When MTA first announced that the L train might have to be shut down for several years in order to repair the Canarsie tubes, everyone freaked the fuck out.
But the latest news in the crisis is that the situation might not be that bad. There are several options that the MTA is considering for doing the repairs. The first option is completely shutting down the tubes for a year and a half. Another option is closing just one of the tubes at a time, which would make service twice as slow, and would make the project take twice as long: 3 years. The third option is closing the tubes on nights and weekends, which would extend the duration of the project to 5 years.
It’s hard to tell which option is best. Limited, slow, shitty service is probably better than no service at all. But can New Yorkers tolerate shitty service for three years?
What are the odds that MTA will make this into a referendum and let the people of the city decide?
Repairs won’t start until 2018, so it’s not too late to bail out and move to Manhattan or the lower parts of Brooklyn.
Cover photo credit: Stephen Rees/Flickr