Oh boy, the shutdown is off but the L is still went out unexpectedly last week, stranding riders. My hope was that, due to the shutdown, July 2020 would bring a series of new transit redundancies, including:

M14 SBS (has anyone tried getting on the L at 1st Ave in the morning? If so you probably support this one)

Ferry Service to 23rd street (with 7 minute head-ways and shuttle-like frequency – very different from the published schedules of the current East River Ferry)

Bridge HOV Lane & New Bus Routes (providing excellent connections between Williamsburg and several Manhattan subway hubs)

Now we get none of it, save for perhaps the M14 SBS according to NYTimes. Since launching last year this blog’s sole focus has been on creating transit redundancy for North Brooklyn, on the premise that the short-term L train crisis would spur long-term gains. We explored better connections to LaGuardia, service on the Bushwick Branch, and re-invigorating the BQX.

But the L keeps going out for reasons that have nothing to do with the Sandy-damaged tubes. And so redundancy still matters. A quarter million people cross the river in those tubes each day and most of the current alternatives are highly circuitous. What is to be done?