Bus platforms on the way to 14th Street
BY GABE HERMAN
As the city declares the 14th
Street Transit and Truck Priority
program for faster bus
service a success thus far, the MTA
and Department of Transportation are
starting the next phase of the program
by installing bus boarding platforms
along the M14 line.
The platforms, which will be put in
place at seven M14 A/D Select Bus Service
lines, would free up more sidewalk
space for pedestrians and speed up
bus service since buses wouldn’t need
to pull into a stop at the curb, offi cials
said. The MTA said pulling in can take
between 20 seconds and over a minute
during peak times at each stop.
The platforms, which are part of
DOT’s 14th Street Transit and Truck
Priority (TTP), have been previously
installed at other Manhattan locations,
including for the M23 SBS, M15 SBS,
and for routes along Seventh Avenue in
Midtown.
Construction at each bus stop will
take about six days and be done in
phases along the route. Buses will skip
the stop where construction is being
done. Work already began on Thursday
at the westbound Seventh Avenue stop,
and the overall project is expected to be
The installation schedule for the boarding platforms.
fi nished in December.
“DOT has installed bus boarding
platforms, where bus riders have found
that a wider sidewalk makes hopping
on a bus even faster and more convenient,”
said DOT Commissioner Polly
Trottenberg. “Especially along 14th
Street, where our busway has helped
spur dramatic increases in M14 ridership,
this should be another step that
MTA
should help our month-old pilot work
even better.”
The city previously announced that
the priority bus lanes on 14th Street
have led to increased ridership and
faster travel times. As a result, the
buses have seen 37 percent more riders
on weekends and 17 more on weekdays
compared to last year, according to city
fi gures.
The plan to install bus boarding platforms
was lauded by several local elected
offi cials, including Congresswoman
Carolyn Maloney, Council Member
Keith Powers, Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer and Council
Speaker Corey Johnson.
“The initial success of the 14th Street
Transit & Truck Priority has been one
of the most exciting transit developments
in the city in the last few years,
and these new bus boarders should
continue to improve the experience,”
said Johnson when the announcement
was made. “These platforms will make
waiting for and boarding the bus easier
and safer in addition to creating more
badly needed space for pedestrians. I
look forward to their debut on 14th and
hopefully to continued good news and
positive data about the busway.”
The DOT also announced that work
is being completed this week on adding
permanent pedestrian space at 14th
Street, just south of Union Square at a
former westbound traffi c lane. It will
be a painted pedestrian space with new
bollards and security barriers. DOT
noted the new permanent space is being
installed just ahead of the opening
of the Holiday Market nearby at Union
Square, which often creates more pedestrian
traffi c.
Pols skeptical over MTA plans for access & debt
BY MARK HALLUM
State leaders are questioning the
MTA on how it plans to modernize
the transit system in its $51.5
billion fi ve-year capital plan.
Tuesday’s joint hearing between the
MTA and members of the state Senate
and Assembly was fi lled with equal parts
cynicism and frustration, with much of
the angst focused on the lack of ADA-accessible
subway stations and the authority’s
plans to service debts from bonds.
MTA Chairman Pat Foye said $3.5
billion would go to new signal systems
which have shown to increase service
and on-time performance for the 7 train
earlier this year. The massive investment
would also have the potential to create
$350,000 new jobs, according to the
chair. About $15 billion will contribute
to congesting pricing, tolls on cars entering
Manhattan below 60th Street.
State Senator Gustavo Rivera needed
extra reassurance that the 22 subway
stations in his northwest Bronx district
would see ADA accessibility. Chief Development
Offi cer Janno Lieber stated
that one of the top priorities in the
capital plan would include installing elevators.
Those plans are already in the
works, but the agency was already “bundling”
the work for when the funds come
through, Lieber said.
MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieber and Chair Pat Foye at
Tuesday’s hearing. (Photo: Mark Hallum/amNewYork)
“We are preparing for the moment
when the MTA Capital Program Review
Board approves the capital plan
that we will be able to move substantial
chunks of the capital plan into procurement,”
he said. “That includes 15 to 20
stations bundled together – ADA stations.
“Customization is the enemy of
PHOTO : MARK HALLUM/AMNEWYORK
budget and schedule combined.”
A more detailed update on the preliminary
sequence of ADA accessibility will
be available once the CPRB approves the
capital plan.
Foye said the 500 new transit police
offi cers ordered by Governor Andrew
Cuomo — a controversial plan decried
by transit advocates as a waste of resources
amid falling crime rates — will
be included in the capital plan.
The MTA will use $5.7 billion on Long
Island Road Road improvements such as
the third track between Floral Park and
Hicksville as well as East Side Access,
expanding LIRR service through a new
terminal in Grand Central.
While the funding for the capital plan
has already been approved in the budget,
it has not granted to the agency, which
also has $2.7 billion in annual debt. The
MTA must pay back $9.7 billion by 2032
for the capital program alone.
Senator John Liu asked Foye and two
other high-ranking leaders was how the
agency could fathom issuing interestonly
bonds without having the funds to
back them up, let alone considering the
$1.8 billion defi cit forecasted by 2023.
“Are you saying that you’re not going
to actually deal with … $10 billion of
MTA bonds until 2032?” state Senator
Liu asked.
“We basically will create a troth, if
you will, we will refund certain amounts
of debt to give us the ability to sell bonds
with interest only during the latter 20s
and then have principle that matures
after that,” Chief Financial Offi cer Robert
Foran responded. “We’re not talking
about refunding this debt until probably
2025.”
Schneps Media CNW November 14, 2019 3