The Problem
The impending shutdown of the L Train has had New Yorkers on the edge of their seats since it was first announced in 2017. While it is widely understood that the shutdown is a temporary and necessary fix to resolve damage left in the wake of 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, it has also meant that millions of the city’s residents would be left without a reliable line of transportation between Manhattan and Brooklyn, the city’s two largest boroughs.
In January, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a full shutdown would no longer take place, and the MTA would instead conduct necessary repairs during evenings and weekends over a period of 15 to 20 months. Still, when you live in the city that never sleeps, you can bet that even a nights-and-weekend solution leaves many in the lurch.
So, who better to problem solve this complicated and multi-layered problem than the many brilliant minds of New York City’s technology community? Throughout the process, city officials have consulted with engineers from Cornell and Columbia, and local working groups and accelerators have proposed ideas of their own.
The Fixers
URBAN-X, a tech accelerator backed by MINI, has been especially vocal in the development of alternative construction and transportation methods. Since the L Train shutdown was announced, the accelerator has held workshops and panels with the hope of inspiring alternative transportation solutions.
Recently, URBAN-X partnered with Forum for the Future to host “Reversa(L): A Public Forum on the L-Train.” Community organizers, venture capitalists and startup leaders discussed the reality of the shutdown, and how the city and its residents need to think big in truly solving this transportation crisis.
The event began with a discussion of the ways in which an L Train shutdown would interrupt millions of lives. According to data collected by URBAN-X, 40 percent of individuals even report already being affected by the shutdown, though it has yet to officially start, due to the handling of various tests by the MTA.
Just four percent of the city’s residents feel that the city has done a “good” or “excellent” job of managing the shutdown. The remaining majority question the plan, with as many as 27 percent of residents saying it has been handled “terribly.”
Many of the panelists also pointed to the bigger picture of transportation in New York City, including necessary changes to be made to bus routes, car traffic, and pedestrian thoroughfares. Panelist Kate Slevin, the senior vice president of state programs and advocacy for the Regional Plan Association, explained how her organization helped develop one of the key elements of the revised shutdown plan: a bus-only throughway on 14th street, where the L Train will soon be closed. Slevin pointed to the popularity of these thoroughfares in other cities and New York’s failure to adopt them up until this point.
Others encouraged the city to open up conversations and revise regulations around “micro-transportation” services like bike and scooter shares. Phil Jones, the east coast senior director of Lime Bike, explained how companies like Lime can actually become partners with the city itself in order to foster big-picture infrastructure upgrades. For example, charging a per-ride fee for Lime Bike use can help subsidize things like bike lanes, which help riders, drivers and pedestrians feel safer — and therefore ultimately help shift the transportation landscape.
The Future
Events like URBAN-X’s latest panel are getting the attention of city officials, and pointing to a greater need for creativity and innovation in this particular problem-solving process. The Department of Transportation and the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics are partnering with companies like Grand Central Tech to host events like the upcoming “Open Data L-Train Innovation Challenge.”
While all agree that repairs are, in some form, an immediate necessity — the bigger picture is of even greater importance. The L Train should not be seen as something to fix as quickly as possible; it’s a situation far too big for a band-aid. But putting the repairs in context of the city’s entire transportation ecosystem can help illuminate real solutions that the tech community is ready to help make a reality.
