Bedford Avenue station

The Bedford Avenue station is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Bedford Avenue and North Seventh Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it is served by the L train at all times. With an annual total of 9,388,289 passengers for 2015, Bedford Avenue is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn outside of Downtown Brooklyn, as well as the busiest station in Brooklyn served by one subway service.[3]

For the station at Lafayette Avenue between Nostrand Avenue & Bedford Avenue, see Bedford–Nostrand Avenues station.
 Bedford Avenue
 "L" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Station platform
Station statistics
AddressBedford Avenue & North Seventh Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
BoroughBrooklyn
LocaleWilliamsburg
Coordinates40.71772°N 73.95756°W / 40.71772; -73.95756
DivisionB (BMT)[1]
Line   BMT Canarsie Line
Services   L all times (all times)
Transit
StructureUnderground
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedJune 30, 1924 (1924-06-30)
AccessibleThis station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA-accessible
Opposite-
direction
transfer		Yes
Traffic
20197,836,366[2] Decrease 13.4%
Rank45 out of 424[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
First Avenue
toward Eighth Avenue
 Lorimer Street
toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway
Location
Bedford Avenue station is located in New York City Subway
Bedford Avenue station
Bedford Avenue station is located in New York City
Bedford Avenue station
Bedford Avenue station is located in New York
Bedford Avenue station
Track layout

to First Avenue
to Lorimer Street
Street map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times

History
Entrance at the northeastern corner of Bedford Avenue and North Seventh Street

Bedford Avenue opened on June 30, 1924, as part of the initial segment of the underground Canarsie Line that originally stretched from Sixth Avenue station in Manhattan to Montrose Avenue station,[4] built by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) under the Dual Contracts.[4][5][6]

As part of the wide scope in the rebuilding of the Canarsie Tubes that were damaged during Hurricane Sandy, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority started renovating the station in 2017.[7] At the Bedford Avenue end of the station, two new street-level stairways were built, platform stair capacity was increased, the mezzanine was expanded, turnstiles were added, and new elevators were installed and opened on August 6, 2020.[8][9]: 3  At the Driggs Avenue end, two new street-level stairways were added, the mezzanine area was redesigned with additional turnstiles installed, and a new platform stairway was built.[9]: 3 [10][11] Substantial completion was projected for November 2020,[12] and MTA officials formally dedicated the new elevators and entrances that October.[13][14] New York City councilmember Lincoln Restler founded a volunteer group, the Friends of MTA Station Group, in early 2023 to advocate for improvements to the Bedford Avenue station and four other subway stations in Brooklyn.[15][16]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent
Disabled access Elevator on northeast corner of Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street
P
Platform level		 Westbound ← "L" train toward Eighth Avenue (First Avenue)
Island platform Disabled access
Eastbound → "L" train toward Canarsie–Rockaway Parkway (Lorimer Street) →

At platform level, Bedford Avenue utilizes a simple island platform setup with two tracks.[17] The track normally used by southbound trains to Canarsie is labeled Q1, and the track normally used by northbound trains to Manhattan is labeled Q2. The Q- prefix denotes that the track is on the Canarsie Line, but this is only used by MTA officials and not by the general public.

The Bedford Avenue station's walls have a brown-and-green mosaic pattern with geometric shapes and embellished "B" ornamentation.[17]

There are two mezzanines above the platform: one at Bedford Avenue on the west and one at Driggs Avenue on the east. Two stairs and an elevator rise from the west end of the platform to the Bedford Avenue mezzanine, while a stair from the east end of the platform rises to the Driggs Avenue mezzanine.[9]: 3 

Exits

There are two sets of entrance and exit points. The western set comprises four street stairs: two stairs each to the southeastern and northeastern corners of Bedford Avenue and North 7th Street. It also comprises a 24-hour booth and an elevator to the northeastern corner of the intersection. The eastern exits are two stairs each to the southeastern and northeastern corners of North 7th Street and Driggs Avenue.[9]: 1, 3 [18]

Some of these staircases are original to the station, while others were built as part of the 2019 expansion. The entrances built as part of the expansion are similar to those at Enhanced Station Initiative stations in other parts of the subway system,[9]: 1  with next-train countdown clocks and neighborhood wayfinding maps at the exterior of the entrance.[19] The new entrances contain a mural by Marcel Dzama entitled No Less Than Everything Comes Together, which depicts a sun and moon rising over fanciful figures.[20]

Ridership

Bedford Avenue has experienced a surge in ridership along with the recent gentrification of Williamsburg. In the 1970s, the station had a fairly low annual ridership of 1.2 million, amounting to an average of 3,000 entries during weekdays.[21] In 2000, there were 3.783 million boardings recorded at the station,[22] but after the neighborhood was re-zoned in 2005, the MTA noted even higher ridership. By 2007, ridership had increased over 50%, to 5.776 million annual passengers.[23] In 2008, Bedford Avenue was used by more than 6 million people, making it the 53rd most-used subway station in New York City and one of the busiest in Brooklyn.[24] In 2019, 7,836,366 riders used this station.[3]

Between 1998 and 2011, passenger numbers on the L increased three times as much as ridership on the subway system as a whole. As a result, by 2011, many Manhattan-bound L trains were running at their full capacity of 1,160 riders per train by the time they reached the Bedford Avenue station.[25] In 2010, Bedford Avenue surpassed seven million entries for the first time in its history, receiving press for its particularly high weekend passenger volume.[26] Crowding has become such an issue that politicians have called upon the MTA to "create a schedule that is more reflective of ridership patterns."[27]

References
  1. "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  4. "Celebrate Opening of Subway Link; Civic and City Officials Ride in First Train Over 14th St. Line to Brooklyn". The New York Times. 1924-07-01. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  5. nycsubway.org — The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)
  6. "Subway Tunnel Through". The New York Times. August 8, 1919. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
  7. "Project Description, Budget and Scope". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 31, 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  8. "Governor Cuomo Announces Completion of Nation-leading L Project Tunnel Rehabilitation With No Shutdown" (Press release). Albany, NY: New York State - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. April 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  9. Musluoglu, Subutay (November 2020). "Canarsie Line Rehabilitation Update - Substantial Completion of Work at Bedford Avenue L Station" (PDF). The Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 63 (11).
  10. "mta.info | Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later". web.mta.info. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  11. "MTA Press Conference - 08/06/2020". YouTube.
  12. "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting November 2018" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 13, 2018. p. 90. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  13. Verde, Ben (October 20, 2020). "MTA christens new elevators at Bedford Avenue L station". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  14. "Elevators Debut at Bedford Avenue L Subway Station". Greenpointers. October 22, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  15. Brendlen, Kirstyn (February 24, 2023). "Restler launches new 'Friends of MTA Station' initiative to care for 5 local subway stops". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  16. Nessen, Stephen (March 5, 2023). "Want to be 'friends' with a subway station? A Brooklyn councilmember seeks volunteers". Gothamist. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  17. BMT Canarsie Line: Bedford Avenue NYCSubway Retrieved August 8, 2009
  18. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Williamsburg & Bedford Stuyvesant" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  19. "Enhanced Stations Initiative: Community Board 6" (PDF). cbsix.org. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 13, 2018. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  20. Schulz, Dana (2021-09-24). "MTA unveils colorful new subway mosaics at Bedford and 1st Avenue L train stations". 6sqft. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  21. "Spark It Up". frumin.net. Frumination. May 7, 2009. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  22. 1904-2006 ridership figures Archived July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Metropolitan Transportation Authority Retrieved August 7, 2009
  23. "2007 ridership by subway station". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  24. "2008 subway ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 12, 2009. Retrieved May 7, 2009.
  25. Grynbaum, Michael M. (June 8, 2012). "Soon, L Will Mean Less Crowded, Subway Officials Say". City Room. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  26. Grynbaum, Michael M. (July 10, 2011). "With weekends not sleepy anymore, subway faces a test". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  27. "Squadron: "Review weekend ridership on the L, F."". The New York Times. 14 July 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
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