New LIRR Station At Shea?

In what could turn out to be a tit-for-tat deal, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is exploring the feasibility of building a new Long Island Rail Road station near the new Shea Stadium in Flushing.

One impetus for the proposed new station comes from the fact that, as a part of the new New York Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, the MTA has pledged to spend $40 million on a new Metro North station near the ballpark.

Another reason for improving LIRR service is that the first-place Mets are drawing patrons in droves, many from Long Island, all of whom must be accommodated. Overall, attendance is up about 15 percent, and the Mets are a good bet to reach the 3 million mark this year, slightly above last year's 2.8 million attendees.

In April, MTA board member Mitchell Pally wrote a letter to MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp seeking equal treatment for the New York Mets in the form of a new LIRR station near the planned new Mets Stadium.

Pally noted in his letter that the lack of direct rail service to Shea Stadium for fans from Long Island forces them to use their automobiles to get to the stadium, contributing to the vehicular congestion that results. An estimated 25 percent of Mets tickets are purchased by this group.

Pally's letter led to a feasibility study by the MTA on a new LIRR station at Shea. The findings could be released any day now.

Presently, LIRR passengers headed for Shea must get off at Woodside and from there take a Port Washington line train to the stadium. An alternative for them is to take the Number 7 subway line.

One drawback of taking the Port Washington line train to Shea is that at every stop on the route, parking is reserved for residents only. A fan who wants to drive his car to one of these stations and take the LIRR there and back won't find parking available.-John Toscano