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Transportation & Environment
Request by Monroe Bus Lines, Inc, for an intercity bus stop on the east side of 8th Avenue between West 46th Street and West 47th Street
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, March 09, 2023, the following resolution passed with a vote of 33 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, Monroe Bus Lines, Inc, requests an intercity bus stop from the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) on the east side of 8th Avenue between 46th and 47th Streets, with three daily pickups Monday through Thursday at 2:15 p.m., 5:45 p.m., and 6:55 p.m. and one pickup Friday at 2:10 p.m., and four daily dropoffs Monday through Thursday at 7:15 a.m., 8:15 a.m., 9:15 a.m., and 9:50 a.m. and one daily dropoff Friday at 8:20 a.m.; and
WHEREAS, The requested location is currently marked No Standing, is already licensed to three other sightseeing bus operators including Gray Line, Big Bus Tours New York, and TopView Sightseeing—the latter of which was not explicitly mentioned in the letter from DOT—and according to DOT this site allows for the addition of another bus company; and
WHEREAS, Community members expressed serious concern about this location being potentially licensed to as many as four bus operators simultaneously; and
WHEREAS, Community members expressed concern about commuter buses being a hinderance to MTA buses which share the same route just north of the busy Times Square area; and
WHEREAS, Residents expressed concern about the existing street and sidewalk congestion caused by a DOT-approved construction staging area blocking off the street and the sidewalk at this location over the next five years; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five continues to call on DOT to develop a comprehensive plan for street use in the district in conjunction with the city’s appointed Chief Public Realm Officer, and reiterates its stated position that when the Port Authority’s reconstruction of the Port Authority Bus Terminal is complete, which will include the construction of a new intercity bus terminal, all point-to-point intercity bus service must be taken off the sidewalks of midtown Manhattan and moved into the new intercity terminal; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five finds significant concerns for the proposed bus stop on the east side of 8th Avenue between West 46th Street and West 47th Street, including congestion stemming from as many as four operators licensed for the same location and adjacent construction.