The numbers are adding up.
A software engineer’s viral proposal to close Manhattan’s L train station at Third Avenue argues that skipping the stop could save subway riders a combined 1,800 hours every day.
Joshua Wolk, a 23-year-old engineer, launched the website Stop the Stop to make the case for removing the station. Third Avenue is only about a five-minute walk from the nearby First Avenue and Union Square stops, both of which serve considerably more passengers.
Wolk, who lives in Stuyvesant Town and typically rides from First Avenue, began analyzing the station after repeatedly noticing how few passengers exited there. A friend soon told him they had observed the same pattern.
“I think it’s always been such a looming question among L train riders,” Wolk told The Post.
Using Metropolitan Transportation Authority data covering roughly 700 million trips from January through August, Wolk combined ridership figures with subway schedules and modeled the impact of removing each of the system’s 356 stations one at a time.
Third Avenue produced the largest projected time savings: 1,824 hours per day across all riders. His calculation counted every additional minute spent walking as twice as burdensome as a minute spent aboard a train.
Wolk estimates that approximately 11,200 passengers use the station each day.
The analysis identified several other stations where closures could generate significant savings. Removing 138th Street-Grand Concourse from the 4 and 5 lines, for example, could save riders an estimated 1,118 hours daily.
“I found that a lot of people were surprised by some stations but there are a lot of variables that go into it,” Wolk said. “Proximity to other stations was one of the biggest factors.”
On the 7 line, closing Hunters Point Avenue could save passengers as much as 1,024 hours each day, according to the model.
The L line also appears several times in the analysis. Eliminating Grand Street could save about 939 hours daily, while closing Graham Avenue could save roughly 391 hours.
The calculations also made clear that removing some stations would have the opposite effect, adding substantial time to commuters’ journeys.
Closing First Avenue, for instance, would increase riders’ total daily travel time by 6,453 hours, Wolk found.
The most damaging option would be eliminating the A, C and E stop at 34th Street-Penn Station, which would add nearly 22,000 hours to daily trips. Removing 72nd Street from the Q line would add more than 10,000 hours.
Wolk says about 500 people have signed his petition calling for a trial closure of the Third Avenue station.
He has presented his proposal at a Community Board 3 meeting, where his remarks were widely shared on social media, and has been communicating with a local representative. He has not yet spoken with the MTA.
“I’d really ask them to look at the outpouring of support for closing this station,” he said. “There’s been a lot of vibrant discussion online. It really goes both ways but I think what’s clear is that New Yorkers are interested in this proposal.”
