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.<ref name="2014-rider">Template:NYCS const</ref>

History

Template:Stack 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,<ref name=nyt-1924-07-01>Template:Cite news</ref> built by the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) under the Dual Contracts.<ref name=nyt-1924-07-01/><ref>nycsubway.org — The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref>Template:Rp 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.<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Substantial completion was projected for November 2020,<ref name="MTA-CPOC-Nov2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and MTA officials formally dedicated the new elevators and entrances that October.<ref name="Verde 2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Greenpointers 2020">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="Brendlen 2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nessen 2023">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, a short barrier was installed at the center of the platforms to reduce the probability of passengers being pushed into the tracks.<ref name="Mocker 2023 x309">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent Template:NYCS Platform Layout access
P Platform level	Westbound	← Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:NYCS Platform Layout BMT Canarsie Line/previous)
	Island platform
	Eastbound	Template:0 Template:Rint toward Template:Stl (Template:NYCS Platform Layout BMT Canarsie Line/next) →

At platform level, Bedford Avenue utilizes a simple island platform setup with two tracks.<ref name="nycs">BMT Canarsie Line: Bedford Avenue NYCSubway Retrieved August 8, 2009</ref><ref name="tracks3">Template:NYCS const</ref> Fixed platform barriers, which are intended to prevent commuters falling to the tracks, are positioned near the platform edges.<ref name=Wassef202507>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Russo-Lennon202507>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Bedford Avenue station's walls have a brown-and-green mosaic pattern with geometric shapes and embellished "B" ornamentation.<ref name="nycs"/>

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.<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp

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.<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp<ref name="maps">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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,<ref name=":0" />Template:Rp with next-train countdown clocks and neighborhood wayfinding maps at the exterior of the entrance.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Schulz 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2000, there were 3.783 million boardings recorded at the station,<ref name="historical ridership">1904-2006 ridership figures Template:Webarchive Metropolitan Transportation Authority Retrieved August 7, 2009</ref> 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.<ref name="2007 riders">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="2008 riders">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Template:Infobox New York City Subway station/ridership/year, Template:Infobox New York City Subway station/ridership riders used this station.<ref name="2014-rider" />

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.<ref name="Grynbaum 2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2010, Bedford Avenue surpassed seven million entries for the first time in its history, receiving press for its particularly high weekend passenger volume.<ref name="weekendwork">Template:Cite news</ref> Crowding has become such an issue that politicians have called upon the MTA to "create a schedule that is more reflective of ridership patterns."<ref name="squadron">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• Template:NYCS ref
• Station Reporter – L Train
• The Subway Nut - Bedford Avenue Pictures
• Bedford Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Driggs Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View