Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018)

Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018) by Retric on Monday October 07, 2019 @08:13AM (#21179850)

That ignores the real cost of roads in cities is lost revenue from all that land. Ignoring of course how people would get around the city without roads.

NYC for example has over 6,000 miles of road * a very conservative 60 feet ignoring sidewalks is ~40,000 acres or 20% of the city. Central Park by comparison is only 842 acres. As Property taxes add up to ~55 Billion per year that’s (55/.8*.2) ~= 13.8 billion in lost revenue per year.

There are of course options to build more roads underground, but then they start costing as much as subway systems.

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Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018) by conanbatt on Monday October 07, 2019 @08:53AM (#21180158)

Other land is more valuable because of the roads, so this is an unclear point.

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Re:Why New York City Stopped Building Subways (2018) by Retric on Monday October 07, 2019 @09:12AM (#21180354)

Roads which could in theory be built underground at extreme expense. Losing that land is cost effective, but that does not mean it's free, just a hidden opportunity cost. Further, subway systems also increase property values, that’s rarely considered part of the equation.

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