Elevated Rail Parks The New Hotness

Jersey City's Sixth Street former elevated rail line recently got approval from the city council to be turned into a park. Some park advocates have suggested building an elevated park similar to a plan in New York.

Curbed reports that federal authorities have given the green light to turn Manhattan's elevated rail into an elevated park and trail. We mention this since converting elevated rails into parks is not exactly something you see in every city, and no doubt some sort of similar bureaucratic green light would be needed in Jersey City.

One big difference between the two projects however is that in New York, the elevated line is still largely intact where as Sixth Street no longer has overpasses connecting the elevated sections. Building a park on the platforms would require reconnecting them.

We think that an elevated park would offer an interesting twist on the traditional urban landscape. But given that money will be in short supply, we doubt any park at Sixth Street will be elevated given the cost of rebuilding the overpasses.