No More Extra Swipe at Bway-Lafayette

For years, anyone in the neighborhood who routinely uses the B train and the uptown 6 train in Manhattan either needed an unlimited MetroCard or a complicated strategy to make the transfer. The arcane structure of the Broadway Lafayette station was such that only in-station transfers to the downtown 6 train were possible.

Thankfully, that problem is no more. Despite signs in the station saying that it would happen in “first quarter 2012,” the new, in-station transfer to the uptown 6 train finally opened today.

Why did the transfer not exist in the first place? The New York Times reports:

If commuters have long groused about the oddity, wondering why the platforms did not face each other like so many others in the system, they are not alone. The transportation authority said last week that it was unsure why they were built like that in the first place.

“There’s no real documentation,” said Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the authority.

One theory, Mr. Ortiz said, holds that because the station was built on a curve along a narrow street, a configuration could not be found to allow the platforms to be built in parallel.

The result has been a two-tiered system of subway travelers: those who know about the quirk and have come up with their own workarounds, and those who do not.

Although not mentioned elsewhere, announcements along the 6 line yesterday said that the transfer opened beginning at noon today.

Update: The New York Times is reporting that the connection is open.

Photo: Ranger