Bus Bulbs
Streetsblog Basics
Bus Bulbs Will Boost Nostrand Avenue Select Bus Service
With Select Bus Service speeding trips and boosting ridership on Fordham Road and First and Second Avenue, the next route slated for an upgrade is Brooklyn's Nostrand Avenue. The B44 bus runs over nine miles from the Williamsburg Bridge to Sheepshead Bay. It attracts 41,000 riders a day, making it the seventh busiest route in the city, despite running at an average speed or seven or eight miles per hour and having the least reliable service in the borough. Last night, the Department of Transportation and MTA held an open house to present an updated design for the corridor [PDF], one of the final revisions before construction begins next year.
October 5, 2011
Count It: First and Second Avenue Redesigns Are a Success
With results like these, it's hard to understand why the city isn't rushing to complete the redesign of First and Second Avenue all the way up to 125th Street. According to DOT's presentation to its community advisory council Wednesday night, both the bus improvements, which go the length of the corridor, and the protected bike lanes, which run from Houston to 34th, are improving safety and mobility for all New Yorkers. Here are the highlights:
April 29, 2011
DOT Presents Scaled-Back Concept for 34th Street
"Consensus" and "process" were the buzzwords last night when NYC DOT presented its new concept for improving transit on 34th Street [PDF]. Gone was the plan for New York's first physically separated busway -- scuttled by local property owners and residents seeking drive-up curbside access. In its place was a package very similar to Select Bus Service on the East Side of Manhattan: bus lanes offset from the curb, off-board fare collection, camera enforcement, and bus bulbs to speed boarding and relieve sidewalk crowding.
March 15, 2011
Eyes on the Street: If You Build It, They Will Sit
A couple weeks ago, we showed how the bus bulbs on Lower Broadway were being integrated with the sidewalk next to them. For drainage reasons, a small gap and a large fence had separated the two pedestrian spaces, but DOT capped the gap with a small grate and replaced the fence with benches. That work's now largely complete and Streetsblog reader Dave "Paco" Abraham sent along these pics of Soho pedestrians taking advantage of their new public space. There's a lot more breathing room on a stretch of sidewalk that's often packed and it looks like people appreciate it.
July 2, 2010
Eyes on the Street: Bus Bulbs on Broadway, Protected Lanes on Second Ave
Bus bulbs are one of the most versatile tools in the livable streets toolkit. By extending the sidewalk out into the street, you can send a calming signal to through traffic, spare buses the trouble of pulling to the curb every few blocks, and expand the amount of pedestrian space in one fell swoop.
June 18, 2010
MTA, DOT Sketch Out East Side Plans: Separated Lanes for Bikes, Not Buses
One configuration in the plan calls for a protected bike lane and a curbside bus lane. Image: MTA/NYCDOT The MTA and NYCDOT released an outline last night for faster bus service and safer biking and walking on First and Second Avenues. The redesign is the flagship project in New York City’s plans to enhance its … Continued
January 15, 2010
Bus Bulbs Useless Without Enforcement
A story about the new bus bulbs on Lower Broadway in the New York Times highlights the role that enforcement will have to play if DOT's plan to make the boulevard more bus-friendly is to work. (Bus Rapid Transit, of course, will face similar issues when it rolls out later this year.) The story points out that Broadway's current bus lane -- bus bulbs or no -- is often blocked by double-parked delivery and placarded vehicles.
April 27, 2007
Bus Bulbs Are Blooming
According to a more-than-a-little-snarky post on Curbed, the first of Lower Broadway's hotly anticipated bus bulbs has been constructed on Broadway south of Spring Street.
April 18, 2007
Quick Bus and Ped Improvements Coming to Lower Broadway
Nope, that's not Lower Manhattan. It's an example of a "bus bulb" in Edgewater, Chicago, a neighborhood known for its thoughtful planning and pedestrian-friendly streets.
March 11, 2007