34th Street Busway Proposal Gets Public Feedback, Pro & Con

The NYC Department of Transportation’s plan to transform 34th Street into a busway came before local residents at a June 11 Community Board 6 meeting, which included a 31-to-5 resolution favoring the project by board members themselves. Speakers at the meeting offered a range of views on the subject, balanced between excitement and trepidation.

According to the DOT, 34th Street serves 28,000 daily bus riders, who are spread out over the M34/A and multiple express bus lines. However, its bus routes can crawl along at a notoriously slow 3 mph. The transit agency says that a busway, similar to one that exists on 14th Street, would improve the average bus speeds on the street by around 15 percent.

If such a proposal is implemented, cars would have to exit 34th Street at “specific intersections,” or otherwise face a ticket if traversing more than a block or two. If the 14th Street busway is any indication, car drivers would likely have to make the “next available turn” after turning onto 34th Street.

A few speakers at the Community Board 6 meeting could barely contain their joy at such a proposal. Chris Sanders, who noted that he lives on 35th Street, called the current buses on 34th Street “painfully slow” and “blocked by traffic.”

“Time is life! A fast and efficient 34th Street bus would allow me to get a piece of my life back,” he added. “I realize some people in the community, and outside of the community, would like to see Manhattan turned into a museum . . . but it’s a city! A city is supposed to grow and change and evolve.”

Charles Todd similarly expressed his “strong support” for the busway, saying that he thought it would be “such a big improvement for the neighborhood.” He went on state his belief that “it’s time to prioritize pedestrians and transit users, and not the minority of residents who use their personal cars to get around, or their personal cars to cut through from New Jersey to Long Island.”

Others though, expressed concerns about spillover traffic on parallel streets and said that they’d want to see more concrete data from the DOT on whether diverted cars would clog their residential streets.

Richard Hart, who noted that he lives on East 35th Street between Park and Lexington avenues, said he was “very nervous” about CB6’s resolution in favor of the busway. He argued that even if cars largely “disappear” from 34th Street, they could then “impact” the surrounding neighborhood, rather than “bus riders or bike riders.” He called for a “traffic study” and an “action plan.”

Lili Seidman Davis, another speaker, echoed Hart. “While I fully support public transit and reduced congestion, this [busway] is not the answer,” she began. She explained that she expected the diverted car traffic to “flood into narrow residential streets, which are ill-equipped to handle it,” and believed that the current proposal exhibits “shortsighted planning.” Much like Hart, she called for a traffic and environmental review at a “minimum,” and suggested better ticketing of cars that block existing bus lanes.

The two other community boards that include 34th Street—community boards 4 and 5—have expressed support for the busway.