About Long Island -- Long Island Maps – Transportation –
Number of Housing Units, Employment Centers, and LIRR Routes and Stations on LI
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Suburban Long Island was designed so that residential neighborhoods would be separate from industrial and office areas. The above map illustrates this geographic distinction between concentrations of housing on Long Island and the region’s major employment centers. The map also shows the lack of meaningful public transportation options from one to the other. Much of Long Island’s housing stock has been built along the path of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), as well as along major highways, following the historical patterns of migration from the city to the suburbs, but as Long Island’s major public transit option, the LIRR was designed mainly to facilitate travel to and from New York City and less so between Long Island’s residential areas to its employment centers. With the exception of Hicksville, none of Long Island’s employment centers is located in close proximity to a major train station or population center.
An improved and well planned intra-island transit system would reduce traffic congestion, improve the environment, and help foster vibrant downtown centers that combine livable communities with employment opportunities.