[Image via Gothamist by Andrew Lynch.]

New York City's subway system is among the most used public transit systems in the world, and for also being among the world's oldest, it does a pretty good job. But the system hasn't really been able to keep up with the growth of the city, and with the MTA's disaster of a budget, adding more lines isn't really feasible. But a population can dream, right? Cartographer Andrew Lynch did just that with his new transit map of New York City, which introduces several new subway lines and extensions that would totally transform access to Manhattan and the city's hard to get to 'hoods (h/t Gothamist).

Imagine if Utica Avenue had its own line, or if the L extended up Tenth Avenue to 72nd Street. Lynch, in his sadly fictional map, introduces the H, K, V, and (reinstated) W lines, which canvas the outer boroughs and even stretch into Jersey. Here's how they'd affect the city:

The K line would run complimentary to the G line from Forest Hills to Bedford-Nostrand Avenues, at which point the K would branch off and do its own thing. The K would take the place of the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and join the Q (and, in Lynch's plan, the T) at Prospect Park. The K would terminate at Brighton Beach.

Lynch has all sorts of plans for the T (what we now call the Second Avenue Subway), V, and W lines. The three trains would run together in Manhattan from Grand Street through 55th Street, at which point the T would continue north to 116th Street before cutting across the island and terminating at Manhattanville Broadway -125th Street alongside the 1. The V would turn into Queens, passing through Roosevelt Island, and mirroring the N through 63rd Drive-Rego Park, at which point it'd nosedive south and meet up with another proposed line, the H, before terminating at Ozone Park-Liberty Ave.

The H would mirror the F through Brooklyn and most of Manhattan, cutting east to Queens (slightly north of the F's exit) at 63rd Street. Like the V, it would pass through Roosevelt Island, then run express through the No Man's Land between the E and 7, stretching out to Rego Park before dipping south to link arm with the A out to Far Rockaway. Where the A turns north on the island, the H would turn south.

Lynch's plans for the subway are exhaustive, and extend far beyond all that noise above. Take a peek at his map to explore the ins and outs of his plan, and, as always, sound off here in the comments.

· 5 Fantasy Subway Lines That Would Revolutionize NYC Transit [Gothamist]

· futureNCYsubway2016 [official]

· W Train To Make Triumphant Return Thanks to Second Ave. Subway [Curbed]