DOT Announces Temporary Citi Bike Stations in Bushwick Ahead of L Train Shutdown
BUSHWICK – The DOT has revealed its plans for Citi Bike coverage expansion into Bushwick help mitigate the effects of the L-train shutdown: just five temporary stations coming to the neighborhood this winter.
Two stations will be located near L train stops, at Jefferson and Dekalb, which will still have service during the shutdown. Along the M line, the Central and Knickerbocker stops will also get temporary Citi Bike stations. Finally, the fifth station will be located near Maria Hernandez Park.
The stations being added in Bushwick “should be only considered a first step” in the DOT’s plans for the area, a spokesperson said today. The temporary additions will be open for the duration of the shutdown, which is projected to be 15 months.
The DOT previously announced a boost in Citi Bike inventory across Greenpoint and Williamsburg, where more than 200 Citi Bike docks will be added at 21 stations this winter, ahead of the shutdown. That infill project represents a permanent addition to capacity, unlike the temporary Bushwick stations.
Currently, Bushwick is entirely outside of the Citi Bike coverage area, though a recent announcement of a $100 million dollar investment and expansion plan could change that. Some speculated that a permanent expansion would arrive ahead of the “L-pocalypse,” but the DOT’s new plan shows just a modicum of service for Bushwick residents before the shutdown occurs.
The small scale of the current proposal—and it’s transitory nature—aren’t exactly what many residents were expecting, but the DOT expects to return to the Community Boards next year to discuss the longer-term expansion, a spokesperson said today
New “plates” were being unloaded at a Bushwick warehouse last month for what could be the larger coverage expansion, but there are no details about that plan at this time. And with the shutdown only months away, the new expansion’s 5-year roll-out won’t nearly be quick enough to help L train commuters.
Citi Bikes are just one of the options for L-train commuters affected by the upcoming closure. The MTA expects that some 80% of the 225,000 riders that cross between Brooklyn and Manhattan each day will be absorbed by nearby lines, the G and M.
There are a handful of other transit options in the works, such as scooters, but none with the built-in coverage and institutional support of Citi Bike.