Leaked L Train Documents Reveal Options For 14th St.: Report

EAST VILLAGE — Leaked documents of a presentation shown to elected officials reveal more details regarding what will come of 14th St. during the L train repairs, Streetsblog reported Thursday.

The transportation news site obtained a presentation that MTA and the Department of Transportation showed elected officials on Wednesday that said the MTA and DOT are weighing two different options for the crosstown corridor: Keeping the so-called "busway" or implementing regular bus lanes that leave space for other vehicles.

The presentation said a buses-only option for 14th Street is still up in the air, but the MTA and DOT are concerned it could divert traffic to crosstown streets.

The second option would implement bus lanes with a regular traffic lane on 14th St. for to-be-implemented select bus service for the M14A and M14D routes, the presentation shows.

DOT spokesperson Scott Gastel said, "We are reviewing options as we engage in a public outreach process. No decision has been made yet."

The MTA did not immediately comment.

As DOT and MTA put it, restricting 14th St. between Third and Ninth Aves. to buses, taxis, and local delivery vehicles would be a "complicated traffic pattern that may divert through traffic to other crosstown streets," according to the presentation Streetsblog obtained.

The argument echoes what some busway opponents have been saying — particularly in the West Village and Chelsea.

Transit advocates including the organization Transportation Alternatives have rallied for a busway — saying it is a far better option to increase M14A and M14D routes, which notoriously poke along the corridor at 4.2 and 4.6 miles per hour, respectively, per the presentation.

The MTA/DOT presentation that Streetsblog obtained says riders on M14 routes spend 60 percent of their time at bus stops or in traffic.

The second bus lane option, which would allow lanes for regular car traffic, would require stripping out the nearly complete markings on 14th St. implemented in anticipation of the L train shutdown before plans were overhauled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Due to weather restrictions, new markings cannot be installed until late April or early May, if the DOT and MTA go with the traditional bus lane option, according to the presentation. The presentation also included proposed SBS service stops.

Previously, MTA has said it was possible the buses-only option would be scrapped, though a mayoral spokesperson at the time said the city was still deciding.

Advocates held a 'race' with the M14 bus last month, showing in realtime that taking the bus was just five seconds quicker than walking on a day when the L train was running business-as-usual and public schools were closed.

Thursday, advocates are holding a 'bike train' and rally outside an MTA open house in the West Village.

Read the full Streetsblog report here, with a hyperlink to the presentation at the bottom.