun immediately and proceeded with gradually and continuously if the transit facilities are in any degree to keep pace with the tremendous traffic growth. New Transit Lines Should Precede the Population — Not Follow the Population The Dual System was planned primarily in such a way as to best serve the whole community. New lines were laid down through the congested areas. But instead of confining all the new lines to old lines of travel, or to the already congested sections, lines also were laid down in wholly undeveloped portions of the City. It was expected that this principle in planning rapid transit lines, in conjunction with the new zoning law limiting the height of buildings in congested sections, would work together so as to distribute the population of the Greater City rather than to further concentrate it. In other words, as far as practicable, the idea followed in planning the system was that the transit facilities should precede the population — not follow the population. In conformity with this principle, the program provided rapid transit lines through the Borough of Queens, where no rapid transit facilities had previously existed and where the population was very small. New lines were also laid down in undeveloped portions of Brooklyn and The Bronx. To bring all of these lines into and through the business center and at the same time to provide service for the congested sections, new trunk lines were provided traversing Manhattan. The enlarged program provided rapid transit for every borough of the City except Richmond. War Conditions Have Caused Early Congestion on Manhattan Trunk Lines The 14th Street-Eastern line, routing along 14th Street in Manhattan and running into and through Brooklyn, is the only line which has not been completed sufficiently to permit operation in part. The trunk lines through Manhattan have all been completed and placed in opera- tion, together with most of their outlying collecting and distributing branches. Delays due to the war, however, have retarded the completion of a number of these collecting 8 and distributing branches. Furthermore, the war effort practically stopped all building operations. Consequently, practically no new housing facilities have been provided along the collecting and distributing branches which are in operation. The result of this has been that the distribution of the population, which the system was intended to effect, has practically been rendered impossible for the time being. Experience has shown that as the transit facilities become mere and more con- gested, the City's population drifts away into the surrounding suburban districts. As soon as new transit facilities go into operation there is a prompt return of large portions of this population. This returning population together with such new popu- lat ion that has come to the City has mostly endeavored to find housing along the main trunk lines traversing Manhattan and The Bronx. For this reason largely the Man- hattan facilities one way in the rush hours, particularly on the old and new subway lines, immediately have become inordinately congested. As soon as building opera- tions become normal again, and housing facilities can be provided along the collecting and distributing branches in the undeveloped portions of the outlying boroughs, the future population growth will be better distributed. Nevertheless, it is imperative that a new program should be laid down for further development of the transit system, so that as soon as the financial condition of the City will permit it, a new rapid transit building program can be inaugurated and be continuously carried on. In the Fall of 1919, as early as the circumstances had permitted, I began the studies for the comprehensive extension program which is now submitted. Convenient Rapid Transit Service Basis of Transit Plan The primary function of a municipal transportation system is to provide the public with convenient and adequate transit facilities. The question of profit to the operat- ing companies and to the City is a secondary matter. Convenient and adequate facilities mean facilities which are easily accessible and are speedy enough to permit the longest distance rider to travel from home to business — including walk at each end — within an hour. In the case of a city which can be included in a circumscribed radius of four or five miles or thereabouts from the center, surface facilities are all that are required. These facilities may consist of street railway lines or bus lines. Such facilities usually consist of single car or bus operation, although sometimes trailer cars are added in the case of the street railway lines. The speed of such vehicles during the heavy traffic hours, including stops, approximates seven miles per hour. At such a speed in a four or five-mile radius city no one need take longer than the hour to reach his work — or, homeward bound, reach his home. When a city has developed to a point where its outer limits exceed four or five miles from the center, the congestion in traffic which has developed and the time which is con- sumed in traveling become such factors that travel on the surface is no longer sufficient, and faster means of transit must be provided between home and business — or between the outlying sections and the center. At this time rapid transit lines must be developed. The first rapid transit lines may be two-track lines — similar to the Manhattan and Brook- lyn elevated lines, for example. On such lines, including all stops, passengers can travel at about 15 or 16 miles per hour, so that a 10 or 12-mile radius city can be served properly. As the outer limits of the city become more and more distant from the center, the transit speed must be increased. In response to this requirement the express-local transit service has been developed, similar to the subway lines in Manhattan and Brooklyn. On these express-local lines passengers can travel through the outlying sections on the local trains, making all stops, at the rate of about 16 miles per hour, and through the center on express trains at about 25 miles per hour. The average speed from the outer limits to the center increases with the increase in the length of the express tracks. A line with express tracks running to the end of it could properly serve an 18-milc radius city. In New York, with the existing proportion of express tracks on the subway lines, 9 the average speed from the circumference to the center of the City is about 18 miles per hour, thereby, on the hour standard, furnishing satisfactory service 12 miles out. The combination express-local service will thus bring passengers into the center fast enough to permit them to complete their trip between home and work within the desired hour. Rapid transit lines cannot be located on the street surface. They must be located either on elevated structures, in open cuts, or in subways, where they will not be inter- fered with by the ordinary street uses. In the beginning, rapid transit lines are only sup- plementary to the surface facilities. They provide adequate and convenient transit along the more congested lines of travel to the outermost limits of the City. The surface lines at this time still take care of the short-haul travel. As the population increases and as the City spreads out still further from the center, more and more rapid transit facilities must be provided. At the same time also the surface facilities are added to meet the increased demands of the short-haul traffic. This growth in the transit facilities- surface and rapid transit — goes on until finally the major portion of the population must rely almost entirely upon rapid transit lines to transfer them from their homes to their work and back again. New York City has arrived at this point of transit development. From now on its transit program must be planned on the basis of serving the whole City conveniently with rapid transit lines. In a sense, this means that surface transit must be replaced by elevated, open-cut or subway transit. Or in other words, surface line service must give way to rapid transit service. This evolution in city transit in New York — particularly in Man- hattan — is necessary not only because of the tremendous traffic increases which must be accommodated, but also because this is one way in which additional street capacity for vehicles can be obtained. It may be assumed that convenient rapid transit service will be provided if a prospective passenger is not required to walk much more than half a mile to reach a rapid transit line routing towards the business center, which is the objective point for most of the traffic. Most people can walk a half mile in ten minutes. On this basis of planning the rapid transit lines will be about a mile apart in the residential districts, but as they approach the center they will route closer to- gether, to the extent of traversing every street in extreme cases. For crosstown service in the outlying sections rapid transit lines two miles apart will conveniently serve the community. At the center the crosstown lines must be closer together. They must be close enough to provide sufficient transfer capacity, as capacity and not convenience is the controlling factor in such location. When its transit program conforms to this standard of convenient service New York City will have been provided with a complete rapid transit system, and in effect its surface car system will have been replaced by a rapid transit system, as must be the case to relieve surface congestion. The Transit Plan Should Be the Basis of the Future City Plan Such a program will require many years for its consummation. In the meantime the art will develop. Therefore planning so far in advance of actual immediate require- ments necessarily assumes that the plan will be modified in many particulars before it is ever completely carried out. Nevertheless, it is desirable to look as far ahead as possible. The laying down of a comprehensive plan now means that each element of the plan as it is needed in the larger transit scheme can be considered and developed in its relation to the whole plan. A better co-ordination of the various parts of the plan can thus be effected. Furthermore, the City can only grow as its urban transportation system expands. Its development in the future must conform to its new transit lines. In short, the transit plan should be the real basis for the City plan. This means that in the undeveloped sections of the City the new street plans and the new transit plans should be considered together. The new streets should be wide enough to permit the construction of elevated lines through their center in such a way as not to injuriously 10 affect contiguous property. The central space on both sides of the elevated line and beneath it could be transformed into parkways. Through the congested districts some of the underneath space could be utilized for automobile storage purposes. Or better, the street plan should provide narrow rights-of-way between the streets through which such elevated lines can be built. Again, it may be desirable to locate the rapid transit lines in open cuts. This is probably the most desirable type of construction. Wider streets, or special rights-of-way, also are necessary for this kind of line. The street plan should take this into account. For these reasons, and for many others, therefore, the formulation of a comprehensive transit plan at this time is justifiable. The Comprehensive Plan The complete comprehensive rapid transit system proposed, based on convenient service to the whole City, is shown on the plan, entitled " Map of Proposed Compre- hensive Rapid Transit Plan Covering All of the Boroughs of Greater New York," dated June, 1920, transmitted herewith. On this plan the existing rapid transit facilities — those included in the Dual Contracts — are shown in solid lines. The proposed additional lines and extensions to the existing lines are shown in broken lines. In the outlying sections of Queens and in Richmond only the approximate location of the lines has been indicated, for the reason that the territories traversed by these proposed routes have not yet been provided with a complete street system. As already pointed out, it will be advantageous therefore in connection with the future planning of the street systems in these territories to consider the prospective rapid transit lines. Throughout the developed parts of the City the new lines conform to the existing street plans. It is not to be assumed that in such a comprehensive layout the actual location of the lines may not be changed at the time the lines are actually laid down for construction. The plan is only intended to indicate their approximate position. In other words, the plan is meant to show generally the number of such new lines and their approximate location, on the theory that all portions of the City will eventually be entitled to con- venient access to rapid transit lines. All Transit Lines Enter and Traverse the Center In the development of the plan every collecting and distributing branch traversing The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond is routed into and through the center in Manhattan. The center in Manhattan is assumed to include that portion of Manhattan below 59th Street. In other words, all transit lines, wherever they may originate in the outlying boroughs, enter and traverse the center, so as to afford the same degree of accessibility to this 8 square miles from all of the 315 square miles constituting the whole City. The circumstances demand this. But it would be better if other centers could be created and thus avoid focussing the active life of the entire community in one area. The tendency is to concentrate activities — not disperse them. Originally there were five communities, but these were consolidated into one. Each borough to a certain degree still maintains its individuality, and within its own boundaries contains its particular social and commercial districts, but the most of the borough activities are concentrated in the one area in Manhattan used by all of the boroughs in com- mon. Here the great majority of the workers of the whole City find their daily occupations. Here the most attractive shopping districts are located. Here the ammc mcnts for the entire City are segregated. In short, this is the real community center for the entire City. It is and most likely will continue to be the objective point for most of the municipal travelers. Now our problem is with a single community — not five communities — and we must meet and deal with the conditions as they exist. In the case of the lines serving Richmond — six two-track collecting and distributing lines — three of the lines reach the center in lower Manhattan by way of Brooklyn. The first Richmond lines should not only provide transit for Richmond, but also should 11 traverse and serve Brooklyn. The other three, those for later development, reach the center by way of New Jersey. Their routing through New Jersey has not been de- termined. Before these last lines can be constructed necessary treaty arrangements will have to be effected between the States of New York and New Jersey. Maximum Traffic Through Center by Means of Two-way Traffic Lines As far as it has been practicable to do so, every trunk line traversing the center in Manhattan is connected at both extremities with collecting and distributing branches in such a way as to develop a two-way traffic, thereby utilizing such trunk lines for the movement of fully loaded trains in both directions during each rush hour, in this way making use of the street system through the center to its maximum capacity for rapid transit service. Even under such conditions, however, practically every north and south avenue through the center of Manhattan will be utilized by rapid transit lines. Two-story Subways Are Proposed Because There Are Not Enough North and South Avenues for Necessary Trunk Lines In some cases it is proposed to utilize the north and south avenues for rapid transit purposes to a greater extent than ever before contemplated. It is necessary to do this because there are not enough up and down avenues available for trunk lines. From the City Hall to 125th Street, including Broadway, there are only eleven through avenues. Two avenues, Sixth and Seventh, are cut off by Central Park, with no population to serve, and which is filled with lakes and reservoirs to build under. Above 125th Street there are still fewer through avenues. The eleven through avenues connect and serve about 150 effective crosstown streets to 125th Street. Expressed in another way, Man- hattan from the Battery to Spuyten Duyvil has approximately 100 miles of north and south thoroughfares to serve approximately 325 miles of crosstown streets — or the ratio of crosstown to longitudinal streets is over three to one. Again, the exterior, or marginal, avenues do not go through the most important part of the center; therefore their use is not, and is never likely to be, as intensive as those nearer the median line. These conditions explain the inordinate congestion which exists along all north and south travel lines. Consequently, since the avenues are too few in number, it is proposed to multiply their use underground. In the case of one avenue, Eighth Avenue, a two- story eight-track subway is proposed. In the case of another avenue, Madison Avenue, a two-story six-track subway is proposed. All of the tracks in these two-story subways will probably not be constructed at the same time. Some new lines will have to be provided soon on the West Side and some on the East Side of Manhattan. Probably two-story lines will have to be started in Eighth Avenue and in Madison Avenue at about the same time, but with only two tracks in each story, provision being made in locating the line in the street and in constructing it so that the remaining tracks can be added later on. An effort has been made to bring the trunk lines throughout the center as near the median line of Manhattan as possible. In this manner the majority of the rapid transit lines through the center south of 59th Street is contained within the section between Ninth Avenue on the West Side and Lexington Avenue on the East Side. The trunk lines are routed north and south in as straight lines as practicable, which will at the same time permit them to be brought closest to the median line. Moving Platforms for Distribution of Traffic in the Center Loops within the center are objectionable because they segregate traffic to such an extent as to create a menacing congestion of all kinds — pedestrian, vehicular and transit congestion. The best way of providing convenient crosstown connections between all lines is by means of a number of crosstown lines routing practically from river to river. Surface 12 lines may be utilized at first if proper transfer arrangements are effected. But where the traffic is dense, in order to relieve the street for other uses and to accelerate transit movements, the railway traffic should be placed underground. It is believed that the most desirable way of furnishing such crosstown connections is by means of under- ground moving platform lines. The comprehensive program therefore includes five such moving platform lines crossing through Manhattan in 14th, 23d, 34th, 42d and 57th Streets. With a number of crosstown lines the transferring would not be con- centrated but would be distributed over many points. By two transfers, including two rides on north and south trunk lines and one ride on a moving platform line, the enormous number of passengers reaching the center could conveniently reach any point within the center. Two outlying crosstown lines have been laid down in the comprehensive plan. One is a proposed Brooklyn Waterfront Crosstown Line through Queens and Brooklyn, from Astoria to South Brooklyn. This line was under con- templation in part when the Dual System plan was formulated. The other is a proposed Manhattan-Bronx-to-the-ocean crosstown line. It starts on the West Side of Man- hattan in 155th Street, crosses Manhattan, routes along 161st Street in The Bronx, across the Sound and Riker's Island, across Queens to and along the Long Island right- of-way to Rockaway. By means of this line and a single transfer everyone in upper Manhattan and in The Bronx can ride directly to the ocean. It is expected that other crosstown rapid transit lines will have to be provided traversing Brooklyn and Queens, and possibly The Bronx, but the location of such lines can best be determined upon as a result of the future growth of the City. 21 More Two-track Tunnel Crossings Proposed At the present time there are 34 single-track river crossings connecting Manhattan with The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. The proposed plan contemplates adding 42 single-track river crossings. All of these crossings will be by means of tunnels. This means, therefore, that the comprehensive program includes 21 additional two- track tunnel lines under the waters surrounding Manhattan and connecting Manhattan with The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Richmond. 830 Single-track Miles of New Rapid Transit Facilities The proposed new routes have not been studied in detail. It is therefore impossible to say how much of the mileage will be underground mileage and how much of it elevated mileage. The total new mileage, including the new lines, extensions and moving platforms, and including the third tracks, amounts to about 830 single-track miles of additional rapid transit facilities. The Dual System has 616 miles of single track. The proposed new facilities therefore would considerably more than double the Dual System mileage. The third tracks do not traverse the center and therefore do not add materially to capacity, but they permit of decreasing the time of travel between the outlying limits and the center. Twelve extensions to the existing lines are proposed. 31 Additional Subway Tracks Through the Center for Rush-hour Traffic The Intcrborough East and West Side trunk lines contain four tracks each, or eight tracks altogether, At the present time only six of these eight tracks carry loaded trains through the center during the rush hours. Relatively empty trains travel over the other two tracks, ^n other words, only two pairs of these tracks develop a two-way traffic; the other two pairs develop only a one-way traffic. It is proposed at some future time to connect up the two one-way traffic pairs to Brooklyn, thereby trans- forming them into two-way traffic pairs, and in this manner obtain an additional two- track capacity through the center during the rush hours. Similarly it is proposed to 13 extend the pair of tracks of the New York Municipal four-track trunk line which now terminates at 59th Street into upper Manhattan so as to secure another full capacity movement through the center, which with the two Interborough full capacity movements will add three new full capacity movements altogether. At the present time traversing the center north and south there are 7 trunk lines, consisting of 20 tracks (excluding 3d tracks). There are proposed 6 new trunk lines, consisting of 28 tracks, thus making a total of 13 trunk lines, consisting of 48 tracks, running north and south in Manhattan through the center. The three new full capacity movements, with the 28 new tracks which are proposed under the comprehensive plan, will furnish 31 additional full capacity tracks through the center, all connected with collecting and distributing branches running out into and through the outlying sections of all of the boroughs. The Equivalent of the Comprehensive Plan Might Be Required in Seventy-five Years Based on present-day degree of utilization of tracks and present-day types of equipment, the proposed additional trunk line tracks would be able to develop a capacity of somewhere around 7,000,000,000 passengers per year. It is not humanly pos- sible to predetermine when all of these facilities may be needed. The art of trans- portation may so change that they may never be needed in subways. On the other hand, considering past conditions and assuming development generally along present lines, some degree of approximation may be made as to when the equivalent of the comprehensive plan may be required. Rapid transit in New York City began about fifty-two years ago — in 1868. This year the total traffic on all transportation lines — surface, subway and elevated lines — will amount to about 2,400,000,000 passengers. This figure practically represents the growth of traffic in fifty-two years. But the greater part of this growth has occurred during the last twenty-five years, not- withstanding the increase in travel by automobile. In this period the total traffic has increased about 1,700,000,000 passengers. If only the same rate of increase is assumed for the next seventy-five years, the traffic to be cared for then would amount to 7,500,000,000 passengers. But from the beginning to the present time the rate of growth has continually increased. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that in seventy- five years the traffic may amount to somewhere around 9,000,000,000 passengers — 7,600,000,000 more than are now carried. If, in the future, most of the traffic is rapid transit traffic, then the 7,000,000,000 additional capacity provided by the proposed comprehensive plan would not much more than suffice for the City's transit needs seventy-five years hence. Eight New Trunk Line Tracks Through the Center Required in Next Twenty- five Years Although it is not possible to look ahead to the end, it is practicable to see forward to the near future. If twenty-five years from now 5,000,000,000 passengers must be accommodated, and most of them on rapid transit lines, it means that enough facilities must be added to serve 2,600,000.000 passengers. Eight new trunk line tracks through the center with collecting and distributing branches running out from their extremities would be sufficient to do this. Supplementing the new trunk lines, three crosstown moving platforms should be constructed to supply proper distributing facilities through- out the center. Also, two of the existing one-way traffic lines should be extended 14 north or south, as the case may be. in order that their full trunk line capacity through the center may be utilized. Extensions and Betterments Needed Besides these facilities some extensions to the existing lines ought to be built, and such betterments effected as the developments in the art may indicate to be desirable. The service in our subways is the most attractive municipal transit service in the world. The all-day express service coupled with convenient interchange between express and local trains is the outstanding feature of this service. But the effect of this kind of operation has been to unbalance the use of the express and local tracks. On the Interborough lines ten-car express trains are operated and six-car local trains, and despite the difference in the size of the trains the intensity of loading is greater on the express than on the local trains. Observations made at one time indicated that nearly one-third of all the subway passengers used two trains to reach their destination — express and local or local and express. A great many use three trains. This char- acter of service is popular and is a public convenience, but it is had at a sacrifice to subway capacity. Some way should be found to equalize the use of the express and local tracks. If this could be done and ten-car local trains utilized the capacity would immediately be increased 25 per cent., and probably much more, with the same intensity of use of the two classes of service. An equalizing method of operation was suggested at one time, but it did not meet with favor. It may be necessary to adopt some such plan later. The Most Important New Routes Proposed The foregoing covers the most salient points of the proposed development program. It is unnecessary to discuss the various routes and extensions in detail. Some of the most important routes, however, may be mentioned. The earliest additional facility which can be provided for upper Manhattan on the West Side is by means of the construction of a proposed two-track extension of the New York Municipal Railway Corporation Broadway-Seventh Avenue line up Central Park West and Eighth Avenue (or Seventh Avenue) to the Harlem River. The effect of such a line would be to immediately relieve the Sixth and Ninth Avenue elevated line by providing additional facilities for the territory north of 110th Street and east of Morningside Park. It would also tend to relieve the existing Interborough subway west of Central Park from 96th Street to 59th Street. If the route followed Seventh Avenue instead of Eighth Avenue north of 110th Street, the present Lenox branch would be relieved, thereby enabling the Lenox-Broadway service to be reduced and the upper Manhattan-Broadway service to be correspondingly increased. This two-track subway extension would mean building a line only from 59th Street north to the Harlem River. This would be a collecting and distributing branch to the existing Broadway-Seventh Avenue subway now being operated by the New York Municipal Railway Corporation and would take the people using it down the center of Manhattan via Broadway to City Hall and below. In other words, only the branch would need to be built. The trunk line is already available. A suggestion was made at one time that such an extension should traverse St. Nicholas Avenue and Broadway to the upper end of Manhattan Island, thereby affording relief to this section of Manhattan. A sugges- tion has been made recently that this branch follow St. Nicholas Avenue and Fort Washington Avenue to Spuytcn Duyvil. The disadvantages of extending this two-track line by way of either of these proposed routes are that it would be a very long two-track branch, and also it would be too close to park areas and other areas not available for housing developments. For these reasons it would not provide the most desirable transit facilities for the section north of 155th Street in upper Manhattan. Increased facilities IS for this territory can better be provided by the proposed Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue-Broadway trunk line, which is proposed to be built all the way from 155th Street south to the Battery. The territory in Question therefore in upper Manhattan north of 155th Street would be served by this latter route with a relatively short collecting and distributing branch, and would be provided with express service all the way south of 155th Street. Ultimately it is proposed that the Lenox Avenue-West Farms connection of the original subway should be transferred from the present Interborough Seventh Avenue- Broadway line to the new Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line, the necessary tracks for such connection being provided in the new line. This would free the Seventh Avenue-Broadway line for the exclusive use of upper Manhattan, and would at the same time provide the Lenox Avenue-West Farms branch with a West Side connection as at present. The principal new line proposed for the West Side of Manhattan is the Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue trunk line previously referred to. This would be con- nected with distributing and collecting branches both at the northern and southern extremities of the line. At the northern extremity from 155th Street a branch would cross the Harlem River and traverse The Bronx through 161st Street, Longwood Ave- nue and Randall Avenue to Throggs Neck. This branch, part way through The Bronx, where it is to be paralleled by the proposed Manhattan-Bronx-to-the-ocean crosstown line would be a 4-track line. Another branch would traverse upper Manhattan via Fort Washington Avenue to Spuyten Duyvil and thence via Netherland Avenue through the Riverdale section. Below 155th Street the line would be a 4-track line through Amster- dam Avenue to 103d Street, where the Lenox Avenue-West Farms connection would come in. From this point to 86th Street it would be a 6-track line. At 86th Street two tracks would come in from Queens via 86th Street. From this point south via Amster- dam Avenue, 57th Street and Eighth Avenue, the line would be of eight tracks. At 57th Street two tracks would go down Tenth Avenue. These would be the two tracks which are provided for the Lenox Avenue- West Farms connection. In other words, the Lenox Avenue-West Farms connection would route down Amsterdam Avenue and Tenth Avenue all the way to 14th Street, and thence down Washington Street to some point near the Battery, from which point at some future time a two-track tunnel may be con- structed across to New Jersey and through New Jersey to a connection with the Borough of Richmond. At 41st Street the Steinway Tunnel line from the East would connect with the eight-track Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line. The Eighth Avenue line would continue south to 23d Street, where another line from Brooklyn would connect in. Below 23d Street the line would be six tracks through Eighth Avenue and Hudson Street. At Bedford Street — the southern extremity of the trunk line — two tracks would turn off to the east, to be later extended as shown into and through Broadway, Brooklyn. At Grand Street two more tracks would branch off to the east, also to be extended into Brooklyn as shown. The two remaining tracks would continue down Hudson and Washington Streets to the Battery and cross over to Brooklyn via Governor's Island and Hamilton Avenue to Third Avenue. That is, all of the collecting and distributing branches from the southern extremity of the line would enter and traverse Brooklyn. Under Contract No. 3 the Steinway Tunnel line terminated at Seventh Avenue. Under this arrangement the people using this line would not be provided with a route through the center except by transfer. One of the first of the additional facilities to be provided should be the extension of the Steinway Tunnel through 41st Street to Eighth Avenue, to a connection with the proposed Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line, and down Eighth Avenue to the Pennsylvania Station, thereby providing a direct connection between the Grand Central and Pennsylvania stations without change of cars. If it is not practicable to provide for the entire construction of the 16 proposed Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue trunk line immediately, then that portion of the line below 41st Street through the lower part of Manhattan might be constructed first, thereby providing a route into lower Manhattan for those passengers using the Steinway Tunnel line. However, it is important that the Eighth Avenue- Amsterdam Avenue line be constructed in its entirety as soon as the financial con- dition of the City will permit it, for the reason that it is the only way in which the transit facilities for the upper West Side of Manhattan can be materially improved. The existing Interborough subway is the only rapid transit line now serving this por- tion of the City. It is greatly congested, so that of all portions of Manhattan the need for additional transit facilities is most pressing on the upper West Side. There- fore, if the Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line could be built in its entirety now, or in a short while, it would not only relieve the congestion in the upper West Side of Manhattan, but would also provide for the adequate extension of the Steinway Tunnel line previously referred to. The principal new line to be provided on the East Side of Manhattan is the pro- posed Madison Avenue line. This line would begin at the Harlem River as a 4-track trunk line, with a possible 2-track connection to The Bronx, and extend down Madison Avenue to 86th Street, where two tracks would branch to the east into and through Queens, which together with the two-track branch from the Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line on the West Side, would constitute a 4-track trunk line to Queens. From 86th Street south to 23d Street the Madison Avenue line would be a 6-track line. At 23d Street one 2-track branch would extend down Fifth Avenue, Greene Street and Church Street to about Chambers Street, where eventually the line would turn west under the Hudson River to New Jersey and to Richmond. At Madison Avenue and 23d Street two tracks would terminate; the other tracks would extend down Third Avenue to about Third Street, where they would turn east and cross the East River to Brooklyn, connecting with a 4-track trunk line in Broadway, this trunk line in Brooklyn thus being served by an East Side 2-track connection via Madison Avenue, and a West Side 2-track connection via the Eighth Avenue line already described. The Fourth Avenue-Lexington Avenue subway is now heavily overcrowded. The neighborhood around the Grand Central Terminal is rapidly building up. Large increases in hotel facilities are being planned. Numerous extensive office building projects are taking form. In a relatively short time the existing subway will be wholly unable to meet the transit requirements of the East Side of Manhattan, and particularly of the Grand Central neighborhood. Consequently, to meet this pressing demand, the proposed Madison Avenue line will have to be placed under construction in the near future. With respect to Queens, its first need is the extension of the Corona line to Flushing, and the extension of the Steinway Tunnel line west and down Eighth Avenue as already described. In the case of Brooklyn, the most pressing need is for additional trunk line facil- ities into and through Manhattan. These facilities can best be provided, first, by build- ing a subway and tunnel connection via Livingston and Washington Streets, Brooklyn, and into Manhattan to a connection with the two tracks of the New York Municipal Railway Corporation four-track Broadway trunk line which now terminates at City Hall. In Brooklyn this two-track subway temporarily could connect with the Fulton Street elevated line at or near Ashland Place. This project has already been suggested. Later, another two-track subway and tunnel crossing to Manhattan could be provided, starting in Brooklyn in Fulton Street in the neighborhood of Ashland Place at about the same point that the former line is proposed to begin, and routing through State Street and via a tunnel to a connection with the spur provided at the lower end of the Whitehall Street subway of the New York Municipal Railway Corporation. When this new crossing is constructed it would probably be desirable to extend the four-track 17 subway through Fulton Street in Brooklyn to East New York. If this is done, the present Montague street tunnels will be given over to the exclusive use of the Centre Street Loop and Nassau Street lines. For Richmond, the first thing that is needed is to provide a tunnel crossing at the Narrows connecting Richmond with the center of Manhattan via the Fourth Avenue subway. Xo rapid transit facilities have yet been provided for the Borough of Rich- mond. This tunnel crossing, therefore, should be one of the first projects advanced. Shortly after the Fourth Avenue subway is connected up with Richmond it will prob- ably be necessary to deflect the Sea Beach line from it. The Sea Beach line is a company-built line. It will be necessary some time to provide an additional outlet for this line into and through Manhattan. This can be done by way of a four-track route through Second Avenue, Smith Street and Jay Street to Park Avenue extended. From this point two tracks would join the waterfront crosstown line and two tracks would continue by a tunnel crossing to the East Side of Manhattan, connecting with an East Side trunk line traversing Manhattan through Lexington and Third Avenues. Later, as other connections have to be provided for Richmond, two more pairs of tunnels could be built across the Narrows, connecting with a new four-track subway through Third Avenue in Brooklyn and reaching Manhattan via two two-track lines, one via Hamilton Avenue and Governor's Island to the Battery, connecting with the two tracks of the Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue line, as already described; and the other via Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, to the Battery, and via a subway extension on the East Side of lower Manhattan to a connection with the two tracks of the Fourth Avenue-Lexington Avenue line of the Interborough Company now terminating at City Hall. The two tracks of the Interborough Seventh Avenue-Broadway line that now terminate at the Battery it is proposed to connect at Liberty Street with a two-track line through Liberty Street and Maiden Lane, under the East River to Brooklyn, and thence via Hicks Street, Union Street and Seventh Avenue to a connec- tion with the present city-owned Culver line. This proposed Culver line connection with the Seventh Avenue-Broadway line, and the proposed Atlantic Avenue connection with the Fourth Avenue-Lexington Avenue line would provide four more tracks to and through Brooklyn, and no new trunk line traversing the center in Manhattan would have to be provided to give these Brooklyn lines access to the center of Man- hattan. It would, however, develop a two-way traffic through the existing four tracks of the Seventh Avenue-Broadway line and Fourth Avenue-Lexington Avenue line of the Interborough Company which are not now used for two-way traffic. When this is done the eight tracks in these two trunk lines will all be used for two-way traffic, and these two lines therefore may then be developed to their maximum capacity. None of the other lines will be described in detail. Their general location is indicated plainly enough on the plan. Extensions and New Routes Recommended for Early Construction to Meet Next Twenty-five Years' Requirements Extensions — The first new work that will have to be carried out will probably be certain extensions or additions to the existing lines, as follows: Extension of the Corona branch of the Steinway Tunnel line from its present terminus to Main Street, Flushing. Extension of the Steinway Tunnel line, from its proposed terminus at Seventh Avenue and 41st Street, west through 41st Street to a connection with the proposed Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue trunk line, as already described. Two-track extension of the New York Municipal Railway Corporation Broadway-Fourth Avenue trunk line, from 59th Street and Seventh Avenue up Central Park West and Eighth or Seventh Avenue to the Harlem River. 18 Extension from the New York Municipal Railway Corporation Broadway- Fourth Avenue subway, at Broadway and City Hall Park, via Ann Street and the East River to Brooklyn, and thence via Brooklyn Bridge terminal property, Washington Street, Livingston Street, DeKalb Avenue and Fort Greene Place to a connection with the Fulton Street elevated line at or near Ashland Place. This connection has already been under consideration. Two-track tunnel under the Narrows connecting the southern extremity of the Broadway-Fourth Avenue line of the New York Municipal Railway Corpo- ration with the Borough of Richmond, providing the first rapid transit facilities for this borough. Continuation of the Nostrand Avenue subway of the Interborough Company south into and through Coney Island. Crosstown line through Queens and Brooklyn connecting the Astoria branch in Queens with the Brighton Beach line in Brooklyn, thereby providing a cross- town line between Queens and South Brooklyn, and being a part of the proposed Brooklyn waterfront crosstown line previously described. Such a connection has already been laid down and was considered for incorporation in the Dual System, but had to be omitted because of lack of funds for construction at that time. Extension of the two tracks of the Interborough Seventh Avenue-Broadway line now terminating at the Battery, from a point at Greenwich and Liberty Streets, via Liberty Street, Maiden Lane and the East River to Brooklyn, and thence via Hicks Street, Union Street, Seventh Avenue and Gravesend Avenue to a connection with the Culver line now included under Contract No. 4, the understanding being that the Culver line will subsequently be recaptured, as provided in Contract No. 4, to permit the Interborough Company to operate this extension, thereby utilizing the pair of tracks in the Seventh Avenue-Broadway line for two-way traffic instead of one-way traffic as at present. Also, some minor extensions to the elevated lines where such lines are not now routed out to the City limits. New Trunk Lines — In addition to the foregoing extensions the following new trunk lines will probably have to be constructed in the near future: Serving the West Side of Manhattan, four tracks of the eight-track Eighth Avenue-Amsterdam Avenue trunk line, extending from 155th Street in upper Manhattan to 23d Street in lower Manhattan, with a collecting and distributing branch from its northern extremity extending north through upper Manhattan and into The Bronx, and provision for an easterly branch, which later can be constructed east across The Bronx via 161st Street, Longwood Avenue and Randall Avenue to Throggs Neck, and with a branch from its southern ex- tremity extending east through 23d Street to the East River, which subsequently can be carried across to Brooklyn, and with another branch extending south down Hudson and Washington Streets to somewhere near the Battery, which subsequently can be extended to Brooklyn. Serving the East Side of Manhattan, four tracks of the six-track Madison Avenue trunk line, extending from the Harlem River to 23d Street, with no collecting and distributing branch at the northern extremity, but with a two- track collecting and distributing branch extending from the southern extremity down Fifth Avenue and through lower Manhattan to some point near Park Place, the other two of the four tracks terminating at 23d Street and Madison Avenue. 19 Moving Platforms — Tn order to provide sufficient transfer facilities across town between all of the north and south trunk lines to permit of the traffic reaching the center having easy access to any point within the center, three moving platform subways should be included in the program, namely, through 14th Street, 42d Street and 57th Street, practically from river to river, connecting all the up and down rapid transit lines. The extensions, new trunk lines and moving platforms projected above will probably meet all of the rapid transit requirements for the next twenty-five years. The building program should be laid down in such a manner as to enable the beginning of con- struction of these lines as soon as possible, and so as to equally distribute their con- struction over this twenty-five-year period in order that all of the facilities outlined may be available at the expiration of this period. It is impracticable to estimate the construction cost of this twenty-five-year program because of the long period over which the construction would extend. At pre-war prices, however, it is estimated that the construction program outlined would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $175,000,000. At present prices it is estimated this cost would amount to $350,000,000. It is hardly likely that present costs will be greatly exceeded, so that the cost of carrying out this program will probably be some- where between these two figures. These figures do not include interest during con- struction or engineering and superintendence. No estimate has been made of the cost of equipping these lines. The operators of the lines would be required to do this. Total Cost and Rate of Construction Cannot be Estimated It is impracticable at this time to make any estimate of the entire cost of the comprehensive program outlined. It is impossible also to say just how fast the new work should be proceeded with from the beginning to the end of the program. If the program is ever carried out in its entirety, its complete construction will extend over a long period of years. During this time the art of transportation will be subject to many changes. New developments may enable larger capacities to be obtained from the existing lines, thereby slowing down the new building program. The best that can be done is to keep informed from year to year and add new facilities in response to the apparent need of a few years ahead, and at the same time always keep the general program in view. New Building Program Must be Started at Once and Kept Under Way Continuously This means that contact with the transit situation must be maintained always. From present conditions it is evident now that new facilities must be available soon to meet the immediate future transit needs. It has averaged about ten years from the inception of the previous general transit projects to the date of the operation of the lines. Therefore, it is important that as soon as the Dual System construction is completely under contract, a new building program should be started at once, and be proceeded with gradually and continuously in anticipation of and in order to keep ahead of the constantly growing traffic requirements. This is the essential thing. The new transit lines should precede the population. The new transit plan should be the basis of the City plan. Upon these two cardinal principles the future of the City dcpei.ds. The foresight exercised in developing its transit facilities and in con- forming its future expansion thereto will largely determine the prosperity of New York City in the years to come. DANIEL L. TURNER, Chief Engineer. Dated July 29, 1920. //V OUTLY/UO- /3*£i93 CO.IPLETE STTSEET SYSTEMS /f/?VE AW 3EEAV PIC/3/MEO. T/fEGETOPE T/fE PPOPOSE& /.//YES AHU //VTS/YOEO O/YAY IS SUGGE3TEO G-EME&S*E.LOC&T-/CyY3 {except VV/fEeE STREETS APE N/JMEo) Art /MD/CAT/O/Y OE f/l//73EP. or/.//YE3 PEQlS/tZBT) TO PJBOV/^E CO/Yy.r/Y/EATT QAP/O TJZ&A/S/T 3ESV/CE f-OB. THE WHOLE rt&E/i ■ f /^popose-o SVei s JQoistes . Z 34.5.6 oe O-Z/umqeiz or 7h acks . PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE RAPID TRANSIT PLAN COVERING ALL OP THE * BOROUGHS Or GREATER NEW YORK • TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION COMMISSIONER ^Xd/VV^" /920 Cf//£f<£'/VO/A r ££/2 17"