\u201cToo many New Yorkers spend too much time waiting on buses stuck in traffic,\u201d Mr. Mamdani said in a statement. \u201cThe 34th Street busway will change that, turning one of our most congested bus corridors into one that actually moves.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision comes seven months after the city\u2019s Transportation Department, under Mayor Eric Adams, suspended the plan, citing a need to review the details with the federal government. The Trump administration ordered the city<\/a> last year not to proceed because of concerns about how the plan could affect road access for trucks and emergency vehicles.<\/p>\n In October, the Federal Highway Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said in a letter<\/a> to city officials that the 34th Street corridor was part of the national highway system, and therefore subject to its review. The agency threatened to withhold unspecified federal funding if the project did not address its concerns.<\/p>\n Jeremy M. Edwards, a spokesman for the mayor, said the city had \u201cbeen in active communications with the federal government\u201d to restart the project.<\/p>\n Mr. Edwards said the city would add the plan to a list of state projects, called the Transportation Improvement Program, \u201cso it can be incorporated into federal transportation planning documents.\u201d<\/p>\n Otherwise, the plan\u2019s design<\/a> has not changed, he said.<\/p>\n Melissa Braid, a spokeswoman for the Federal Highway Administration, did not respond to questions about the agency\u2019s discussions with the city concerning the busway, but confirmed they had occurred.<\/p>\n \u201cWe received NYCDOT\u2019s letter today and are currently reviewing it,\u201d she said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n Critics have argued that a busway could push more traffic onto neighboring streets. But the city\u2019s Transportation Department has said the project would free up curb space for deliveries and help reduce traffic bottlenecks.<\/p>\n The agency said in a statement that it would begin a public outreach campaign about the project in June, install new street infrastructure this summer and complete construction by the end of fall.<\/p>\n The average bus speed in New York City hovers around eight miles per hour. But the M34, a crosstown bus that traverses 34th Street, travels at about five m.p.h., on average \u2014 slower than some people run.<\/p>\n In a version of the plan released last year, the city said the redesign could improve bus speeds along 34th Street by up to 15 percent.<\/p>\n Similar road redesigns suggest even bigger improvements are possible. After the 14th Street busway opened in 2019, bus speeds increased by up to 24 percent and crashes along the stretch were reduced by 42 percent, according to the city\u2019s Transportation Department.<\/p>\n Betsy Plum, the executive director of Riders Alliance, a transportation advocacy group that supported the project, said the decision was \u201cgreat news\u201d and a sign that the mayor was serious about improving bus speeds.<\/p>\n Busways, she said, are \u201ca win for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey give riders back precious time, they help businesses attract customers, they make our streets work better and our city work better.\u201d<\/p>\n New York City buses carry an average of 2.6 million riders per weekday, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.<\/p>\n The project has also gained an important ally: the Trucking Association of New York, an industry group that opposed the Manhattan congestion pricing toll program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Claire McDonnell, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement on Tuesday that the project was welcome news for the trucking industry, which transports more than 90 percent of goods in the city.<\/p>\n \u201cBy advancing the 34th Street busway, Mayor Mamdani and N.Y.C. D.O.T. are making it possible for trucks to deliver more reliable service to the countless businesses that keep this city running,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The busway is expected to run along the crowded commercial stretch that includes the Macy\u2019s flagship store at Herald Square, and would be active every day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. During off-peak hours, other vehicles would be allowed to travel in the reserved bus lanes.<\/p>\n The advancement of the 34th Street project could also mean that other road redesign projects that faced the threat of federal intervention<\/a> could soon move forward.<\/p>\n Transit advocates had worried that a busway proposal for Tremont Avenue in the Bronx, the city\u2019s most bus-dependent borough, might be mothballed, because the road is also part of the federal highway system.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have more to share on Tremont soon,\u201d Mr. Edwards said.<\/p>\n
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