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Department of Transportation 34th Street Bus Priority Proposal
WHEREAS, The New York City Department of Transportation has proposed a 34th Street Bus Priority plan intended to improve safety and bus service for the entire length of 34th Street from the Hudson River to the East River; and
WHEREAS, 34th Street is currently a six lane thoroughfare with abnormally small lane widths which do not accommodate buses or other large vehicles such that the six lanes are essentially illusory as many vehicles requires two lanes to travel on the street; and
WHEREAS, The proposed redesign reduces the total number of lanes to five with dedicated bus lanes along the curb in both directions, two lanes heading west and three lanes heading east; and
WHEREAS, DOT will continue to study how traffic on the street adjusts to the proposed changes and adjust right and left turns as appropriate; and
WHEREAS, DOT has agreed to continue to keep Community Board Five abreast of changes that are being considered for the thoroughfare; and
WHEREAS, DOT has a Long Term Concept for 34th Street which will include a fully separated two-way transitway on one side of 34th street but this plan is still being studied and will not be considered or implemented without considerably more community dialogue and consultation; and
WHEREAS, The Board believes that the proposed 34th Street Bus Priority Proposal is likely to improve transit times for bus riders in this corridor and therefore encourage use of mass transit; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five approves the Department of Transportation proposal for new Bus Priority lanes on 34th Street from the Hudson to East Rivers and the Board requests that DOT consults with the Board six months after the initial lane changes are made in order to evaluate the impact of these changes to determine if additional actions are necessary.
The above resolution passedwith a vote of 34 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstaining. 