New York, NY –
City plans for speeding up buses on First and Second Avenues do not include physically separating the buses from other traffic. But the new designs do include miles of protected bike lanes.
Experts say bus rapid transit, or BRT, as its called, has been most successful in cities where cars and trucks are prevented from entering bus lanes by a physical barrier.
The city and MTA are poised to unveil a proposal for BRT on these major north/south arteries. But the MTA, expressing concern that trucks parked illegally in bus lanes would stop traffic, vetoed the idea of physically segregated lanes. The plans do include tighter enforcement of bus-only lanes and off-board payment of fares, both of which make buses move faster. And, according to those who have seen the plans, transportation officials do envision hundreds of blocks of discreet bike lanes on First and Second avenues.
The plans will be unveiled tonight at a community meeting on the Upper East Side.
Award–winning journalist Andrea Bernstein is the Director of the public radio Transportation Nation project, a partnership with WNYC, The Takeaway, Marketplace, WAMU (Washington, DC), WMFE (Orlando), KUHF (Houston), YPR (Montana and Wyoming), and KALW (San Francisco). She is also a regular guest–host on the Brian Lehrer show.
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