Close 14th Street to Cars? Absurd.

In order to repair damage to the Manhattan-Brooklyn subway tunnel, the NYC Transit Authority plans to shut down the L Train between Manhattan and Brooklyn for 18 months, beginning around January of 2019.

Fifty thousand people take the L Train every day from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back. However, the Transit Authority still has not settled on a plan to move them across the river.

Meanwhile, Transportation Alternatives, a pro-bike group, has proposed to shut down 14th Street to all autos, making it a bus-and-bike-only boulevard. They recently made their proposal at Community Board 3, which includes the north side of 14th Street. They were met with loud opposition by residents and Block Association leaders from 16th, 15th, 13th, and 12th Streets, all of which would absorb the 900 cars per hour that currently traverse 14th Street (that’s 15 per minute). The group claims to have the support of State Senator Brad Hoylman.

West 12th Street residents were represented at the hearing by Block Association President Marguerite Martin and Village District Leader Arthur Schwartz, both of whom spoke about the already intolerable traffic on 12th and 13th Streets going east and west.

—Arthur Z. Schwartz