BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2005

Improving access to Lower Manhattan has long been a priority for city planners and transportation officials. As the nation's financial capital, Lower Manhattan has one of the largest number of commuters of any commercial district in the nation. Currently, the Berger Group is assisting in plans to create a new point of arrival in Lower Manhattan, rationalize the area's tangled web of subway lines and improve transportation to John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport and surrounding communities.

JFK Airport currently serves an estimated 39 million passengers each year, many of them traveling to Lower Manhattan. To provide passengers with easy access to transit hubs, PANYNJ developed the new AirTrain. The $2 billion AirTrain provides a link between JFK airport, Howard Beach station and the Jamaica Inter-Modal Rail Facility. By providing direct plane-to-train service, this key link has reduced congestion around the airport and shortened travel times to midtown Manhattan to only 35 minutes.

As part of this program, the Berger Group prepared the initial feasibility study and a subsequent environmental impact statement, provided program management services and supervised the commissioning of the system. Experienced Team members identified and analyzed eight alternative routes, conducted detailed environmental assessments and evaluated the impact of each alternative. During construction, Berger program managers established computerized schedules and controls to monitor progress. Berger also reviewed capital budgets and monitored costs, budgets, expenditures and passenger facility charges. Once the construction was completed, Berger rail specialists supervised the testing and commissioning of the state-of-the-art trains.

The development of AirTrain has improved transit between JFK airport and the New York City transit system, however, air travelers and commuters from nearby communities must still make several transfers between subway, rail and bus lines to reach Lower Manhattan.

On behalf of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), the MTA and PANYNJ, the Berger Group, in association with Parsons/SYSTRA, prepared a feasibility study and ridership forecasts for several alternative access routes to Lower Manhattan within a demanding five-month project schedule. To provide a careful analysis of ridership across the New York region, the Team relied on the MTA's sophisticated Regional Transit Forecasting Model incorporating 3,600 zones. Berger experts estimated ridership, analyzed anticipated increases and identified the impact of the new service on other transit lines. Each alternative presented a number of different variables and some required construction which would temporarily shut down service on existing subway lines. Using specialized software, Berger's urban transit experts identified potential system disruptions and assessed the impact of construction on travel costs.

Following the completion of the ridership studies, the Berger Group was selected by the NYC Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to prepare an economic development strategy for the area surrounding the Jamaica AirTrain station in Queens. Berger specialists assessed current real estate trends, the economic vitality of the area and available sites. Because Jamaica station is a hub for regional travel, Berger experts found that the surrounding area would provide an ideal location for a conference center and hotel, as well as overall business development. The Team analyzed the development of similar areas within the United States and around the world and prepared case studies of alternative development strategies and sites. To further refine the evaluation, Team members prepared a detailed survey of the Jamaica area and met with focus groups to identify and assess regional demand. After completing the economic development studies, the Berger Group was retained by the MTA, PANYNJ, LMDC and EDC as part of a team preparing an environmental impact statement for a new link to improve access between Lower Manhattan, JFK airport and Jamaica, including a potential rail tunnel under the East River.