Transit Advocates Call For Better Service Options During L Train Shutdown
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Transit advocates on Wednesday called on the city's Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to improve service replacements when the L Train shuts down in 2019.
As WCBS 880's Mike Sugerman reported, the advocates are worried about the 15 moths of misery during which time there will be no L Train service between Manhattan and Brooklyn. The MTA has said the work is necessary to repair damage that the Canarsie Tunnel sustained during Superstorm Sandy in 2012.
The L service carries a quarter of a million people every day. I twill shut down in the spring of 19.
"What I don't want to hear, 'Well, that's a great idea, but I don't if that is doable.' That's what I don't want to hear," said Brooklyn City Councilman Stephen Levin (D-33rd). "It's all doable."
Levin joined transit advocates with some ideas including more buses and more trains. They called for improvements not just during the L Train closure, but for years afterward.
"New elevators, improved circulation, and a lot more service after the line reopens," said Kate Slevin of Regional Plan Approach.
Slevin said the MTA is working with her group, but the protest Wednesday was held just to keep the pressure on.
