Eyes on the Street: The Bus Bulb at the Nexus of the Universe

Thanks to @J_uptown for tipping us off to this transit enhancement in the making (and providing the Seinfeld-inspired headline). The fresh sidewalk addition here is a bus bulb for Select Bus Service on First Avenue. When it's in working order, bus drivers won't have to pull over to the curb to pick up and drop off riders, and passengers waiting for the bus won't have to share scarce sidewalk space with passersby. There are ten bus bulbs coming to the SBS route on First Avenue, and two slated for Second Avenue.

Also spotted around the corner: The staging area for the reconstruction of East Houston Street. This project is based on a 2006 plan from the Department of City Planning [PDF], and it includes a number of sidewalk extensions (and, when we last checked in on it in 2009, a buffered bike lane). We haven't seen the final drawings, but the guys on the crew confirmed that the pedestrian island between Houston and First Street, which is to the left of the big jumble of materials, is going to be much bigger when this puppy wraps up.