No doubt the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council has its reasons, but the planning group’s list of projects—for which it seeks $15 billion in federal funding support over the next five years—includes the LaGuardia Airport AirTrain.
It was planned as a 1.5-mile, $2-billion elevated rail line connecting the airport to the region’s transportation network. For anyone who knows the torments of sitting in New York City area traffic or has benefited from Kennedy International Airport’s elevated rail line, the LaGuardia project seemed to make sense. But it really didn’t—not how it was originally conceived and routed. And although the council list does not reflect this, change is likely.