Would The Triboro Rx Heal Our Outer Borough Transit Problems?

Earlier this month, WNYC released a Transit Time map that showed just how ridiculously difficult it is for South Brooklynites to get anywhere that isn’t Manhattan, or on the way to Manhattan via the subway line closest to their respective homes.

Then this week, The Atlantic Cities posed an interesting argument that this year’s mayoral candidates really ought to be discussing the Triboro Rx (aka the “X line”) instead of the different MTA projects they’ve been touting up until this point. The Triboro Rx idea isn’t a new one, having first come about in 1996, but with rising home prices in more recent years continually pushing people farther out into Brooklyn and often farther from where they work, a viable option for inter- and intraborough travel seems more necessary than ever.

Via the Triboro Rx, Ditmas Parkers would be able to connect along the Q line at Avenue H and get directly to the L, D, N, 2, 5 lines and more without going all the way to Atlantic Avenue or Union Square just to travel back out. Plus, the X line would use the existing Bay Ridge LIRR tracks, meaning it would cost significantly less than, say, the all-new Second Avenue subway line that, again, will provide a lot of great service–in Manhattan.

So what do you think? Would the Triboro Rx be a worthy project for the mayoral candidates and MTA to focus on? Would it change the way you get to work, or to the way you enjoy different parts of the city? Or are you totally satisfied with your transportation options on the B/Q, and would rather see attention and funds go elsewhere?

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Map via Andrew Lynch