Thursday’s Headlines: Boogie Down Busway Edition

The big news yesterday was the Mamdani administration announcement that the Bronx will finally get a busway, and three other previously announced bus rapid transit projects will start the community engagement process. (Gothamist got the sneak peak of the press release; amNY piled on.)

The big shiny object is the busway on Tremont Avenue — though it will only comprise eastbound from Third Avenue to Southern Boulevard and westbound from Southern Boulevard to Belmont Avenue, plus an offset shared bus-and-bike lane eastbound from Webster Avenue to Third Avenue. It’s not a very long stretch, but busways improve speeds by up to 60 percent, the Department of Transportation said. And the restart represents the latest example of the Mamdani administration saving a project from Eric Adams’s politically corrupt purgatory (for more examples, see our Mamdani Tracker).

Work will be completed this year, the agency said.

In the same bus announcement, the administration confirmed its intention to bring bus rapid transit to all of Flatbush Avenue, Utica Avenue and Church Avenue — which together carry 150,000 bus riders every day, albeit very slowly. To start that process, the administration opened an online portal for feedback (through Oct. 31), in-person events starting on Aug. 6 (click here for info) and other public surveying.

It’s all part of the mayor’s Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service plan, which is good reading.

In other news:

• Here’s the first piece of good news we’ve heard in a while from President Trump’s cosmetic redesign of Penn Station: The feds now say that the project could increase station capacity by 33 percent, which is much needed for a growing region. Previously, project proconsul Andrew Byford was vague on improving capacity. (NYDN, NY Times, U.S. DOT)
• Did you like the smoke-filled air on Wednesday? It will apparently be worse today, amNY and the NY Post reported. (Gothamist and The City Reporter did a survival guide, though “Hold your breath” isn’t an option.)
• A woman who was struck by an e-bike rider in Central Park on July 7 remains in a medically induced coma. (West Side Rag)
• The Post covered the lawsuit to stop the W. 72nd Street safety redesign that we mentioned yesterday.
• Rep. Mike Lawler, an upstate Republican in a battle for his political future, admitted he was arrested for driving drunk in 2012. (NY Times)
• And, finally, I’ve been called to jury duty today in Brooklyn, which is kind of hilarious given my well-stated biases. Hopefully, I’ll get on a car crash case…