The quiet, reflective nature of the World Trade Center Memorial can only be enhanced by its juxtaposition with plans for the future World Trade Center Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) Transportation Hub. Construction beginning in 2007 with accommodations to reflect ridership in 2025, the WTC PATH is located on Church and Fulton by the northeast corner of the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, accommodating 50,000 daily commuters as of today, projected to reach 250,000 by 2025. Incorporating innovative, sustainable design, the usage of steel and glass will allow for natural light to pass through its retractable “wings” to the rail platforms 60 feet below street level, no doubt a symbolic metaphor for the tragic occurrences that took place over 12 years ago.
The World Trade Center website states that the future completed PATH will consist of a multi-story central transit hall designed in the style of Grand Central Terminal on 42nd street, which will incorporate a lower concourse, upper balcony concourse, a public waiting area, and first-class dining and retail amenities of 200,000 sq. ft. (Silverstein Properties 2014). The PATH is but a portion of plans for redeveloping the World Trade Center into the center it was before, with other buildings and public transit stops planned for the center. The website also states that “Pedestrians also will be able to access locations on and around the WTC site, including the five WTC office towers, the Memorial and Museum, Hudson River ferry terminals, the World Financial Center, PATH trains, 13 subway lines, and the proposed JFK rail link” (Silverstein Properties 2014).
With the WTC PATH already in use, incorporating design elements that benefit the passenger and honor the history of the site on which it is built, the future of transportation in New York City’s Lower Manhattan seems to be as bright and soaring as the station itself.
World Trade Center
New York, New York
World Trade Center 36
Transportation hub
"Bright and Soaring"
Photo 3: Another rendering.