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Friday, March 29, 2024

L Train Debate Now Focuses on Traffic Congestion

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The looming closure in April 2019 of the East River tunnel on the L-Train line has sparked the predictions of several possible “nightmare scenarios.” The most recent concern to hit the headlines is the fear of transforming the already-congested 14th Street area and even its adjacent Village and Chelsea neighborhoods into virtual parking lots for displaced commuters.

The city’s response on how it plans to avoid this remains hazey, while the mounting problems just come into clearer sight.

Alliance propose to transform 14th Street seen here, into a busway 24/7. (Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

According to Crain’s News, “Superstorm Sandy—which flooded the Canarsie Tunnel under the East River, necessitating the unprecedented 15-month closure—didn’t damage the 14th Street subway tunnels. But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it’s not feasible to keep the trains running on the Manhattan part of the line alone, thrusting the commutes of at least 50,000 daily riders into disarray. The ambitious mitigation plan laid out by the MTA and the Department of Transportation is to turn 14th Street from Third to Ninth avenues into an ‘exclusive busway,’ with exceptions for emergency vehicles, trucks making local deliveries and cars that park in garages there. The hotly contested debate is about when the buses-only rule will be in operation and for how long.”

A rather ridiculously radical solution is being pushed on the city by experts from the Regional Plan Association, the Riders Alliance and four other advocacy groups. There plan is to transform 14th Street into a busway for seven days a week, 24-hours a day, for the entire time the tunnel is closed.

The alliance’s policy director Danny Pearlstein said, “The L is a 24/7 train serving 24/7 neighborhoods. The way to avoid catastrophe—the L-pocalypse—is for as many riders as possible to remain transit riders. And for that, the transit scheme has to be as simple as possible.”

Earlier this month, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that it was “common sense” for the busway to be limited to rush hours only. He said, “We would like to minimize the disruption on 14th Street to the maximum extent possible.”

Following these comments from the mayor, the DOT pulled them back in and said that the schedule has not yet been determined.

By Hannah Hayes

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