The city that originally created parks above the hustle and bustle of its packed streets is giving citizens another new way to escape the busy city life, but it’s under the surface–literally.

New York City is prepping to put a new park, “Lowline,” underneath Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan by 2018. The site used to be a trolley terminal for the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley, but has long since been abandoned.

Weburbanist.com has done a full story on the proposed project as well as the city’s rooftop parks that it has already put in, and spoke with the group behind the project.

“To explore our vision in greater detail, we commissioned a preliminary planning study in 2012 with Arup, the global engineering firm, and HR&A Advisors, the leading consultant behind the High Line. The study concluded that the Lowline was not merely technically feasible, but would also vastly improve the local economy and the adjacent transit hub. Once built, the Lowline would be a dynamic cultural space, featuring a diversity of cultural programming, youth activities, and popular retail.”

The project aims to balance new designs and urban exploration while showcasing the city’s history and almost forgotten stations. Using fiber optics to help natural light from the surface travel down to the park, the project seems cost-effective, innovative and downright genius. The group is finishing testing to see if the area is structurally sound and they’re in talks with the city and MTA to get everything green lit. It’s about time someone paid attention to the forgotten beauty that is the abandon railway systems of cities. Here’s a link to the full article done by Web Urbanist.

Lowline for NYC: World’s First Underground Park in Manhattan