If the closing of a major thoroughfare to cars works in Manhattan, it will work just as good or even better in Brooklyn.
So said master urban planner Regina Myer, President of Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and former President of Brooklyn Bridge Park, oversaw its waterfront development.
Myer joined representatives of Transit Workers Union (TWU Local 100), Transportation Alternatives, and other advocacy groups this morning at Union Square in Manhattan to proclaim the benefits of the successful 14th Street busway, which now bans all cars on a mile-long stretch of 14th street.
While the advocates hailed the move as a new innovation, Brooklyn’s Fulton Mall has had a busway for several decades. Still, the advocates want to compel New York City officials to implement the bus system across the five boroughs.
Myer, whose Downtown Brooklyn Partnership footprint includes the Fulton Mall, did not address the Fulton Mall busway but said she is looking to expand such service in the borough.
“The City made a bold move with 14th Street, and what an incredible success it is. Now it’s time to leverage that political will and implement similar changes beyond Manhattan,” she said. “Let’s be creative, think big, and expand this vision for a city that isn’t designed first and foremost for cars. With the MTA now working on the redesign of Brooklyn’s bus network, the time is right to bring 14th Street to Brooklyn–starting with Downtown Brooklyn!”
City Councilmember Stephen Levin (D-Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Downtown Brooklyn, Dumbo, Fulton Ferry, Greenpoint, Vinegar Hill, Williamsburg), who represents much of Downtown Brooklyn, did not issue a requested comment to KCP on busways at post time.
Also on board with the idea is City Comptroller Scott Stringer. “There’s a simple idea in transit: run more frequent service, and riders will show up. The 14th Street busway has already been a wild success, and I can’t wait to see just how much better it can get with more frequent service. We should embrace this approach in communities across our city.”
At the rally, an array of transportation, labor, and environmental organizers engaged with folks as they walked by, asking them to support similar bus-priority streets in their neighborhoods.
New York City’s 2.4 million bus riders depend on some of the slowest buses of any large city in the United States. Advocates and elected officials believe the 14th Street busway is a proven method to enhance bus service. According to MTA data, bus travel times on 14th Street are 38% faster than they were a year ago. The pilot has also won back riders who have grown weary of the service, because ridership has increased 21% since the busway’s launch.
Transportation Alternatives Senior Director of Advocacy Thomas DeVito hopes advocacy groups like his will inspire New Yorkers to get involved. “We need to engage New Yorkers on the benefits of busways, and take the lessons we have learned on 14th Street and start applying them broadly. And we must do so boldly and without fear, because all New Yorkers who ride the bus deserve a faster ride,” he said at the rally.
There is tangible proof that the busway concept works and ought to be expanded to bus routes throughout the city. Busways are more environmentally friendly because they minimize emissions. And advocates think the city has identified a solution to transit deserts in the outer boroughs.
“The concept of busways is a very good idea, and in Brooklyn, we could use several of them – particularly areas that traffic makes it impossible for the busses to work,” said TWU Local 100 Vice President John Patafio. “We need space on the road so it’s safe and efficient. There are a number of transit deserts in Brooklyn, and I want those communities served.”
