BY DENNIS LYNCH | The Transportation Planning Committee (TPC) of Community Board 4 (CB4) wants the public’s ideas on how to transform 14th St. into a better transit corridor, above and below ground, at a meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 19, at Fulton Auditorium (119 Ninth Ave., btw. W. 17th & W. 18th Sts.).
The board believes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and city Department of Transportation (DOT) should make improvements around 14th St. as part of the planned 18-month shutdown of the L train tunnels starting in 2019.
Transportation Alternatives (TransAlt; transalt.org) will present their “PeopleWay” proposal to make 14th St. friendlier to pedestrian and public transit traffic. The commuter advocacy group’s plan includes creating dedicated space for buses, bikes, and pedestrians. TransAlt claims PeopleWay “could double the capacity” of 14th Street and make it safer as well.
Folks will have a chance to weigh in on the plan and discuss their own ideas for the corridor. “We just want to make sure we hear the community,” said TPC Co-chair Christine Berthet.
CB4 itself suggested in an Aug. 8, 2016 letter to top brass at the MTA and DOT that their agencies take advantage of the “unimpeded access…for 18 months” to stations by upgrading and rehabilitating them.
In particular, the board suggested they make the Sixth and Eighth Ave. stations handicap accessible, reopen the pedestrian underpass between Seventh and Eighth Aves., rebuild the Eighth Ave. station to increase capacity, and improve rider circulation at the Seventh Ave. station.
The board’s letter also suggested in the consideration of adding ferry stops along the West Side — particularly to Pier 57, the Javits Center/Pier 76, and a pier near Clinton Cove — during the shutdown to give commuters coming to and from Brooklyn and Queens an alternate route to the area.
For more information, visit nyc.gov/html/mancb4.
