Mayor Adams must build a busway and widen the sidewalks on 42nd Street to speed up buses and provide more space for the throngs that crowd the Midtown thoroughfare, three local community boards said in one voice.
"Given the critical need to enhance public transportation infrastructure in this highly congested area of Manhattan, this project would significantly improve the efficiency and livability of 42nd Street for both commuters and pedestrians," the chairs of Community Boards 4, 5 and 6 wrote to city leaders in a recent letter [PDF].
Advocates recently dialed up the calls for a better Deuce, which would benefit greatly from the type of ban on private car traffic that the de Blasio-era Department of Transportation implemented on 14th Street, which improved bus speeds by 24 percent, and increased ridership by 30 percent, according to agency stats.
And now with congestion pricing going live and forecast to decrease traffic below 60th Street by about 13 percent, the need to prioritize public transit over private cars is greater than ever, advocates said.
"It’s a great opportunity for crosstown connectivity and to realize the gains that we’re already seeing from congestion pricing," said Danny Pearlstein, Policy and Communications Director at Riders Alliance.
The renowned strip has a bus lane in each direction, but still dedicates the majority of the roadbed to the movement and storage of private cars and trucks, forcing bus riders to endure one of the slowest routes in the city, the M42.
It's bizearre to devote so much space to cars, advocates said, given that 42nd Street intersects with almost every subway line and connects to major transportation hubs like Grand Central Terminal, which recently got Long Island Rail Road service, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, whose passenger capacity is slated to expand by 40 percent.
The artery is also home to world destinations that draw swarms of tourists, including the United Nations, Times Square, Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, and the Hudson River waterfront.
"It’s crowded, and it’s crowded with people who are not necessarily used to the New York environment," said Christine Berthet, who co-chairs the CB 4 Transportation Committee and also co-founded the pedestrian safety group CHEKPEDS.
The street's two-way traffic becomes especially hard to navigate for pedestrians at intersections with the avenues, Berthet said.
"One of the great benefits we have seen in other busways is that every intersection gets very protective for pedestrians," Berthet said. "It’s generally a huge upgrade for pedestrians."
The city already closed the corridor to motor vehicles at least once before — on Earth Day in 1990 — and it didn't result in traffic jams but actually improved the flow of local roads, the Times reported at the time.
There have also been proposals floating around since the late 1990s to create a light rail corridor on 42nd Street, but those never took off.
Adams's DOT has been slower than an M42 bus to roll out the red lane paint, coming in woefully below the legal requirements for new protected bus lanes under the Streets Master Plan every year since he came into office.
The agency has faced resistance for a busway on nearby Fifth Avenue, which de Blasio proposed in 2020, before watering it down repeatedly because some local mom-and-pops like Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, and Tiffany and Co. didn't like the idea of customers not being able to pull up to the front door.
Mayor Adams had a go at revamping Fifth Avenue as well last year, with a business-friendly vision to widen sidewalks, but he also chucked a proposed bike lane. Analysts say the plan could make commutes worse for bus riders on that road, which is one of the busiest in the city's entire surface transit system.
However, the agency is eyeing a bus priority upgrade on 34th Street, another key crosstown corridor, according to its list of projects from last year that officials tied to congestion pricing, dubbed Connecting to the Core.
DOT will kick off its planning process for 34th Street with community boards later this month, according to a spokesperson, who added the agency will review the demands for 42nd Street.
"Our streets must make it safer and easier for pedestrians, cyclists, and bus riders to get around our city. NYC DOT looks forward to reviewing the community’s input on the future of 42nd Street," said Mona Bruno in a statement.
