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42nd Street Transit ImprovementsCommunity Board 6 | June 3, 2019
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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
1. Project Background
2. Existing Conditions & Analysis
3. Proposal
4. Summary / Next Steps
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1Project Background
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BETTER BUSES ACTION PLAN
• Mayor’s 2019 State of
the City
• Improve bus speeds
25% by 2020
• Better Buses Action
Plan released April
2019
• 24 priority projects
announced for 2019 to
increase bus speeds
across all 5 boroughs
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BETTER BUSES ACTION PLAN
• 42nd St identified as
priority 2019 project
due to:
• Slow bus speeds &
unreliable bus travel
times
• High ridership & high
volume of buses
• Major crosstown
multimodal corridor
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42nd Street
4.0 MPH
AREA BUS SPEEDS IN CONTEXT
AM/PM Peak Hour Bus Speed Averages
• Citywide: 7.7 MPH
• Manhattan: 5.6 MPH
• 42nd Street: 4.0 MPH
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IMPORTANCE TO BUS NETWORK
• 8 different MTA bus routes across 3 boroughs use 42nd St
• M42 Manhattan Route
• X68 Queens Route
• 6 Staten Island Express Bus Routes
• ~16,000 daily MTA bus passengers
• Up to 210 buses per hour travel along 42nd Street
• Bus delays on 42nd St can impact reliability city-wide
42nd St Project Corridor
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42ND STREET CORRIDOR
• Major commercial corridor in midtown
• Important east-west commuter corridor with major
transit hubs (PABT, Times Sq, Grand Central)
• Popular tourist area with heavy foot traffic
8
Empire
State
Building
42nd St
NYPL12
thA
ve
Bryant
Park
UN HQGrand
CentralTimes Sq
PA Bus
Terminal
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42ND ST IS MULTI-MODAL
PM Peak Hour Screen-line on 42nd Street @ 8th Ave*
# of people
• 42nd Street travelers use a variety of modes, with
nearly one-third traveling by bus during the PM peak
63%
6% 2% <1%
29%
<1%
Pedestrian Car Taxi Truck Bus Bicycle
*Source: Feb 2019 traffic & sidewalk screen-line counts. Occupancy factors: 30 persons/bus, 1.3 persons/other vehicles
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ALLOCATING STREET SPACE
66%
21%
33%
79%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Street Space People
Buses
Other
vehicles
BusesBuses operate on the
margins of 42nd St, but
carry the majority of
the people.Other
vehicles
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CROSSTOWN TRANSIT CORRIDORS
• NYCDOT has retrofitted several
crosstown corridors to meet
modern street design standards
& transit needs:
• 86 St
• 79 St
• 34 St
• 23 St
• Street width and traffic volumes
are similar to 34th St or 23rd St,
which suggests a similar design
on 42nd St would be appropriate
34th Street
23rd Street
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2Existing Conditions & Analysis
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BUS TRAVEL TIMES
• Bus travel times are nearly double their overnight times throughout the day
• Trips are consistently long starting with the AM peak hour and through the PM peak
• On average, M42 buses spend more than 40% of their time stalled in traffic, at red lights, or crawling
M42 Running Time (Min, end to end)
Direction DayTime of Day
12-6am 6-10am 10am-3pm 3-7pm 7pm-12am
EBWeekday 18.8 33.1 34.4 29.4 24.3
Weekend 18.7 20.7 29.1 30.8 25.2
WBWeekday 15.8 26.4 32.1 35.2 22.6
Weekend 16.4 19.1 27.8 29.3 23.2
Source: MTA NYCT
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BUS RELIABILITY ISSUES
• Bus running time is unreliable even within the same time period due to varying traffic conditions day to day
• Runs can vary by 20-40 minutes, leading to bus bunching, long/unpredictable waits at the bus stop, and crowding on the bus
M42 Running Times, Weekdays EB
(min
)
Source: MTA NYCT
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CURB ACTIVITY
• Fieldwork and video analysis
• Summary of findings:• Bus lanes are underused
due to very narrow width (9’) and occasional blockages by other vehicles
• Quick pick-up/drop-off activity common along corridor
• Commercial loading activity is high and durations are short (<1 hr)
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3Proposal
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TRANSIT STREET DESIGN TOOLKIT
Bus lanes Bus queue jump signals Physical separation
Turn restrictions Curb regulations Bus boarders
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EXISTING CONDITIONS
Loading
activity in
bus lanes
• Existing roadway conditions do not meet current DOT standards for lane widths.
Typical lane widths are 10’-11’ for general travel lanes and 11’-12’ for bus lanes.
• 42 St is marked for 2 travel lanes with 1 curbside bus lane in each direction (in effect
7-10 AM, 4-7 PM except Sunday). However, it rarely functions that way due to loading
needs and traffic conditions.
Buses go around parked
vehicles and mix with
general traffic
Buses and many trucks
are 8.5’ wide, not
including side mirrors
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PROPOSED CROSS SECTION
(MIDBLOCK & INTERSECTIONS WITH NO TURNS)
Commercial
Metered
Parking/Loading
Offset bus
lane
Thru travel
lanesCurbside bus lane
Investigating
physical protection
in certain segments
where feasible
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PROPOSED CROSS SECTION
(AT INTERSECTION WITH TURNS)Turn lanes
provided
where
needed
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PROPOSED DESIGN SAMPLE BLOCK
Commercial
metered parkingHotel loading zone
Left turn bay for turns
onto Third Ave
Curbside bus lane
Offset bus lane
Extended No Left Turn
onto Lexington Ave
(all vehicles, all times)
Right turn bay for
turns onto 3rd Ave
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PROPOSED TURN RESTRICTIONS
Location Turn Direction Current Regulation New Regulation
7 Av
Right turn EB to SBPermitted All Times for
All Vehicles
Restricted All Times
for All Vehicles
Left turn WB to SBRestricted All Times
Except Buses
Restricted All Times
for All Vehicles
6 Av Left turn EB to NBNo Turns 7am-7pm
Ex Sunday
Restricted All Times
for All Vehicles
Lexington Av
Left turn WB to SBNo Turns 7am-7pm
Ex Sunday
Restricted All Times
for All Vehicles
Right turn EB to SBNo Turns Ex Buses
7-10am, 4-7pm Mon-Fri
No Turns 7am-7pm
for All Vehicles
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PLANNED BUS STOP CHANGES
• Park Ave – 3rd Ave: 3 stops within 2 short blocks in
each direction
M42 Bus Stop M42 Bus Stop M42 Bus Stop
M42 Bus Stop M42 Bus Stop
480’ 260’
490’ 475’
780’
M42 Bus Stop
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PLANNED BUS STOP CHANGES
• Consolidate Lex Ave and 3rd Ave stops to single stop
in each direction to improve stop spacing, more
closely matching standard spacing along rest of 42nd
M42 Bus Stop M42 Bus Stop
M42 Bus Stop M42 Bus Stop
740’
790’ 870’
780’
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PROPOSED BUS LANE HOURS & CURB REGULATIONS
• Offset bus lanes (lanes not against
the curb) will be in effect 24/7
• Curbside bus lanes will be in effect
7 AM – 7 PM all days, except at
bus stops or other existing No
Standing Anytime
• 7 PM – 7 AM hours allocated to
metered commercial/truck loading
• Other curb space allocated to
metered commercial/truck loading,
hotel loading zones, authorized
parking
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PROPOSED BUS LANE HOURS & CURB REGULATIONS
All hours:
Commercial Metered
Parking/Loading
All hours: Offset
bus lane
7 AM-7 PM: Curbside bus lane
7 PM - 7 AM: Commercial
metered parking/truck loading
7 AM-10 AM, 4 PM-7 PM:
Curbside bus lane
10 AM-4 PM: Commercial
metered parking/truck loading
7 PM-12 AM: Metered parking
7 AM-10 AM, 4 PM-7 PM:
Curbside bus lane
10 AM-4 PM: Commercial
metered parking/truck loading
7 PM-12 AM: Metered parking
Existing
Proposed
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4Summary / Next Steps
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SUMMARY
• Current design of 42nd St does not meet the
demands of most street users
• Street design changes will • Improve bus speeds and reliability
• Make commercial metered parking/loading space available
throughout the day and overnight to reduce illegal standing and
daytime congestion
• Improve turns off of 42nd Street at key intersections
• Restrict some turns to improve safety and traffic flow
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IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE
• June 2019: Corridor design presentation to
Community Boards 4, 5, & 6
• Summer 2019: Adjustments to plan as needed,
street design implementation
• Fall 2019: Post-implementation data collection
& monitoring
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3030
THANK YOU!
NYC DOT NYC DOT nyc_dot NYC DOT
Questions?