NYC pushes new bus and bike lanes with congestion pricing coming

With congestion pricing expected to reduce motor vehicle traffic in Midtown and lower Manhattan, city officials are planning for 37 new projects to expand bus, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, according to a report released by the NYC Department of Transportation Thursday.

The report comes on the heels of last week’s announcement that the MTA plans to begin tolling motorists on June 30.

“We have been preparing for this moment for over a decade,” Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement, “and with fewer cars entering the tolled zone, we can repurpose street space to make commuting by bus, bike, or on foot safer, faster, and more reliable.”

Transportation officials say the projects are meant to aid both travel to the congestion zone below 61st St. in Manhattan, and travel within it.

Proposals include a priority bus lane on 34th St. in Manhattan, where DOT brass says buses currently lumber at average speeds of 5 mph or less during rush hour.

“Options under consideration include a busway treatment on key sections of 34th Street, which would also allow trucks and local access for passenger vehicles,” the report reads.

Officials say they plan to start a “community planning effort” regarding a 34th St. bus priority lane by the end of the year.

The MTA’s bus network —which serves a much greater portion of the city than the subway system — has long been touted as a congestion-friendly alternative in the city’s more car-dependent neighborhoods.

DOT officials say they aim to speed up the bus network with priority corridors that ease travel to the congestion zone or to subway hubs.

That includes bus lane improvements along Hillside Ave., Woodhaven Blvd. and Grand Ave. in Queens, as well as Church Ave., Flatbush Ave., and Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

Tremont Ave. in the Bronx is expected to get an updated busway as well. A plan to speed up east-west bus traffic with priority lanes along Fordham Rd. was scuttled last year amid opposition from nearby business improvement districts.

The agency said it also plans to improve crosstown bus service at 79th and 96th Sts. in Manhattan, among other projects.

The DOT report also lays out a slew of bike lane proposals, including improvements along Richmond Terrace on Staten Island, aimed at easing access to the ferry terminal at St. George.

Bike lanes along Third, Sixth, Seventh and 10th Aves. in Manhattan are expected to get additional miles of protected bike lanes within the congestion zone, as is Delancy St. leading to the Williamsburg Bridge.

The DOT report also proposes a rehab of pedestrian and bike lanes on the Queensboro Bridge.