Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he’s picking up multiple transportation projects that the prior administration axed, including on Fordham Road, where bus speeds average 5 mph despite a painted dedicated lane.

The mayor said Friday that will change for the 130,000 New Yorkers who ride buses along the corridor.

What You Need To Know

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he’s picking up multiple transportation projects that the prior administration axed

The projects include a bus lane offset from the curb on Fordham Road to allow for deliveries, pickups and drop-offs that currently block the bus from moving

Bus speeds on the Fordham Road route average 5 mph despite a painted dedicated lane

Mamdani also announced a bike network of protected and unprotected bike lanes in Brooklyn

“In honor of Valentine’s Day, we will show our buses and bikes the love that they deserve,” Mamdani said, also announcing bike lane improvements coming to Brooklyn.

The projects include a bus lane offset from the curb to allow for deliveries, pickups and drop-offs that currently block the bus from moving.

Some riders seemed skeptical, and advocates, like Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, have wanted a car-free busway. He says this is a good start.”

“We’ve seen mixed results from offset lanes around the city. I think the most important thing is the commitment from City Hall to come back to this project over and over until we get it right,” Pearlstein, the policy and communications director for Riders Alliance, said.

Peter Madonia of the Belmont Business Improvement District, however, was one of the people who opposed a busway, and had the ear of former Mayor Eric Adams. He believes it will create more traffic and hurt the Bronx’s Little Italy.

“It’s already challenging at certain times of the day. This will make it infinitely worse, but will it scare people away? That’s my fear. Yes. So 85% of the people that come to us come from 10 to 40 miles away. You know, the zoo. It’s probably close to that number, maybe 70, 75,” Madonia said.

Mamdani said they would continue community outreach. Meanwhile, he also announced a bike network of protected and unprotected bike lanes in Midwood and Flatbush — as well as around Kingston and Brooklyn Avenues — in Brooklyn that will be designed to help protect pedestrians.

But it’s the one-block stretch of Ashland Place that many are celebrating.

“Cyclists go out of their way to avoid crash land, and some New Yorkers avoid riding a bike altogether because they feel like our streets are not safe enough to do so,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said.

The short stretch between Lafayette Avenue and Atlantic will turn into a one-way street with a two-way protected bike lane connecting the current one that ends at Lafayette to Fourth Avenue.

“Those two blocks having to be completed and being part of the bike network means now that you can bike all the way from Bay Ridge to Greenpoint and into Queens, Ben Furnas, executive director at Transportation Alternatives, said.

As for buses, no word on the free part just yet, as Mamdani put the focus back on improvements.

“What is so exciting is this is the announcement of projects that will quite literally have an impact on the amount of time New Yorkers have to spend getting to where they’re going, giving them a little more time in the place that they’re actually looking to get to,” the mayor said.

These projects won’t get off the ground right away, but should start by spring when the weather is warmer.