New York Subway Begins Accessibility Improvements

The MTA is putting its effort to improve the system’s century-old stations to make them more universally accessible in high gear, adding elevators, boarding upgrades, and mechanical improvements.

1 minute read

June 6, 2023, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


A station renovated as part of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s effort to improve accessibility at its subway stations won a ‘Construction Project of the Year,’ modeling how transit agencies can improve accessibility at older stations. 

According to a press release from TAP Electric, a partner on the project team, “The rehabilitation included the installation of two elevators with a street-level elevator machine room; a passageway above the tracks to connect the platforms, new platform windscreens and canopies; new ADA compliant stairs to station platforms and passageways; and station agent booth upgrades. ADA improvements were made to the station’s architectural, structural, and mechanical components, and the control house and platforms were reconfigured to assist in ADA boarding.”

The Livonia Avenue station was built in 1905, and today the L train has a ridership of over 30 million annual riders. “Prior to this vital upgrade, disabled and limited mobility passengers, seniors, and families with young children in strollers could travel to the Wilson Avenue Station in Bushwick – some 2.4 miles away – which was previously the closest ADA-accessible station on the L Line.”

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