Central Park Avenue is one of the busiest streets in the New York Region outside of New York City. It starts at the Bronx-Westchester line in Yonkers before traversing Lower Westchester to the county seat of White Plains. The street is often referred to as Central Ave and the street is known for being a major shopping corridor with large retail plazas flanking both sides of the roadway. Central Ave also provides direct connections to Ridge Hill and the Cross County Shopping Center, which are among the largest outdoor shopping malls in the New York Metropolitan Area. Non-retail destinations include the Westchester County Center, Empire City Casino and the Nature Center at Greenburgh.
Queens is New York City’s largest borough by land area and second largest by population. Like other parts of the city, many residents rely on public transportation to get around. According to data from the NYC Department of City Planning, 37% of Queens’ households do not have access to a vehicle. This does not reflect the thousands of teens who do not drive and also rely on mass transit to get to school and other activities.
Express buses are critical transportation assets for residents of the outer boroughs. In areas far from Manhattan, subway service, or both, express buses are often the only direct mass transit link between many communities and Manhattan. As congestion pricing nears, many may turn to express buses to avoid the even higher costs associated with driving in Manhattan. In February 2020, about 42,000 riders took express buses daily, according to the Gothamist.
Public transportation is the backbone of New York City. Due to the city’s congestion and limited parking space, many take public transportation to avoid the hassles associated with driving. Given the city’s high cost of living, many find driving to be prohibitively expensive and hence also decide to opt for transit. As a result of these factors and others, 46% of New Yorkers do not own a car and hence rely on public transit to get wherever they need to go. This tally does not include suburbanites who take mass transit in New York City in lieu of driving for the same reasons as residents.
In New York City, much of the population relies on mass transit run by the MTA(Metropolitan Transportation Authority)to get around. According to data from the NYC Department of City Planning, only 46% of city households own a car. Even vehicle owners often use mass transit to get to Manhattan due to traffic congestion and high parking costs. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of riders from outside of the city ride the Metro-North and LIRR commuter rails to get around the suburbs as well as into the city daily. Given how many people it moves, the MTA also plays a major part in New York’s economy. An NYU study from October 2020 found that a 40% reduction in bus/subway service and a 50% reduction in commuter rail service would cost riders more than $1.7 billion in lost time each year. This is only reflective of the impact of transit service reduction and does not reflect the impact of if mass transit were to not exist at all.
Tremont Avenue in The Bronx is one of the busiest east-west streets in the borough. In addition, it is one of The Bronx’s longest streets at about 7 miles between the Throggs Neck and Morris Heights neighborhoods. The street crosses the entire borough and connects to several other major corridors such as White Plains Rd, Third Ave, and University Ave. Tremont Ave also runs parallel, to the Cross Bronx Expwy, which provides drivers an alternative to one of the most congested highways in the Northeast. In addition, Tremont Avenue provides access to several major destinations such as the River Park Towers and Crotona Park. Every subway route in The Bronx has a stop on or within a 3 minute walk of Tremont Ave. Additionally, Tremont Ave is served by the Metro-North’s Harlem and New Haven Lines at the Tremont Station. As for buses, Tremont Ave is served by the Bx40, Bx42 and Bx36 routes, that provide connections to various communities across the Bronx with the Bx36 going to Washington Heights, Manhattan.
As you can imagine, Tremont Avenue is known for its congestion that leads to slow travel speeds especially for bus riders. Tremont Avenue is especially known for slow bus speeds between University Avenue and Boston Rd. During rush hours, buses average speeds of less than 5 to 8 mph in most sections in both directions. As 29,000 ride the bus through here daily and 72% of nearby residents do not own a car according to the NYCDOT, bus service here is critical to people getting around. Unfortunately, Tremont Avenue’s high volume also in part contributes to safety risks. Between 2016-2020, 1,100 were injured in crashes on Tremont with 215 of them being pedestrians. The intersections of Tremont Ave and the Grand Concourse, Anthony Ave and Boston Rd are considered Vision Zero Priority Intersections respectively.
Due to the slow bus speeds and safety conditions, the New York City Department of Transportation(NYCDOT), is developing a plan to improve Tremont Ave between Boston Rd and University Ave for all road users. The agency has already taken several steps in order to so. In 2016, the agency added a combination of traditional and shared bike lanes, curb extensions and better lane markings for the purpose of improving safety for cyclists between Boston Rd and Tremont’s western terminus at Sedgwick Ave. As for bus speeds, the MTA and NYCDOT proposed adding Select Bus Service to Tremont as part of the 2017 Bus Forward Plan. This would have included the addition of off-board fare collection and likely bus lanes. There has been no discussion of SBS implementation during the recent Bronx Bus Network Redesign or the NYCDOT’s current project.
As for what the NYCDOT’s current plans are, it seems like anything is on the table. In their recent presentation to Bronx Community Advisory Board 1, they showed their transit toolkit which included everything from curbside bus lanes to transit-exclusive busways. In addition, they demonstrated bus boarding islands and pedestrian islands that could help shorten crossing distances for pedestrians and have them wait for the bus in safer places. They also presented ways to make the bus stop more comfortable for riders, through means like benches and leaning bars.
Given how slow buses on Tremont, it would not be surprising to see the NYCDOT propose almost any of the street additions they presented to the Community Advisory Board. The most significant change, a busway, is already in place on the nearby 181st St in Washington Heights. The nearby Fordham Rd in The Bronx , was also slated to get a busway, but it was nixed due to opposition from local businesses and the lack of alternatives for drivers could have resulted in gridlock conditions of nearby side streets. As busways have usually only been on the absolute slowest corridors, a busway on Tremont Ave does seem to be unlikely. While Tremont’s speeds are as slow as some busway corridors have been in some spots, it is just not as consistently slow as corridors like 181st St have been. Busways are likely saved for the slowest corridors due to opposition they have received in nearly each instance from drivers and businesses due to the inability to drive and park on the corridor. As cars often double park to access the various retail stores on Tremont, a busway will likely not sit well with many road users.
Several cars double parked on a Sunday Afternoon at E Tremont Av/Mapes AvMultiple cars parked in bike lane on E Tremont Av/Crotona Av
While a busway may not work, the NYCDOT will almost certainly propose some sort of bus lane for the corridor. A center running bus lane is likely unfeasible as the corridor is not as wide as those such as E 161st St where center running lanes have been implemented. However, an offset or curbside bus lane definitely has a significant chance of being proposed. A curbside lane is exactly what it sounds like while an offset lane, is the use of the rightmost travel lane as a bus lane. Both may generate opposition from drivers due to either the loss of road space or parking space depending on which setup the NYCDOT wants to go with. Regardless, the NYCDOT will likely go with the curbside lane due to the street having only one travel, parking and in some parts a bike lane in each direction. In a presentation to Manhattan Community Board 3 regarding another bus improvement project, the agency said that curbside bus lanes were reserved for narrower corridors while offset bus lanes are set for corridors with more space. Therefore, this is likely the NYCDOT’s best chance at striking a balance between the needs of motorists and bus riders.
Tremont Avenue at Prospect Ave with one travel lane and one bike lane in each direction.
Outside of bus lanes, the NYCDOT is considering adding Transit Signal Priority(TSP) to Tremont so that buses either have extended or early green lights so that buses could proceed faster through intersections. This could definitely be helpful as TSP on five busy routes citywide sped up buses by an average of 18% according to NYCDOT data. Additionally, the NYCDOT and the MTA have already worked to install ABLE cameras on the Bx36 route that runs along the corridor due to enforce the bus lanes and busways respectively on University Ave in The Bronx and 181st St in Manhattan. Even without Tremont Ave bus lanes, the cameras already help improve reliability on Tremont Ave by but it already helps improve overall reliability on Tremont Ave by preventing the bus from being late to Tremont Ave riders due to congestion in other areas.
In regards to bus stops, any of the items in the NYCDOT’s toolkit are likely feasible at most stops along the corridor. In some cases, benches and leaning bars may be subject to spatial constraints, but they nonetheless could become a common sight. The most significant obstacle to getting bus stop upgrades will almost certainly be the city’s budget cuts, initiated by Mayor Eric Adams due to the migrant crisis among other issues. The cuts have even gotten to the point where the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation is maintaining less trash bins and cutting back substantially on park cleaning and maintenance. Given the NYCDOT’s commitment to street improvement projects across the city despite the cuts, small bus stop upgrades will likely not be the agency’s priority.
In addition, most of the NYCDOT’s pedestrian toolkit should be able to come in handy. While bus boarding islands may be difficult due to spatial constraints, smaller pedestrian islands could help to reduce crossing distances and improve safety. Data from the Federal Highway Administration shows that these islands can help to reduce pedestrian crashes by 32%, indicating their effectiveness. The NYCDOT is also considering left and right turn bays at select intersections for drivers to make their turns. Left turns are notoriously dangerous as they involve drivers turning at a higher radius and speed coupled with crossing oncoming traffic. A 2016 study from the NYCDOT shows that left turn bays reduced pedestrian and cyclist injuries by 15%, meaning these bays could help to save lives on the road.
All in all, the NYCDOT’s decision on what to implement on Tremont Ave will likely depend on the needs of the community as well as the risks and benefits of each decision. As the corridor varies in population and commerical density, the NYCDOT broke it into five sections to determine which solutions fit best in each area. This may mean bus lanes or certain types of bus lanes in some spots or not others. This could also determine which pedestrian safety additions are pertinent to which intersections. Since most major decisions will include maintaining space for motorists or adding space for buses and pedestrians, any choices will likely not make everyone happy. The fact that people frequently access Tremont Ave by all modes will make these decisions even more difficult. As the NYCDOT is looking to make large scale improvements, hopefully they come to a solution that benefits all road users for years to come.
New York City Department of transportation. “DOT Press Releases – DOT Releases Status Report on “Transit Signal Priority” Technology Used To Speed MTA Buses.” NYC.gov, 24 July 2017, https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pr2017/pr17-055.shtml. Accessed 30 December 2023.
Queens is New York City’s largest borough by land area and second in population, far surpassing that of Manhattan, The Bronx and Staten Island. Given its size and proximity to both Long Island and Manhattan, neighborhoods in Queens can range from suburban-like in Little Neck to Manhattan-like in Long Island City. Therefore, getting around Queens by public transit can mean traveling by various modes. In some parts of Central and Western Queens, the subway can easily be used in order to get from point A-point B east to west, while other trips require slower bus rides. In Eastern Queens, residents almost always have to rely on buses to get anywhere including to the subway. Many residents who can afford it can take the faster LIRR, however this may be prohibitively expensive for some even with the CityTicket. While buses in Eastern Queens do tend to be faster than other places, the length riders have to travel from here to subway stations still contributes to neighborhoods here having some of the longest commutes in the city.
The State of Connecticut is a small state with a very diverse set of landscapes. Much of the state composes of small, but densely populated urban areas such as Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Stamford. The state also has a plethora of smaller suburban cities and towns along with some rural areas. Many parts of the state are within commuting distance of New York City and 43,000 people commute from Connecticut into the city daily according to NYC Department of City Planning numbers. While the reverse commuting numbers are lower, 9,000 people also commute from NYC to Connecticut on a daily basis.
*Though some corridors that lack regularly scheduled frequent and reliable bus service are discussed, there may be some that I might have missed. If you think I missed a particularly slow and infrequent bus route, let me know in the comments!
New York City is undoubtedly the most transit dependent city in the United States, as only 46% of residents own a car according to data from the NYC Department of City Planning. New Yorkers opt to ride public transit for various reasons, from the parking and traffic challenges of driving to the sheer cost of more reliable modes. Unfortunately, most New Yorkers know that mass transit is not the same for everyone, as two million New Yorkers live in so called “transit deserts” with little to no access to subway service. These New Yorkers often face long bus rides to get to subway service and have commutes that are substantially longer than those who live in more subway-rich neighborhoods.
The One Metro New York(OMNY) system is slowly but surely becoming the dominant way New Yorkers pay to ride buses and subways throughout the city. With the rollout of OMNY beginning on select bus routes and at certain subway stations in 2019, riders have been able to tap their smart device or card on an OMNY reader to board the bus or subway, rather than use a prepaid MetroCard. The goal for the MTA has been to develop a contactless fare option that is more flexible and convenient for its riders. In addition to the added convenience for riders, OMNY has provided the MTA with the ability to implement fare policies they were not previously able to such as fare capping. With fare capping, riders who spend $34 or take 12 rides in a single week can ride free for the remainder of that week. Before fare capping, the same riders either had to pay for an Unlimited or Pay-Per-Ride MetroCard which often would have left them in situations where they paid for rides they did not take or wound up paying more for their rides because they did not purchase the Unlimited MetroCard. The MTA had planned to retire the MetroCard in favor of OMNY by the end of this year, however that has been delayed to 2024 due to software issues.
Transit Central 