Bedford Avenue is a station

Metro station

A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....

 on the BMT Canarsie Line

BMT Canarsie Line

The Canarsie Line is a rapid transit line of the BMT Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn...

 of the New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

. Located at the intersection of Bedford Avenue and North Seventh Street in the Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 neighborhood of Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...

, it is served by the L

L (New York City Subway service)

The L 14th Street – Canarsie Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway, providing service along the entire length of the two-tracked BMT Canarsie Line...

 train at all times. With an average of 21,149 entries each weekday in 2010 and a total of 7,418,203 that year, Bedford Avenue is the busiest subway station in Brooklyn outside of the borough's central business district

Downtown Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City , and is located in the northwestern section of the borough of Brooklyn...

, as well as the busiest station served solely by one line in Brooklyn.

History

Bedford Avenue opened on September 21, 1924, as part of the initial segment of the underground Canarsie Line, a product of the Dual Contracts, stretching from Sixth Avenue

Sixth Avenue (BMT Canarsie Line)

Sixth Avenue is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in the Manhattan neighborhood of Chelsea, it is served by the L train at all times....

 station in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 to Montrose Avenue

Montrose Avenue (BMT Canarsie Line)

Montrose Avenue is a station on the BMT Canarsie Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Montrose and Bushwick Avenues in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, it is served by the L train at all times....

 station.

Ridership

Bedford Avenue has experienced a surge in ridership along with the recent gentrification of Williamsburg. In 2000, there were 3.783m boardings recorded at the station, 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 passengers from 2000. 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.

Unfortunately, growing passenger numbers along the line, partly influenced by Bedford Avenue station, have made the L train one of the most overcrowded in the system, a fact that has adverse effects on both riders and the line's Straphangers Campaign rating. For the first time, Bedford Avenue broke seven million entries in 2010, receiving press for its particularly high weekend passenger volume. Crowding has become such an issue that politicians have called upon the MTA to "create a schedule that is more reflective of ridership patterns."

Station layout

There are two entrance and exit points, both located on North Seventh Street. The western exit is at Bedford Avenue and contains a 24-hour booth, while the eastern exit is at Driggs Avenue. The B62 bus northbound connects at the former exit and southbound connects at the latter.

At platform level, Bedford Avenue utilizes a simple island platform

Island platform

An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...

setup with two tracks. Trains to Canarsie use track Q1 with trains to Manhattan using track 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. Bedford Avenue station has a brown-and-green mosaic pattern with geometric shapes and embellished "B" ornamentations.

External links

• Station Reporter – L Train
• The Subway Nut - Bedford Avenue Pictures