Drivers, transit riders in New York, Washington brace for influx of employees

Commuters beware: New York and Washington’s clogged streets and creaky subway systems are about to feel more pain as 50,000 more people descend on the two metro areas where Amazon will open new headquarters.

An expansion of that scope in a city such as New York — where the regional subway, bus and commuter lines move more than 8 million people every day — sounds like something a transit system should be able to absorb.

Not so, some experts say. “Congestion will get worse. Buses will probably get a little bit slower. There are going to be more people travelling at a specific time of day to a specific place,” said Eric Guerra, assistant professor of city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania.

“But at the same time, they will create a lot of jobs where people are.”

Long Island City, the New York City neighbourhood that will be home to one of the new headquarters, sits across the river from the busy world of midtown Manhattan. The growing neighbourhood is crisscrossed by subways and buses and surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. The other headquarters will be in the Washington suburb of Arlington in northern Virginia, a part of the country known for its mind-numbing traffic.

Amazon said hiring at the two headquarters will start next year, but it could take a decade or more to build out its offices. Still, the complaining has already begun. Among the sticking points – Amazon has won the rights to a helipad at its Long Island City location, allowing some senior executives to get through rush hour in style, though the company had to agree to limit landings to 120 per year.

“For the city and state to greenlight a helipad for the wealthiest man in the world and one of the richest corporations in the world is a slap in the face to all New Yorkers, but particularly the people in Queens who have to fight to get on the 7 train in the morning,” said City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, a Democrat who represents Long Island City. “And furthermore, if there were 25 to 30,000 Amazon employees in Long Island City, that fight to get onto the train is going to get a lot more intense.”