By Rebecca Henely
For Ridgewood straphangers who also ride the bus, a $10 million new bus stop will make their commute a little more appealing.
On Friday, the MTA’s New York City Transit division cut the ribbon on the new Ridgewood Intermodal Terminal, a bus-to-subway transfer facility on Palmetto Street at the intersection of Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues. The facility will be the new stopping point for the Q55, Q58, B13, B26, B52 and B54 lines when their drivers come to Ridgewood.
Since the facility is also near the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues subway station for the L and M lines, this will make transferring from the subway to the bus smoother for customers, NYC Transit said.
“This facility creates a much-improved transfer point, making it easier for our customers to transfer between our bus and subway services,” said Thomas Prendergast, president of NYC Transit, in a statement.
Deirdre Parker, spokeswoman for NYC Transit, said the stops for the different lines used to be spread out over a mile radius from the terminal.
“We wanted to reduce the confusion and inconvenience of the buses stopping all over the place,” Parker said.
She said about 10,000 customers use the Ridgewood terminal on an average weekday.
Construction of the terminal included building the bus stop structure, benches, new lighting, new bus stop signage, bus holding lights linked to the L line and a new dispatcher’s booth. In addition, the road and the sidewalks on Palmetto Street between Wyckoff and St. Nicholas avenues were redone and concrete bus pads — sections of the street where asphalt is covered with concrete to reinforce it — were installed along both sides of Palmetto Street.
Parker said that part of the street will now be closed to all traffic except buses and local deliveries.
More than half the project was funded through the MTA’s capital budget, Parker said.
The rest of the money was secured by state Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood), who contributed $4 million, and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Ridgewood), who allocated $485,000. Construction on the new terminal began in 2007 and was done by Ferreira Construction Co., NYC Transit said.
“As the Assembly representative to the MTA Capital Review Board for many years, I am proud and happy to have played a role in dedicating state funding and support for this critically important project,” Nolan said.
Velazquez said she believed the residents of Ridgewood deserve transportation that is reliable and effective.
“Establishing a new bus terminal and improving the station will not just enhance commuter service — it will also help rejuvenate the community by bringing more visitors to our city,” she said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
