The right way to LaGuardia

All the things that we said for years were no good with the Port Authority’s dopey LaGuardia AirTrain people mover have now been ratified by an expert panel: It goes the wrong direction, it’s too expensive to construct and it’s a really bad way to enhance the otherwise excellent rebuilt airport that Andrew Cuomo pushed through.

Cuomo should have jettisoned AirTrain, which the Port and Gov. Hochul have now killed. Like the expert panel, we offer our ideas pro bono (thank you to the civic-minded panelists Mike Brown, Janette Sadik-Khan and Phil Washington).

The trio also agrees with the Daily News that the ideal option is extending the N train to the airport: “We are unanimous in our opinion that a one-seat ride via subway from the west is the optimal way to achieve the best mass transportation connection to LaGuardia Airport. In our professional experience, a one-seat ride has been the most successful in encouraging a shift to public transit from other transportation modes.”

In the meantime, they say use better buses. Hmmh, that’s our plan too, and ever since the Riders Alliance in 2015 proposed a fare-free Q70 LaGuardia Link bus, we’ve doggedly carried that concept and last April Hochul forced the PA and MTA to permanently remove the fare.

Cuomo and PA resisted the far-better subway route for inordinate fear of using eminent domain (it would have taken all of five private parcels). Now, say the engineers, the real puzzle is threading the subway line between the southern end of the runaway and the northern edge of the Grand Central Parkway. That’s tough, but doable. Making it harder is a pair of 90-year-old sewer and storm water pipes with 15-foot diameters. If the PA can’t do it, there must be someone in the world who can. Find them and bring them to Queens.

A NYU report on transit construction costs recommended always to look for better options. It worked wonders on the L train repairs. And in this case. Next up for another look should be Gateway and the Penn Station plans.