L Train Shutdown

While we're waiting to get a look at DOT and the MTA's forthcoming plans for the L train shutdown, Gothamist and Transportation Alternatives put on "L-ternative Visions" -- a design competition to envision 14th Street "as a people-first transit corridor." On Wednesday the winner was revealed.

At Brooklyn Community Board 1, DOT will present a plan to improve bicycle connections on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge, including protected bike lanes on the blocks approaching the bridge's bike path.

Preliminary travel forecasts for the looming L train shutdown suggest the MTA and DOT are aiming too low with plans to provide bus service for affected transit riders, according to Walter Hook of BRT Planning International.

This fall, DOT and the MTA will unveil their plan to keep New Yorkers moving when the L train west of Bedford Avenue shuts down for repairs. But what if the L train went away and nothing took its place? A new mapping tool from Sidewalk Labs, “NYC Transit Explorer,” shows how far you can get via transit from any point in a given amount of time. It also includes an option to see how things change when you strip the western segment of the L train out of the system.

DOT and the MTA have a timetable for releasing their plan to keep L train riders moving when the western portion of the line is shut down for Sandy-related repairs. At a workshop last night, the agencies said they would release a preliminary plan in the spring and a final plan in the fall, with implementation to follow in 2018.

Without the L train, Grand Street will be gridlocked by a surge of car traffic, unless dramatic action is taken to prioritize surface transit, biking, and walking.

This short video makes a compelling case to turn 14th Street into a car-free transit priority route when the L train shuts down. Regular bus lanes on a street shared with cars won't get the job done.

If you think traffic will get worse with a car-free 14th Street, imagine what would happen if there's no L train and the city fails to make surface transit an appealing option.

The Regional Plan Association has released a new plan to beef up bus and train service for L train riders who'll need robust transit once the western part of the line shuts down for Sandy-related repairs.