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Long Arm of the Koch Brothers Extends to Nashville to Slap Down Transit
On Tuesday, Nashville Mayor Karl Dean announced that he might do away with dedicated transit lanes on two stretches of the Amp, the proposed seven-mile bus rapid transit line that could set an important precedent for the car-centric city. Dean is the main political backer of the project, so the fact that he's buckling says something about the mounting pressure to water down or kill the Amp. And that pressure isn't going to let up any time soon, because Dean and other supporters of effective transit in Nashville are up against opponents with very deep pockets.
April 3, 2014
Pratt Center Suggests Eight Routes for Robust BRT — Is de Blasio Listening?
In 2008, a coalition led by the Pratt Center for Community Development laid out a vision for 12 Bus Rapid Transit lines across the city. Nearly six years later, NYC DOT and the MTA have installed six Select Bus Service routes in four boroughs, with plans for more. At a panel discussion this morning, the Pratt Center unveiled a new report [PDF] showing eight routes that are ripe for Bus Rapid Transit, featuring upgrades like separated busways and stations with fare gates and platform-level boarding.
December 17, 2013
How One Merchant Group Went From Bus Lane Opponent to SBS Supporter
When B44 Select Bus Service launched last month, regular Streetsblog readers may have recognized Lindiwe Kamau's along with the elected officials celebrating Brooklyn's first SBS route. Kamau, who is president of the Nostrand Avenue Merchants Association, spoke with Mayor Bloomberg at the grand opening and had her photo snapped by the press. Under sunny skies, it was all smiles as passengers boarded the new buses.
December 12, 2013
With Debut of B44 SBS, Major Brooklyn Bus Route Poised to Draw More Riders
After years of planning, B44 Select Bus Service launched yesterday on the Nostrand Avenue corridor. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, and MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast marked the occasion this afternoon at a newly-expanded bus stop at Church and Nostrand.
November 18, 2013
MTA Plans Busway Beneath the M Train in Ridgewood
The MTA is working on a plan for a short busway in Ridgewood that would run for six-tenths of a mile beneath the elevated M tracks, between Fresh Pond Road and Palmetto Street. While the project wouldn't transform a car-choked traffic sewer into a pedestrian-friendly transit boulevard (the right-of-way is currently a series of weed-strewn parking lots), it could be NYC's first new separated busway since the Fulton Mall opened in the 1970s.
October 4, 2013
Eyes on the Street: Painting SBS Bus Lanes on Nostrand Avenue
Brooklyn's B44 bus carried more than 12.5 million passengers last year between the base of the Williamsburg Bridge and Sheepshead Bay, making it the city's fifth-busiest bus route. But the B44, which runs primarily along Nostrand Avenue, is notoriously unreliable and spends less than half of each run in motion. Half the time, it's stuck in traffic or at bus stops and red lights.
September 26, 2013
ITDP Study: “A Coming Out for Bus-Based Transit-Oriented Development”
In a new report making the rounds this week, “More Development For Your Transit Dollar: An Analysis of 21 North American Transit Corridors,” the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy does two things.
September 26, 2013
MTA Planning Chief: NYC’s Next Mayor Needs to Stick Up for Bus Lanes
After a presentation on regional transit ridership trends at NYU's Rudin Center this morning, William Wheeler, the MTA's planning director, said the city's next mayor needs to firmly support the reallocation of street space for dedicated bus lanes, and should not back down in the face of opposition to changes that take away real estate from cars.
September 12, 2013
Quinn Proposes Triboro BRT Line With Separated Bus Lanes
Since Scott Stringer left the mayoral field for the comptroller race, the mayoral candidates haven't spoken much about the Triboro RX, a plan to bring circumferential rail service to Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx using existing tracks and rights of way. But they have spoken highly, if not very specifically, of Bus Rapid Transit. And a few have zeroed in on the transit needs of outer-borough communities, where job growth is outpacing Manhattan, but commute times are lengthening.
July 26, 2013
MTA Maps a Five-Borough Network for Select Bus Service
At a press event yesterday to announce service restorations and upgrades, the MTA also went public with a citywide plan to expand Select Bus Service. With tunnel-boring mega-projects consuming billions of capital dollars apiece, the agency is featuring low-cost bus improvements more prominently in its strategy to increase transit capacity.
July 23, 2013