Lower Manhattan - Jamaica/JFK Transportation Project

Alternatives Analysis


	The alternatives analysis phase of the project will evaluate all reasonable rail and non-rail alternatives which potentially address the project's goals and objectives. The preliminary Long List of alternatives was generated by gathering all alternatives from the previous LMDC feasibility study (the Lower Manhattan Airport and Commuter Access Alternatives Analysis), the MTA Lower Manhattan Access Study, and other prior studies. The process generated 257 potential alternatives. Of those, 188 alternatives were not applicable to this study because they had already been implemented, did not serve the study area, or were too vague. The remaining 69 alternatives which applied to the study area were the foundation of the Long List. The public scoping process for the project generated 62 additional alternatives, and 10 additional alternatives were added by the study study team.
	The final Long List includes 141 alternatives. These were reviewed to evaluate whether they were similar or repetitive alternatives. As a result, 47 alternatives were consolidated/combined with others. In order to assist in the presentation and analysis of alternatives, the remaining 94 alternatives were placed in one of eleven groups, based on key factors such as river crossings, alignment and transit mode.
	Alternative Group Descriptions Atlantic Branch rail alternatives via New Tunnel via Montague St Tunnel via Cranberry St Tunnel via Rutgers St Tunnel via Joralemon St Tunnel via Clark St Tunnel via Manhattan Bridge/Williamsburg Bridge Non-Atlantic Branch rail alternatives via Downtown Brooklyn via Midtown Manhattan Non-rail alternatives Highway improvements Bus Rapid Transit service Ferry service Also included in the list of alternatives will be one or more options for connections between the proposed rail line in Lower Manhattan and existing or planned subway lines, including a connection to the existing line south of Chambers St and the planned Second Avenue Subway line south of Hanover Square Click here for a full list of alternatives to be studied
	Proposed Screening Criteria The study includes three alternative evaluation/screening steps. All evaluation criteria tie directly to the goals and objectives of the study and take into account the level of information/data available at each stage of the study. Airport service and commuter service will be evaluated separately within each step. SCREEN 1 - Fatal Flaw Screen (Long List to Revised Long List) Screen 1 includes two steps: Consolidation/Combination and Pass/Fail Fatal Flaw Screen. The first step will include a review of the Long List alternatives to evaluate whether there are similar or repetitive alternatives. These alternatives will be consolidated/combined with others and the specific alternative numbers will be referenced. The second step will assess each alternative against the Screen 1 criteria and assigned a “Pass,” “Fail,” or “Uncertain” rating based on how well the alternative met the goal where generally: Fail (F) = Does not meet requirement Uncertain (U) = Unclear whether alternative addresses requirement or Not Applicable Pass (P) = Addresses requirement Any alternative that receives a “Fail” rating for one or more of the criteria will be eliminated from further study. Proposed Screen 1 criteria include: • Travel time between Jamaica and LM • Travel time between JFK and LM • Number of commuter/airport transfers • Impacts to existing services • Available capacity for peak commuter and airport services SCREEN 2 - Long List Screen (Revised Long List to Short List) The Screen 2 - Long List Screen is more detailed and quantitative than the Screen 1 Fatal Flaw due to the engineering, operational, and cost data developed for the Revised Long List alternatives. The criteria will be assessed for each alternative and a score of 1-5 (1 is worst, 5 is best) will be assigned to each. The specific scoring ranges for each criterion will be determined once the range of detailed data is available. Proposed Screen 2 criteria include Screen 1 criteria plus: Capital costs Future connectivity to other regional transportation links Service frequency Impacts to existing infrastructure Environmental impacts Institutional impacts SCREEN 3 - Short List Screen (Short List to Recommended Alternative) The Short List alternatives will be developed in even more detail, and as a result, will include additional criteria such as ridership and cost effectiveness. As in Screen 2, the criteria will be assessed for each alternative and a score of 1-5 (1 is worst, 5 is best) will be assigned to each. The specific scoring ranges for each criterion will be determined once the range of detailed data is available. Proposed Screen 3 criteria include Screen 1 and 2 criteria plus: Operating cost Revenue Total transit trips New transit trips Economic development Farebox recovery Capital cost per rider Incremental cost per transportation system benefit Operating cost per passenger mile Travel time Improved service reliability/schedule reliability Airport induced demand Screen 3 also includes a trade-off analysis which will focus on the key differences among the alternatives across all of the quantitative and qualitative perspectives. This analysis highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative and identifies the key trade-offs of costs and benefits. The evaluation will be in narrative format and will clearly focus on the differences between alternatives. The alternative that has the best rating in both the quantitative and qualitative evaluations and has the most compelling evidence of overall performance as highlighted through the trade-off analysis will be selected as the recommended alternative(s).