The city's Department of Transportation is pitching a new 34th Street -- one that includes a busway -- as a means to make commutes faster, more reliable and safer for tens of thousands of people, it says.
The agency points to the 14th Street busway as a model.
After that was implemented, bus speeds increased up to 24% and crashes on the corridor dropped by 42%. The proposal follows support from all three local community boards for a busway on 34th Street.
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WATCH HEREAccording to DOT, the midtown busway would speed up bus service, with more reliable waits for 28,000 daily bus riders on 34th Street on the M34/A Select Bus Service and 22 express bus routes as well as New York Waterway, tour, and other buses.
NYC DOT presented its proposal for the 34th Street busway Monday night. All three local community boards support it.
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What is the 34th Street busway proposal?
Local
The 34th Street busway would utilize a similar design as 14th Street, where NYC DOT says it freed up space for buses and improved traffic safety without seeing any significant spillover traffic to neighboring streets.
The proposal would deliver a busway from Ninth Avenue to Third Avenue, and would prioritize buses and trucks while maintaining local access for pick-ups, drop-offs, and loading needs.
Like 14th Street, local-access vehicles would be required to turn off the busway at specific intersections to avoid a traffic violation.
DOT says installing a busway will free up curb space for deliveries and bring new pedestrian safety improvements, including painted curb extensions, and improved visibility at intersections across the corridor.
Outside of the busway, NYC DOT would maintain the existing bus lanes along 34thStreet, from 11th Avenue to the FDR Drive.
34th Street would be New York City’s eighth busway and the seventh installed since 14th Street in 2019.
“The vast majority of commuters in Midtown are traveling by transit and they deserve world-class, fast, and reliable buses,” NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement. “After seeing tremendous success on 14th Street—where buses have sped up, traffic has virtually disappeared, and far fewer New Yorkers are getting hurt in crashes—we are excited to propose a similar design on 34th Street. We look forward to refining the design with the community.”
