Friday, May 13, 2016

Report: Despite looming shutdown, MTA plans to start expanding the 1st Avenue L stop


[Photo via EVG reader Michael]

The MTA has now held two meetings for people to yell at them (as Gothamist put it) about the looming L train shutdown to repair the Sandy-damaged tubes.

The two not-great options are basically: total shutdown for a projected 18 months. Or! A partial shutdown with repair work lasting for three (heh, sure) years.

There has been a lot of coverage about the various scenarios ... concerns from straphangers, residents, business owners... (You can check out some coverage at Curbed ... Gothamist ... The New York Times ... Here's a report from last night's meeting via DNAinfo)

Meanwhile! DNAinfo reports that the MTA will begin construction of new entrances to the First Avenue L train stop next year... However, this could all be a big tease, depending on the option the MTA goes with for the tube repairs. As DNAinfo notes:

[I]f the Manhattan stops along 14th Street shut down along with the Brooklyn-to-Manhattan service as some reports suggest could be a possibility, it could be years before riders can take full advantage of the new stairwells.

And here's the rendering for the Avenue A entrance via the MTA (h/t EVG reader Jeffrey!)...



As we previously noted, the MTA 2015-2019 Capital Plan, which was approved by the MTA Board last October, includes $71.9 million for a new entrance to the overcrowded First Avenue stop ... in part to make the entrances ADA compliant.

After last night's public meeting about the L, MTA officials will next hook up with local community boards for discussion before making a final recommendation possibly later this summer. The main work is set to begin in early 2019.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Is an Avenue A entrance for the L train in our future?

Avenue A L train entrance closer to a reality … some day

City council members talk up new L train entrance coming to Avenue A

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

By the time this station is finished most of us will really need the new elevators to get to the trains.

Gojira said...

That's a pretty intrusive-looking new subway stop...on the other hand, I would think the time to construct it would be when the station was closed, so the crews have lots of empty space to spread out in, rather than doing it while the station was open and having to close half of the platforms off for their tools, piles of concrete and brick, etc.

Anonymous said...

71 million dollars for this? No wonder nothing new gets built anymore. How could it cost that much?

j.b. diGriz said...

People have only been asking for this entrance since forever. It can't happen soon enough.