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Travel Plan for L Train Shutdown to Be Released This Spring, Officials Say

By Gwynne Hogan | February 20, 2017 11:18am
 The MTA is hosting a series of public meetings to discuss how commuters will get between Williamsburg and Manhattan.
The MTA is hosting a series of public meetings to discuss how commuters will get between Williamsburg and Manhattan.
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DNAinfo/Michael Ip

WILLIAMSBURG — The MTA's plan to help commuters cope with the looming L train shutdown will be released this spring, officials said.

The Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are holding public meetings to gather community feedback and have been studying traffic patterns on either side of the Williamsburg Bridge.

They'll use that information to predict the impact of the L train going out of service in 2019, said Eric Beaton, the DOT's Director of Transit Development.

"People may choose to bike and we want to make sure it's convenient and safe," said Beaton, who added that bolstered infrastructure like select bus lanes and better bike paths are being considered. 

"We want to hear what people care most about."

►READ MORE: L TRAIN TO SHUT DOWN FOR 18 MONTHS, MTA SAYS

After the plan is released in the spring, the agencies will gather more community feedback and ideas, then present a final plan to the public this fall, according to the MTA.

At the beginning of 2018, the city and state will begin implementing the plan, giving them a full year to get things in order before the shutdown happens.

The MTA is stopping L train service between Bedford Avenue and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan for 18 months in order to make repairs to the Canarsie Tunnel, which flooded during Hurricane Sandy.

Service between Canarsie and Bedford Avenue along the L will continue as usual during that time.