No Virginia, there is no bus priority.
The Adams administration has slammed the brakes on a highly-anticipated busway that the Department of Transportation was set to install on 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan this year, Streetsblog has learned.
A pair of administration officials confirmed the decision to Streetsblog, saying that even after a successful round of outreach that saw every single elected official and all three community boards in the neighborhood support the proposal, the whole thing is now in limbo.
"We've been told we shouldn't continue work on it," said one frustrated official with knowledge of the project.
The proposed 34th Street busway is supposed to be a 14th Street-style project that would prohibit more drivers from going all the way across 34th Street between Third Avenue and Ninth Avenue in either direction. A similar idea once proposed by the Bloomberg administration in 2008 also died at the community board stage.
But after the installation of multiple busways around the city since then and the launch of congestion pricing earlier this year, it seemed like the time for reviving a bus-first stretch of the corridor, and the Adams administration proposed to do so in its 2024 plan to take advantage of the space dividend provided by traffic decreases from congestion pricing.
What's especially galling about the decision to pause the crosstown bus improvement project is that the DOT had already done the hard work of winning over the neighborhood but for a few outspoken holdouts on the east side of the project area. Just last week, City Council Members Erik Bottcher and Keith Powers, along with Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, State Senators Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Kristen Gonzalez and Assembly Members Alex Bores and Tony Simone shared a letter they wrote to DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez urging him to move forward on the project.
"I joined @keithpowersnyc @marklevinenyc @sengonzalezny @bradhoylman @tonywsimone @alexbores in supporting the proposed 34th Street Busway — a transformative project that will improve bus speeds, reduce crashes, and make it easier for New Yorkers to get where they need to go," Bottcher wrote in an Instagram post in which he shared the letter. "From Penn Station to the Empire State Building, 34th Street deserves to be a corridor that works for everyone — riders, pedestrians, and small businesses alike. Let’s get it done!"
Reached for comment on Thursday, Powers expressed his annoyance at the sudden hiccup in the process — which he correctly noted was not the first time the city under under Mayor Adams had scuttled a long-desired transportation improvement at the last minute.
"The 14th Street busway is a great example of what happens when you do deep public engagement but also remain committed to the goal of speeding up bus service," Power said in a statement. "Elected officials representing this area have come out in support of it. We have a great example from 14th Street that proves out this kind of project, and we do not want to find out another example from this administration of them making last minute decisions to pull important projects without consulting with the elected officials or giving us an alternative plan."
Even at Manhattan Community Board 6, where an hour of sometimes contentious public comment for and against the busway took place last month, the board itself voted 31-5 to approve the idea. But the fact that there was any opposition at all was apparently enough to spook the mayor and DOT from moving forward on the project.
"My understanding is that opposition is what's caused this work to be stopped," said another administration official, who added that it was unclear how long the pause might last.
In June, the DOT had told Manhattan Community Boards 4, 5 and 6 that the agency was going to work on traffic analysis and refinements to its proposal for the busway, and that the agency had hoped to put the project in sometime in the summer or fall of this year.
Bus advocates blasted the mayor for promoting himself as a champion of working class New Yorkers while kneecapping yet another project that would help bus riders, who are overwhelmingly working class and poor.
"Riders have no time to waste," said Riders Alliance Director of Policy and Communications Danny Pearlstein. "All the local electeds are lined up in support of the project, and it's the keystone to the city's own Connecting the Core plan. If the mayor cares about working people he will implement this immediately."
Given the amount of work and support that had gone into the busway already, advocates are fuming at the mayor for stepping in the way of the project.
"It’s egregious that this project — which will improve one of Manhattan’s busiest, slowest, and most congested corridors — is being paused by the administration without word or warning," said Transportation Alternatives Manhattan Organizer Emily Jaccobi. "The Midtown community from east to west has supported this project, calling for the same benefits that 14th Street has had for years now. We call on Mayor Adams to end the unnecessary gridlock on the 34th Street project. Let's get these buses moving."
This is the latest in a long line of street redesign projects that Mayor Adams has poured work and resources into and then delayed or declined to actually implement, including a bike boulevard on Underhill Avenue, an offset bus lane on Fordham Road, a protected bike lane on McGuinness Boulevard and a protected bike lane on Ashland Place. The Adams administration also has a history of empowering internal opponents of any bus lane and bike lane projects, allowing them to work behind the scenes to gum up the works and keep bus lanes and bike lanes from moving forward.
The mayor also recently announced his intention to tear up three blocks of a protected bike lane on Bedford Avenue, something that a Kings County judge is so far preventing him from doing.
In that sense, Powers said the sudden reversal is a sadly consistent story from the Adams administration
"This is a familiar story for those keeping score over the last few months, a total upheaval of plans that have been well underway," he said.
Powers also pointed out that he knows exactly how badly the project is needed because he himself rides the M34.
"I am a frequent M34 rider, and I know how important it is to move people quickly up and down that corridor. There's probably nobody in this conversation that's riding the M34 the more than myself. So I would welcome anyone to come ride the bus with me and have a serious conversation about how we make it work," he said.
After publication, a DOT spokesperson did not deny the work on the bus project was paused.
"Community engagement is a vital part of the process for any major transportation project," said spokesperson Nick Benson. "We continue to assess the proposed 34th Street Busway, taking into account the community engagement we have conducted and will continue to conduct."
