Service changes coming to B48 as construction
continues at Lorimer Street L station
BY KIRSTYN BRENDLEN
Service changes are coming
to one of northern Brooklyn’s
busiest bus routes, as transit
authorities begin work on new
elevators at the Lorimer Street
L station.
The B48 is now being rerouted
from Lorimer Street
to Union Avenue for about six
blocks (from Meeker Avenue
to Grand Street), as Lorimer
Street will be temporarily
turned into a one-way road
heading northbound to accommodate
the construction.
Southbound
On the southbound B48
(heading towards Prospect Lefferts
Gardens), three stops will
be discontinued:
Lorimer Street at Skillman
Avenue; Lorimer Street at Metropolitan
Avenue; Lorimer
Street at Ainslie Street. Those
defunct stops will be replaced
with three new stops along
Union Avenue:
Union Avenue, midblock
between Meeker and Metropolitan
Avenues; Union Avenue
near Ainslie Street; Grand
Street near Union Avenue, at
the existing Q54/59 stop.
Northbound
On the northbound B48
(heading toward Greenpoint),
fi ve stops will be discontinued:
Lorimer Street/Grand
Street; Lorimer Street at Powers
COURIER L 24 IFE, JAN. 28-FEB. 3, 2022
Street; Lorimer Street/
Devoe Street; Lorimer Street
at Conselyea Street; Lorimer
Street at Jackson Street Those
northbound stops will be replaced
with three alternatives:
Grand Street near Union
Avenue, at the existing Q54/59
stop; Union Avenue near Ainslie
Street; Union Avenue near
Metropolitan Avenue The detours
will be in place until 2023,
when the fi nal phases of construction
will allow normal
vehicular traffi c on Lorimer
Street.
According to the transit advocacy
group Turnaround, approximately
3,406 straphangers
rode the B48 per day in 201.
Work at the station began
last year as part of the MTA’s
mission to increase the number
of subway stations considered
fully-accessible under
the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act. The Lorimer
Street station is one of eight being
upgraded using funds from
a federal grant, the agency announced
in late 2020.
Three new elevators are being
installed at Lorimer Street,
with two at the connected Metropolitan
Avenue G stop. The
Grand Street L station, along
with the 7th Avenue F and G
stop, are also slated to receive
new lifts.
Elevators are only one part
of the station’s new accessibility
measures at the Lorimer
Street train depot — the MTA
is also installing new braille
signs, raised boarding areas,
and ADA-compliant sidewalks.
Alongside the accessibility
improvements, the
renovated station will have
new staircases, fl ood protection
measures, a new fi re
alarm, closed-circuit television
system, structural upgrades,
and new artwork.
“The L train is near and
dear to my heart,” said Craig
Cipriano, interim president
of New York City Transit. “I
grew up riding the L train, and
I am thrilled about the ADA
upgrades that will ensure everyone
in the Lorimer Street
community can enjoy using
the subway.”
L train service between
Myrtle Avenue and 8th Avenue
in Manhattan was suspended
from Jan. 14-17, and
is expected to be suspended
again from Feb. 25-28 and
April 29-May 5 as construction
continues. Free shuttle
buses will be available to fi ll
gaps in train service.
Approximately 130 of the
city’s more than 400 subway
stations are accessible under
the ADA, with 30 of those accessible
stations in Brooklyn.
Upgrades to the Bedford
Avenue L station, which included
brand-new elevators,
staircases, and expanded
turnstiles, wrapped in Oct.
2020, also marking the offi -
cial end of the enormous Canarsie
Tunnel rehabilitation
project.
Lorimer Street will be temporarily converted to one-way as construction
continues on the Lorimer Street L station, sending B48 buses down
Union Avenue instead. File photo by Kevin Duggan
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