Commuters who use the L train gathered in Brooklyn Tuesday to hear proposals for travel alternatives once the line shuts down for repairs in 2019.
The Regional Plan Association and the Riders Alliance unveiled a plan for dealing with the closure of the Canarsie Tunnel that runs between Brooklyn and Manhattan.
The two groups are pushing for the MTA and the Transportation Department to improve service on connecting subway lines, add Select Bus Service-style routes to area buses, and make it easier to access ferries and Citi Bike.
"We'd like to see people have the confidence that there will be alternatives for them if things are closed and that these alternatives will be in place, hopefully months beforehand so people can get used to them and we can work out the kinks as well," said
"What's really at stake here is we have 300,000 people using the L train every single day and when that train shuts down, we're going to be in a real state of crisis every single day if we don't have alternatives for riders in place," said
The MTA plans to shut the Canarsie Tunnel for 18 months to fix severe flood damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.