Port Authority Appoints Panel to Study LaGuardia Transit

(Bloomberg) -- The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey appointed the former heads of New York City’s and London’s transportation departments to study mass transit options to LaGuardia Airport, including improved bus service, ferries and light rail. 

Mike Brown, the former Commissioner of Transport for London and Janette Sadik-Khan, former Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Transportation, will serve on the panel, which also includes Philip A. Washington, the chief executive of Denver International Airport, according to a news release. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority will also participate.

The Port Authority appointed the group after New York Governor Kathy Hochul paused work on the AirTrain to LaGuardia. Critics of the $2.1 billion project, which was championed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo, have said the project is too expensive and would attract few riders because it would take more time than taking a bus. 

The group will study improved and expanded bus service, including the potential for dedicated lanes, ferry service, and elevated light rail from Long Island Rail Road and subway stops, according to the news release. The panel will also study extending the subway and “other new and emerging technologies.”

The review will assess factors including cost, constructability, impacts on local neighborhoods, length of travel time, ridership and environmental impact such as removal of cars from roads and greenhouse gas reduction.

Sadik-Khan is a principal at Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consulting arm of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies. Bloomberg is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP.

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