Williamsburg Bridge Can't Handle Stranded L Train Riders: Report

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — The J, M, and Z line will only be able to handle about a quarter of commuters who will be looking for a new way into Manhattan during the L train shutdown, according to a Village Voice report.

It turns out that a maximum of 24 trains — only three more than the 21 currently on the schedule — can cross the Williamsburg Bridge per hour, New York City Transit president Andy Byford told Brooklynites at a town hall meeting in Williamsburg Wednesday night, according to the Village Voice.

Village Voice crunched the numbers and it turns out that the additional three trains would be able to carry 6,000 riders per hour, which is about 25 percent of the 24,100 riders that the L train ferries between Brooklyn and Manhattan.

While the MTA has promised stranded Williamsburg residents a wide array of transportation alternatives — including a$150 million fleet of buses, 25 miles of new bike lanes and a new carpool lane on the Williamsburg Bridge — residents have long feared that the already overtaxed subway system won't be able to handle the loss of the L line.

The Village Voice investigation confirmed the merits of those concerns with an extensive look at the infrastructural limitations of the J, M, Z, G, R and 7 lines, and the Williamsburg Bridge.

An unnamed source with information on the MTA plans told the Village Voice, “I don’t know what to say besides we’re f***ed and it’ll be miserable.”

You can read their story here.

Photo courtesy of Ryan DeBerardinis/Shutterstock