NYC DOT Completes Major Redesign of Manhattan’s 96th Street, With New Bus Lanes and Other Safety Improvements

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2024
Contact: (212) 839-4850, [email protected]

NYC DOT Completes Major Redesign of Manhattan's 96th Street, With New Bus Lanes and Other Safety Improvements

With Redesign Now Finished, New Bus Lanes and Pedestrian Safety Upgrades Span Entire Corridor from East to West Side

Improvements Benefit 15,500 Weekday Bus Riders, Speeding Up Commutes Along One of the Borough's Busiest Crosstown Routes

NEW YORK - New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced today the completion of a major redesign of Manhattan's 96th Street, aimed at enhancing bus service speed and reliability. The project includes the installation of offset and curbside bus lanes in both directions to prevent vehicle blockages, along with pedestrian safety improvements, left-turn bays to streamline traffic flow, neighborhood loading zones, and treatments to reduce turning speeds for drivers.

The redesigned stretch from Second Avenue to West End Avenue adds 1.7 miles of bus lanes on both the Upper East and Upper West sides, significantly improving commutes for the 15,500 weekday riders on the M96 and M106 routes. This redesign of 96th Street is part of a broader effort to improve public transportation and make car-free commuting more accessible, benefiting existing riders while encouraging more New Yorkers to use public transportation as service improvements are implemented.

"96th Street is one of the city's busiest crosstown routes, where bus speeds during rush hours can be as slow as walking. The addition of dedicated bus lanes will dramatically enhance service for the 15,500 weekday riders who depend on this corridor, making their commutes faster, safer, and more reliable," said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. "By prioritizing both bus and pedestrian improvements, we're enhancing efficiency and safety for everyone who uses 96th Street, creating a better commuting experience for all New Yorkers."

"A full bus can move 20, 30 or 40 times as many people as the average personal vehicle. Adding dedicated bus lanes to improve service - so that it's actually faster than walking - is a no brainer," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. "We look forward to working with the city to make more changes to benefit the 2-3 million New Yorkers who ride the bus every day."

Seventy-four percent of households along 96th Street do not own cars, while 68 percent of residents commute by public transit, walking, or biking. However, bus speeds along this corridor are as low as 4 mph during peak hours even as 96th Street serves as a key connector between the East and West sides of Manhattan, serving the M96 and M106 bus routes, carrying 15,500 weekday riders and linking them to seven subway lines at four separate stations, 14 additional bus routes, two hospitals, Central Park, schools, and other major destinations.

To address these challenges, NYC DOT implemented offset or curbside bus lanes in each direction between West End Avenue and Central Park West, and from Madison Avenue to 2nd Avenue. Similar infrastructure projects have already demonstrated success on other bus routes such as the Lexington Avenue offset bus lane project which boosted bus speeds by up to 19 percent, and the 21st Street offset bus lanes in Queens saw an increase of up to 10 percent in bus speeds. These new dedicated lanes on 96th street will improve bus speeds and reliability by keeping them clear of parked or standing vehicles, while still allowing curb access for parking, truck loading, and passenger drop-offs/pickups. The design ensures that traffic flow for other vehicles remains unaffected.

In response to community feedback, NYC DOT also implemented daytime 'Neighborhood Loading Zones' to facilitate deliveries and service vehicle access between Amsterdam Avenue and Central Park West. These zones reserve curb space for drop-offs, deliveries, and service vehicles, ensuring smoother traffic flow and safer passenger pick-up and drop-off activities. The agency has also conducted a community education program to inform residents about the bus lane rules, which allow for quick and safe pick-ups and drop-offs in bus lanes.

The bus lanes will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for the eastbound curbside lane between Lexington and 3rd Avenues, which will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. NYC DOT also installed left-turn bays and hardened center-lines at intersections to smooth traffic flow and enhance safety by reducing conflicts between turning vehicles, pedestrians, and through traffic.

As part of the project, bus stops will also be lengthened to allow M96 and M106 buses to access them simultaneously, reducing delays and improving accessibility. Riders will benefit from expanded space to wait, board, and exit buses without causing traffic to be blocked.

As the January implementation of congestion pricing nears, the redesign of 96th Street is one of 37 projects that NYC DOT is advancing to make commuting to New York's central business district easier without cars. The traffic analysis for this project examined conditions both with and without the effects of congestion pricing. NYC DOT will monitor the area throughout and after the project's implementation, with the ability to adjust traffic signal timing if necessary.

"Thank you to the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) for the major redesign of Manhattan's 96th Street," said State Senator Jose Serrano. The addition of dedicated bus lanes will enhance service for riders and promote pedestrian safety. This redesign will help to make commutes faster, safer, and more reliable."

"I highly commend the Department of Transportation for improving bus service efficiency and reducing traffic with the new bus lanes on 96th Street," said Assemblymember Edward Gibbs. "These lanes will not only enhance public transit but also provide a smoother experience for drivers and pedestrians. I look forward to collaborating further with the DOT to ensure our roads remain safe and efficient for the residents of the 68th District."

"Bus lanes and busways make New York's streets fairer and safer for everyone," said Riders Alliance Senior Organizer Jolyse Race. "Thanks to DOT's redesign of 96th Street to prioritize bus riders and acknowledge the value of our precious time, 15,000 New Yorkers will now enjoy faster, more reliable service. Offset bus lanes are a proven strategy to get riders moving and make more equitable and efficient use of our scarce public space."

"RPA is pleased to see the NYC DOT redesigned 96th Street with an eye toward expanded bus lanes, better traffic flow, and improved pedestrian safety," said Tiffany-Ann Taylor, vice president of Transportation at Regional Plan Association (RPA). "The bidirectional, offset and curbside bus lanes will help prevent vehicle blockages, and, in conjunction with other traffic flow enhancements like left-turn bays and neighborhood loading zones, will reduce congestion in both the Upper East and Upper West Sides."

"To tackle the climate crisis we must drastically reduce emissions from our transportation sector, and the new and improved 96th Street - with its focus on pedestrians and efficient MTA bus service - is a great example of how we can do that through smart redesign," said Alia Soomro, deputy director of NYC Policy for the New York League of Conservation Voters. Simply put: when you prioritize walkers and micro mobility and mass transit, more people will ditch their gas guzzling cars in favor of cleaner alternatives. We applaud Mayor Adams and Commissioner Rodriguez for their commitment to the environment and to making New York City's streets safer for everyone.

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