PHOTOS: Walk the Queensway, a Possible High Line-Style Park for Queens

New York is littered with <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/hiking/">abandoned train lines</a> that have been replaced by the subway or forgotten thanks to modern transportation. While a large portion of these past railways <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/the-low-line-a-spectacular-two-acre-underground-park-to-be-constructed-in-nycs-lower-east-side/">lie buried deep underground</a>, one 3.5 mile-long stretch of tracks in Queens has grown into a wondrous forest hovering 15 feet above street level. Now, a local community group called <a href="http://www.thequeensway.org/">Friends of the Queensway</a> and the <a href="http://www.tpl.org/">Trust for Public Land</a> want to redevelop this abandoned rail line into a public green walkway and bike path. Last weekend, Inhabitat got a chance to preview the overgrown nature trail that will (hopefully) become the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/queensway-high-line-style-park-gets-even-closer-to-reality-with-1-million-in-funding/">Queensway</a> - check out all of our snaps for a closer look.

The elevated railway originally belonged to Long Island Rail Road and fell to disuse after 1962. For 50 years, the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/after-hurricane-sandy-does-queens-need-a-high-line-style-park-more-or-a-new-train-line/">raised train path stood unused</a>, allowing a corridor of trees to spring forth from a bed of dirt and dead industry

Today, it has grown into a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/a-floating-mangrove-forest-puts-down-roots-in-a-wrecked-coal-ship/">veritable floating forest</a> that spills over a series of bridges that stretches from Rego Park to Ozone Park.

Starting in late 2011, a small group of residents living along the former LIRR line teamed up to advocate the conversion of the old <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/rockaway-beach/">Rockaway Beach</a> railway into a new <a href="http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/highline">High Line</a>-style park.

The long park also connects many neighborhoods in Queens including; Kew Gardens, Rego Park, Forest Hills, Glendale, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/ozone-park/">Ozone Park</a>.

The Queensway could be a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/construction-begins-on-chicagos-2-7-mile-long-bloomingdale-trail/">greenway connector</a> that links everyone to <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/two-of-new-yorks-historic-carousels-will-be-restored-for-summer/">Forest Park</a> from the north and the south. Along the way the park also connects with a number of local parks and baseball fields, as well as <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/schoolportals/18/k233/default.htm">Public School 233</a>.

The project will also need to build a new bridge that crosses over the active Montauk railway, as it is currently a point where the elevated Queensway does not connect.

The project is also not without it’s controversy. Lupo says they are fighting a two-pronged attack from residents who don't want anything done to the old railway. <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/queensway-high-line-style-park-getting-closer-to-reality-despite-resident-opposition/">There are fears</a> that the new pedestrian walkway will bring unwarranted foot traffic to the quiet neighborhood; raising property values and leaving residents with less privacy.

That said the project has a lot of work ahead of it. First, on top of the actual track there is a lot of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/landscape-designer-margie-ruddick-fined-for-her-own-garden/">overgrown brush</a> to clear off and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/page/10/?s=trash+art">leftover garbage</a>.

We also ran into more than a handful of rusted spurs sticking out of the ground – not something you would want to fall on.

Taken near the entrance of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/queensway-high-line-style-park-gets-even-closer-to-reality-with-1-million-in-funding/">Queensway</a> in Forest Park, the walkway currently resembles a forest lined rail road.

For 50 years a undisturbed <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/wildlife-corridor/">corridor of trees</a> have been growing here.

Frank Lupo, a member of the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/queensway-high-line-style-park-gets-even-closer-to-reality-with-1-million-in-funding/">Queensway</a> steering committee, said this project could become a green connection for 250 thousand residents of Queens within a mile of the future park.

The Queensway has a long road ahead of it. As for future plans, <a href="http://www.wxystudio.com/">WXY Architecture + Urban Design</a> and <a href="http://www.dlandstudio.com/">DLANDSTUDIO Landscape Architecture &amp; Architecture</a> will complete their <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/wxy-and-dlandstudio-selected-to-lead-queensway-high-line-style-park-feasibility-study/">feasibility study</a> sometime next June.