MTA Hopes Lower Turnstiles Will Help Reduce Congestion At Clinton-Washington Ave C Station

In her three years in Clinton Hill, resident Tali Arbel said she has “never seen the C train crowded like it is now — so packed during rush hour people sometimes can’t get on, people lined two-deep on the platforms waiting for a train.”

And she isn’t alone in her experience, as any wait on a C train platform in Brooklyn will tell you. So is her experience this winter just a result of cold weather congestion or is it more serious?

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), it’s indicative of a growing issue: an increase of over 11 percent — from around 1.9 million people to over 2.1 million people — in ridership at the Clinton-Washington C station alone since 2012.

A month after Arbel told us her concerns, the MTA announced that they have replaced turnstiles at the station with waist-level versions that they hope will improve passenger flow, as first reported in DNAInfo.

The Clinton-Washington station’s previous turnstiles — high entrance/exit turnstiles (HEET) that span from the floor to the ceiling — were replaced by waist-level turnstiles after the MTA conducted a study of the station.

Using online surveys and meetings with community boards and city officials, they found the station to be overcrowded, an MTA spokeswoman said.

[The station’s] ridership increase is significant compared to nearby stations, like the Franklin Avenue and Lafayette Avenue C train stops, which both increased by less than 4 percent.

What do you think of this move by the MTA? Is it enough?

(Note: This story has been edited to clarify that Tali Arbel’s concerns were made before, not in response to, the MTA’s announcement.)