MTA installs south Bronx bus lane
City ramps up Transit Signal Priority installation with hopes of faster commutes
BY MARK HALLUM
City and state transit offi
cials hope a slew of new
transit improvements in the
heart of the South Bronx will
speed up commutes in one
of the most congested parts
of the borough, while the
city Department of Transportation
boasts of its continued
installation of Transit
Signal Priority along
busy corridors.
A new bus lane along East
149th Street along with new
Citi Bike stations will help
Bronx residents access important
sites like The Hub,
Lincoln Medical Center, Hostos
Community College, and
10 subway lines along with
new Citi Bike stations along
the corridor.
Along with the new lane
will come stationary bus
cameras, which will issue
fi nes to motorists who block
the bus lane, which stretches
nearly three miles along E
149th Street. Motorists will
get a 60 day grace period following
the installation of
the lane.
“We know that the key to
effective bus service is wellenforced
bus priority,” said
New York City Transit bus
czar Craig Cipriano. “Buses
in the 149th Street corridor
are among the slowest in the
city, but that won’t be the
case anymore.”
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,6 OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 BTR
The Department of Transportation
has expanded
its Transit Signal Priority
technology to roughly 1,382
intersections citywide, despite
earlier reported delays.
The technology works
to speed up buses by adjusting
traffi c signals to allow
buses to spend less time
waiting at red lights.
Local leaders in the Bronx
lauded the transit improvements,
which they said were
desperately needed to speed
up the Bx2, Bx4, Bx17, and
Bx19 buses which currently
move at walking speed or
lower while serving 55,000
passengers daily, according
to the MTA. Eastbound
buses moved at an average
of 3.3 miles per hour, while
westbound buses moved
at a snail-like 2.9 miles
per hour pre bus lane, the
agency said.
“The student at Hostos
Community College needs
to get to course on time,”
Bronx Borough President
Ruben Diaz Jr. said. “The
family that already has anxieties
because their loved one
is sick in Lincoln Hospital,
don’t need added anxiety if
they’re just stuck in traffi c.”
The MTA has aimed to
install new busways across
the Five Boroughs amid the
pandemic, with plans in the
works for Main Street in
Flushing and Fifth Avenue
in Manhattan, but the implementation
has been delayed
by local opposition. The
only busway successfully installed
so far has been the Jay
Street busway in Downtown
Brooklyn which stretches
for less than a half-mile.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz jr. speaks during the bus lane announcement.
Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit
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