As previously reported, the new-look Second Avenue would include shifting the curbside bus lane to an offset bus lane to help speed up travel times...
From a DOT press release in June:
Second Avenue serves the M15 local and SBS route—the city's busiest bus route with 57,000 daily riders. To improve bus service, NYC DOT will be moving the existing curbside bus lane on Second Avenue one lane over — known as an offset bus lane. This redesign will keep the bus lane clear while better accommodating deliveries on the corridor.The offset bus lane design will allow NYC DOT to upgrade bus lane operations to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing consistent, reliable, and dedicated space for buses to move quicker while reducing bus lane blocking. (The current operations of the curbside bus lane are weekdays from 7-10 a.m. and 2-7 p.m., originally put in place to accommodate commercial loading and overnight parking.)
Upgrading curbside bus lanes to offset lanes has shown to improve safety for vulnerable road users in addition to improving bus service.
According to Streetsblog in June, bus speeds in lower Manhattan "have cratered to under 7 miles per hour on 81 percent of buses that run during the afternoon rush."
First Avenue through the East Village also has an offset bus lane.
8 comments:
This "offset" bus lane stuff is gibberish to me. I don't actually know what it means; does it mean they have TWO lanes for buses, but only ONE is marked?
PS: I have lived here for eons, and the M15 bus has been a horrible, unpredictable, waiting-for-Godot experience the entire time. I worked for years in midtown where the "fastest" way home was via the Second Avenue bus, and it's always been a crap-shoot of an experience: How long will you be standing at the bus stop waiting - and this was before there were any bus shelters, and before an app to tell you where the bus *supposedly* was. Then, when the bus arrives, will you be able to actually get on, or will it be too crowded, etc. Lots of fun after a long day at work.
Trucks double parked are the primary reason for congestion on 2nd Ave. Hopefully this will help. It’s infuriating when a truck is double parked when there’s a legal spot literally next to them.
I am also a user of the M15 and have seen it improved greatly over the last 5 years or so. If you have a smartphone, you can look at the MTA app or the website to see when the buses are coming. The MTA has been sending out user surveys every few months, which I participate in and I usually provide feedback for the M15 and L train. I think they are taking the feedback to heart as I've seen a lot of improvements made. There are things the MTA cannot help, like the current construction all along Water Street that slows down traffic. Or, times like when the UN is in session that messes up traffic everywhere.
M15 Select has, in general, an excellent service. The new bus lane is very welcome.
The MTA has been steadily cutting bus frequency throughout NYC.
There are days when there is virtually no traffic - but still a 15 or 20 minute wait for the M15 which is then packed when it arrives or a 10 minute wait for the SBS 15 which is similarly packed.
This is especially bad when it is freezing or raining or at night when dark.
Also buses still must adhere to speed limit and stop at red lights.
Bus lanes are a fake solution to not enough buses.
@7:16 PM: I have a smartphone and I use the MTA app, but the M15 still sucks, IMO. If it's "improved greatly" in the past 5 years, I haven't noticed it, and neither have my friends & neighbors who take the M15 on a regular basis.
Offset means next to the parking spaces. It also means the lane is 24/7 instead of Monday through Friday like now. The bus barely moves through here on the weekends. With the cameras on the poles and in the buses, speeds should really improve!
What exactly is the point of these lanes being 24/7? What congestion is there on Second Avenue at 2, 3 or 4 am? Look at Madison - it has 2 bus lanes 24/7. It makes no sense. Congestion is indeed worse due to double parking as noted above - made more problematic with bus AND bike lanes. Unfortunately the planners failed to take into account that residents and businesses on the Avenues depend on things being delivered. Until THAT problem is resolved, the bus lane will make it worse.
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