Back in June, transit research and advocacy organization Regional Plan Association released a plan for an outer-borough rail that would connect The Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. Well, the group is back at it, this time tackling an issue that many other groups are seeking solutions for as well: how to manage the impending L train shutdown. According to Streetsblog NYC, the Regional Plan Association has released a new report that suggests several ways to accommodate L train riders while the line undergoes an 18-month repair process.
The report, entitled “Fixing the L Train and Managing the Shutdown” (PDF!), is a comprehensive package that includes a number of suggestions for mitigating the impacts of the shutdown. Some of these have already been pitched, such as making Manhattan’s 14th Street and Williamsburg’s Grand Street and Bedford Avenue car-free zones and increasing bus service. One of their new suggestions is for the Department of Transportation to create dedicated bus lanes in each direction on the Williamsburg Bridge and HOV lanes on other crossings.
“They’re going to have to look comprehensively at the East River Crossings because the shutdown will affect traffic on all of them,” stated the organization’s Vice President Kate Slevin.
Other recommendations within the detailed 28-page report call for the MTA and all entities involved to make much-needed upgrades to several of its stations, increase ferry service, and offer free transfers between subways, buses, and ferries.
City officials and the MTA have stated that they are taking all alternatives into consideration while staying quiet on which ones may have more leverage over the others.
- Here’s the Plan to Keep Subway Riders Moving During the L Shutdown [StreetsBlog NYC]
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