New York City is planning a series of bus, bike and pedestrian improvements in and outside of Manhattan’s core as it prepares for the launch of congestion pricing in two months.
Some of those efforts include bus lane enhancements along much of Second Avenue, extending and widening the protected bike lane along Sixth Avenue and developing a plan for bike and pedestrian improvements on Broadway. That last initiative would help fully transform a stretch of streets between Union Square and Columbus Circle into a shared street with new pedestrian plazas spanned by a two-way bike lane.
Another notable initiative is greater bus priority along 34th Street — potentially similar to the busway on 14th Street — where buses currently move at a sluggish 5 miles per hour or less during peak travel times.
The enhancements are among 37 upcoming projects the city’s Department of Transportation detailed in a report published Thursday. Depending on the planning process, the city estimates that the projects will begin to roll out either later this year or in 2025.
Transit officials say the projects generally seek to plug gaps in the city’s existing bike network and create more seamless bus connections along transit-rich corridors. DOT says it will pay for the upgrades out of its budget, rather than out of congestion pricing-related funds, agency spokesman Nick Benson confirmed. The city has not shared specific timelines or cost estimates for each of the projects.
DOT’s plan comes as the Adams administration has taken heat for a lack of new coordinated transit upgrades, particularly for buses, in advance of the June 30 launch of congestion pricing. Once in effect, most riders will have to pay $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.
“Better late than never,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director of the Riders Alliance, a group that advocates for mass transit users. “Optimistically, many of these projects can be ready by day one of congestion pricing because they’ve been in the works for years — many of them are not brand new — and the advantage is the planning has been done, the weather is warm and the painting of lanes can begin today.”
The projects aren’t just confined to Manhattan’s busiest streets. Every borough will receive new transit upgrades as part of DOT’s efforts, including multiple new bus upgrades on busy thoroughfares.
Among them are Hillside Avenue, Grand Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens; Church Avenue, Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway in Brooklyn; Tremont Avenue in the Bronx; and Richmond Avenue in Staten Island.
But DOT’s report notes that “for many of these projects, this is the start of a process” it will undertake with communities.
Some advocates say the timing begs the question why city officials waited eight weeks before the launch of congestion tolls to hit the gas on new improvements and publicly share its plans.
“Congestion pricing itself is only half the equation — its success hinges on what we do with the space newly freed up by fewer cars,” said Sara Lind, co-executive director at Open Plans, which advocates for street upgrades. “Optimizing it for people, buses and bikes is the right move.”
Caroline Spivack , 2024-05-02 22:03:03
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