[Image Monday via @katebirmingham2]
During the upcoming L train shutdown, parts of 14th Street will become car free while 13th Street will get the city's first two-way protected crosstown bike lane, officials announced yesterday.
The MTA and the city’s Department of Transportation unveiled the long-awaited plans on how to accommodate the estimated 225,000 people who use the L on a daily basis.
Major changes include:
— NYC DOT (@NYC_DOT) December 13, 2017
π exclusive 14th St #busway with rush hour restriction from 3rd-9th Aves
π² new 13th St 2-way protected #bikenyc lane
ππ #WilliamsburgBridge HOV3 restrictions & bus-only lanes from Grand BK to Delancey MN
πΆππ²safety improvements along Grand St BK pic.twitter.com/ypM3SwshEV
Here's more from NBC 4:
• 14th Street closing to cars from Third Avenue to Ninth Avenue eastbound, and Third Avenue to Eighth Avenue westbound, to become a "busway" with rushphour restriction. Bus lanes and Select Bus Service will be added to that core of 14th Street in the next year, which will bring sidewalk expansion and tens of thousands of square feet in new pedestrian space.
"No street will be more affected by the L train disruption than 14th Street, and changes expanding access to pedestrians, bus riders, and cyclists will play a major role in moving L train riders quickly and efficiently," the DOT says.
• A bikeway running along 13th Street to keep cyclists out of the buses' way. Daily cycling volume is expected to double when the L train closes in Manhattan, so the DOT will add Manhattan's first two-way protected crosstown bike lane to 13th Street.
The DOT will also create brand new pedestrian space on Union Square West from 14th Street to 15th Street and 16th Street to 17th Street and a pedestrianized street that features a new bike parking hub on University Place from 13th Street to 14th Streets.
The shutdown of the L — between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue to repair the Sandy-damaged Canarsie Tunnel — is expected to last 15 months with a start date of April 2019.
Previously
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More sources: NBC 4 ... the Post ... Curbed ... 2nd Ave. Sagas... MTA website...