Video: Times Square Obama Afghanistan Protest Arrests
New Photo Brings Flying Overweight Debate Back
AA's "Fat Flier" Got Whole Row
State Sen. Savino Gets Noticed For Impassioned Gay Marriage Speech
Teen Gets Two Years For Killing Kitten
With lots of construction ahead for Lower Manhattan, the Department of Transportation has been considering a plan that would close off Broadway south of Ann Street (see map) to all traffic except for city buses. The plan is being reviewed by community boards, and the DOT says they want to encourage more drivers to use mass transit instead. Which makes you wonder how much of that traffic isn't commercial.
Additionally, the DOT is building "bus bulbs" to make it easier for buses to pick up passengers as well as will create a bus-only lane on Broadway, all to be completed by June 1. Streetsblog explains what bus bulbs are:
[Bus bulbs are a ] design in which the sidewalk is extended into the street at bus stops. Bus bulbs allow a bus to stay in its lane to pick up and discharge passengers instead of having to pull over to the curb. The benefits of bus bulbs include preventing buses from being delayed, reducing sidewalk congestion, providing space for bus shelters and other amenities, and reducing pedestrian crossing times.The construction projects that the DOT had in mind when developing these traffic-lessening measures clog up downtown include the Fulton Transit hub and the World Trade Center redevelopment. The NY Sun says the plan would "require a police presence of 30 traffic agents working two shifts a day to reroute traffic," but it might be necessary, if they want construction not to be bogged down by traffic. An interesting dilemma - and possible stop-gap solution - for very crowded streets.
Photograph by rdcapasso on Flickr
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I'm for it if it gets the &$*%& tour buses off Broadway. That's 20% of the traffic on lower Broadway anyway
I'm all for mass transit, but I find this slightly odd considering that virtually every foot of Broadway has a subway line under it --- why take the bus?
No one ever considers the needs of the residents of the financial district or the lousy quality of life we have been subjected to in this neighborhood over the last 6+ years. We still don't have a lot of "basic needs" shopping, 24/7 or even 7 days a week, down here and the subways are often not running below Canal or Chambers on the weekends due to construction. Residents need to have taxi service on Broadway to the end of the island at all times. Get rid of the tourist buses, tell the television and movie shoots to use other parts of the city for a change and give residents a car pass for their personal use. Stop punishing the people who have kept this neighborhood going!
Unless NYC uses automatic plate recognition or gates, its going to be hell keeping NYC drivers out of there. Look at Fulton Street Mall, the "only buses" rule is always being broken.
Public transportation is so much better than owning personal cars. It should really be the only way in my opinion. It's nice to see they are trying to improve SOMETHING.
I've lived in the financial district for 2 years now and I have to agree with ling that mass transit on the weekend is already pretty skimpy due to construction. I don't understand why they try to encourage people to live down here and then take away services. I'll be moving soon enough and this is the primary cause.
That's because the police don't enforce the rule "Pete" . I don't this really making any difference at all ! With all those subway lines in downtown why would you want to extend the already overcrowded buses serving the area with more fares ? Makes no sense at all.
>Correction
So with "bus bulbs," a bus will just come to halt in a traffic lane to pick passengers up instead of pulling out of the traffic flow...? Not sure if I understand the logic behind this. Doesn't it mean the bus will then just be blocking a lane of traffic?
Waitaminute. You're complaining about the lack of transit options down-fuckin-town? The land where practically every subway line converges? Dude, I don't care how much they screw up on the weekends, you have like twelve subway lines down there.
Joe: I think this is targeted at the express buses to Staten Island/Bklyn/Queens, but I'm just guessing. Particularly the Battery Tunnel.
Gwin: The bus does block a lane of traffic -- it's to get rid of the need to pull into the curb and back out, which is a big cause of slowdowns. It's just a shift in priorities.
Yes, many subway lines run below Canal Street but not on the weekends. From 12:00am Saturday until 6:00am Monday and many nights, the lines DO NOT stop at any of the stations below Canal or Chambers on most/any of the lines. Most of the entrances/exits to the biggest hub, Fulton Street are closed all weekend and with construction, it is all but impossible to get around down here. You try hauling groceries, strollers, etc through the mess that is the very limited public transportation in the Financial District and see for yourself how difficult it is to get around down here.
Like I said, Not going to happen !
What's with the attitude, Gothamaist? You clearly haven't bothered to understand the dynamics of street design. Bus bulbs increase the efficiency of transit at the expense of single-driver autos (who shouldn't be driving into Lower Manhattan to begin with).
It's shocking how reactionary the New York media is any time a progressive traffic measure is proposed. "An Inconvenient Truth" is praised to no end, but when concrete steps are taken locally that can reduce pollution the city's chattering classes snicker and complain. Get over it.
Good points, urbanplanner. DOT has fallen behind in implementing fresh ideas that could be considered dated in other major cities across the Atlantic where walking or taking the bus is a pleasure. Roadway width is not the salvation; numbers and options are.
"...and give residents a car pass for their personal use."
Seriously? Last time I checked, this was New York F'ing City. Re-create your suburbs elsewhere.