Passengers line up for the Q55 on Palmetto Street at the new Ridgewood Bus Terminal. — Photo by Aaron Short

Three years and $4.5 million later, the Ridgewood Bus Terminal is finally here, though the changes are subtle.

The new terminal is actually a renovation of Palmetto Street under the M-train. This weekend, cars were still driving on the street even though traffic is supposed to be prohibited and the corridor under the above-ground elevated subway is still too dark, which the bus drivers themselves can tell you is not the safest situation at night.

But waiting areas for many Queens- and Brooklyn-bound buses are now clearly delineated, making it easier to navigate the Myrtle-Wyckoff hub to catch your bus transfer, or at least, that’s the plan according to NYC Transit President Thomas Prendergast.

"This facility creates a much improved transfer point, making it easier for our customers to transfer between our bus and subway services," said Prendergast, at a ribbon cutting Friday morning.  "Additionally, our operating personnel will find it easier to pick up and discharge passengers on a street dedicated to bus boarding and unloading."

Instead of walking through traffic to find the Q55, Q58, B13, B26, or B52 bus, now you can cross Wyckoff and look for the bus loading zone on Palmetto Street (the B54 to downtown Brooklyn through Myrtle Avenue still stops at Gates Avenue and Wyckoff — you won’t find it at Palmetto Street).

With additional funding from Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, New York City Transit added improvements such as the reconstruction of the roadway and sidewalks on Palmetto Street and the installation of new concrete bus pads, benches, lighting, and sidewalk canopies along the length of the block. There’s a new dispatcher’s booth and bus holding lights that are linked to the L line, so that commuters will be able to tell when the L is arriving and when buses are leaving, and vice versa.

Nolan is enthusiastic about the improvements.

"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," said Nolan.  "Mass transit is the economic and environmental lifeblood for our city and it is so important to be here and thank everyone today."

Bushwick residents might be suprised to learn the no-transfer destinations they can reach from Myrtle-Wyckoff. Sit back and relax on the B52, B26 or the B54 for Downtown Brooklyn; the Gateway Mall and Spring Creek Park in East New York (which is on top of a landfill and hosts cricket games) are reachable via the B13. If you’re heading further into Queens, you can get to The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale or eat Guyanese or Indian food in Richmond Hill on the Q55. Take the Q58 to Flushing, with stops in Corona and Elmhurst, and have a bevy of Chinese, Korean, Thai, Malaysian, Columbian, and Mexican food to choose from. It takes only 27 minutes from Ridgewood to Richmond Hill and between 45 and 65 minutes to get to Flushing.

In addition to the new bus terminal, Myrtle-Wyckoff LM station is the only MTA facility which has screens that tell riders where trains are in the system.