Living on the waterfront means a lot of great things: lower rents in good neighborhoods, incredible views of the harbor and the Manhattan skyline, not to mention my own growing addictions to Calexico and Baked. But it also means a few inconveniences, namely a relatively long (for NYC) walk to the subway and limited bus routes. I'm thankful that we moved to the area after 2010, because I can only imagine how painful it must have been to see the B71, B75, and B77 - virtually all of the bus routes serving an area with limited subway service - axed. The MTA, for its part, has made some good faith efforts to mitigate and restore much of the service that was cut, mainly through service extensions and consolidations (with the glaring exception of Union St - leaving South Brooklyn with no crosstown options between Atlantic and 9th St), but there is much more the agency could be doing to benefit the area, particularly with its main bus route, the B61.
The B61 and the Downtown Problem
The B61 has only existed in its present form since 2010, when it was extended from Red Hook to Park Slope and severed at Downtown Brooklyn from the new B62. This created a new terminal for the route at the corner of Smith and Fulton streets, just outside the entrance to the Jay St-MetroTech station. That means the B61 provides connections from Red Hook and the waterfront to five subway lines: the F at Jay St; the F and G from Smith-9 St to 15 St-Prospect Park; the R at 4 Av-9 St and Jay St; and the A/C at Jay St. This may seem like a great deal of connections, but when you consider that most of the B61's route falls within the half-mile (10-12 minute walk) catchment for the F and G, and that those lines provide connections to the A, C, and R at some of the stations listed above, the advantages become less apparent.
The trouble for bus service in a city with such an expansive rail network is that it will almost invariably be perceived as a second-class form of public transportation. There are certainly reasons to knock the bus - its vulnerability to traffic, its relatively rough ride, its limited capacity - but a well-conceived bus network can complement rail with targeted, neighborhood-level services that the subway cannot provide. The B61 does this to some extent by providing direct service to Red Hook, which is partially served by a single subway station at Smith-9 St. Even so, the MTA is missing a great opportunity to make small adjustments that would yield big results.
Simple Solutions
One of the most vexing issues with subway service in South Brooklyn is separation of the IRT lines (2/3/4/5) from the IND lines (A/C/F/G). The IRT was also separated from the BMT system until the recent opening of a connection between R trains at Court St and the 2/3/4/5 at Borough Hall. Elsewhere in South Brooklyn there are no opportunities to transfer, save for a possible two-stop connection via the R. This is where the B61's opportunity comes in.
Until 2010, the B71 bus provided some measure of connection from F and G-served neighborhoods to the IRT at Grand Army Plaza and along Eastern Parkway. Since that cut, no direct transfer has existed. The B61's terminus, however, sits at the corner of Fulton and Smith - barely 3 blocks from the entrance of the Borough Hall station. This might sound like a non-issue. After all, do three blocks really prevent a transfer? Admittedly, some people already make the switch from the B61 to Borough Hall. But exceptions to the rule do not change the fact that a three block walk does not feel like a transfer (and for children, the elderly, and the disabled three blocks is a very real impediment). Three blocks might work on a one-off basis, but it would hardly be acceptable for an all-weather daily commute. A stop directly in front of Borough Hall, however, would feel like a regular bus-to-subway transfer.
So how can a change be made? Unlike many suggested changes to the transit system, this one comes at virtually no cost to the MTA. Instead of remaining at the Smith/Fulton stop (Jay St) as its terminus, the B61 would turn left onto Fulton St, as it normally does to start a new run. It would continue past Boerum Place (where it currently turns toward Atlantic) and instead proceed to the stop in front of Borough Hall, near the intersection of Joralemon and Court, where it would make its remain and wait to start a new run.
The result: B61 riders in Red Hook, Carroll Gardens, and Cobble Hill all would gain a convenient two-seat trip to four subway lines, linking them to job centers along 7th Avenue and the East Side, as well as growing Brooklyn communities in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights and cultural amenities at Grand Army Plaza, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Botanical Gardens. It would also provide greater access to the waterfront and Red Hook and generate new opportunities to discover the area's eclectic mix of shops and restaurants or to visit major shopping attractions such as IKEA. Not only would this benefit the communities along the way, it would also drive greater ridership on the B61, to the benefit of the MTA.
Best of all, this could be accomplished with minimal cost or disruption to existing ridership patterns. The B61's route would remain unchanged, save for the bus making its return trip to Atlantic Ave along Court St (with the B57) instead of Boerum Place. Because the lost stop at Boerum and Fulton would be made up for by the new stop at Borough Hall, only one stop - at Boerum and Atlantic - would be lost, and another stop exists one block away at Court. The terminal change would also avoid disruptions to many of the riders at Jay St-MetroTech. Riders on the F could choose to catch the B61 at Smith-9 St instead, and R riders could transfer at Court St. The largest potential disruption would be A/C riders, who would have to walk to Borough Hall to transfer to the B61 at the beginning of its route (but would be able to transfer to the subway without issue).
This is a simple fix that can be accomplished at minimal cost, be it financial or political. It adds new transfers and removes some of the significant overlap between the B61 and the F/G services. The question I leave is, does this make sense? Would you be more likely to transfer if the bus stopped directly in front of Borough Hall? Would having a transfer available make you more inclined to ride?
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