L Train Shutdown

Volunteers from Transportation Alternatives rallied on the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge last night to call on the city to prioritize Grand Street for buses, bicycling, and walking when the MTA shuts down the western portion of the L train for 18 months to make Sandy-related repairs.

As the city and MTA consider how to move thousands of L train passengers across Manhattan when the subway line shuts down for Sandy-related repairs, momentum is growing for a 14th Street "PeopleWay" free of private motor vehicles. But with 10,000 passengers during the peak hour in the peak direction, prohibiting cars alone won't prevent 14th Street from becoming a bus parking lot, according to Annie Weinstock and Walter Hook at BRT Planning International.

The 18-month shutdown of the L train between North Brooklyn and Eighth Avenue may be three years away, but officials still have to move quickly to help hundreds of thousands of L passengers get where they need to go. So far, city officials and the MTA have yet to provide much in the way of specifics.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer wants to prioritize buses, bikes, and pedestrians on Manhattan's 14th Street when the L train shuts down for 18 months beginning in January 2019. Brewer signed onto Transportation Alternatives' "PeopleWay" campaign yesterday after meeting with campaign organizers.

The impending L Train shutdown should be a blessing in disguise -- the impact of losing service west of Bedford Avenue for 18 months is so great, there's no good option that doesn't involve carving out lots of street space for buses, biking, and safer walking. Major redesigns of 14th Street, the Williamsburg Bridge, and the streets connecting to the bridge are called for.

This morning the MTA announced that starting in 2019, it will close the L train between Eighth Avenue and Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg for 18 months to repair damage caused by Superstorm Sandy -- surprising no one who's been paying attention.

New York City should use the impending L train shutdown to make long-term improvements to bus service, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney said at a public forum last night.

In 2019, the L train west of Williamsburg will be shut down so the MTA can repair Sandy-related damage to subway tunnels under the East River. Hundreds of thousands of people will have to find other ways to get around, and there's no conceivable way to do that without dedicating a lot of street space to buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians.