Comments on: Integrating Bus Rapid Transit into the Streetscape

By: Matt S

Matt S — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:46:10 +0000

Agreed on the need for passing buses, even if it’s every other block somehow. After seeing how doubling the lanes tripled the bus capacity here in Minneapolis, it’s amazing. I don’t know how far apart the blocks are, but you could have it every other block where there’s a passing lane and two “stations”, and then the next block would just have one through lane. Just an idea.

By: Shel

Shel — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:45:40 +0000

Simply ban parking on the avenues, making room for all.

By: Jake

Jake — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:46:48 +0000

from experience in montreal, median BRT stations are both a way to make bus travel MORE undesirable, as well as a way to increase the number of transit related auto accidents.

take the last option, switch the directions of buses, as well as making the bike lanes on the traffic side, with a safety barrier of bollards. Therefore creating both curb boarding, as well as a barrier between active and motorized transportation options.

never had a problem with block separated bus lines performing poorly, but I’ve also only had experience with them running in close proximity, not the Manhattan length blocks.

By: AlexB

AlexB — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:41:48 +0000

I was just reading the complementary post about this at Streetsblog, and Sean posted these renderings of a proposed configuration I thought was the most effective I’ve seen.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seankenney/tags/sbs/

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:21:27 +0000

The combination of local and express services along the M15 route complicates true BRT implementation. I think the MTA is hesitant to propose a physical barrier between bus and car lanes because express buses will need to pass locals by pulling into car traffic, rather than the fear that cars will get stuck inside the bus lane.

However, only with true physical separation will buses really see an increase in speed. I think an option that could be successful is to dedicate two lanes to buses and create a raised curb to segregate those two lanes from traffic.

Unfortunately, such a plan would probably be a hard sell politically.

By: bzcat

bzcat — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:35:52 +0000

2 way bus lanes will probably require signal prioritization (similar to surface light rail) so that vehicles turning left are not impeding the flow of buses and vice-versa. Basically, the buses needs to run on their own signals. Anything less will result in chaos. Taipei tried the contra flow bus lane about 10 years ago and it was not very successful because the buses were not given signal prioritization. They eventually converted the contra flow bus lanes into one-way bus lanes to solve the signal/left turn issue. NYC is actually an ideal place to implement 2 way bus lanes because most cross streets are already one-way so the left turn intersection issue is only half as complicated – you can’t turn left in half of the intersections!

By: DBX

DBX — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:34:41 +0000

One-way avenues in New York create a particular problem for ridership because the avenues are so unusually far apart from one another. Rather than a fourteenth of a mile or a tenth of a mile or even an eighth of a mile, it’s more like a fifth of a mile. That potentially means almost a half a mile between parallel downtown routes of a particular direction, a distance that is simply unequalled in any other major city that I know of.

So adapting the avenues for a two-way busway makes a tremendous amount of sense. I wonder if the city of New York will actually pick up this idea?

By: Peter Smith

Peter Smith — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:46:18 +0000

ecstatic to see this blog advocate so strongly for bike lanes. GGW decided that buses were more important than bikes for Washington’s K Street — a disgraceful recommendation, to be sure.

The next step is to get advocates to support buffered and then protected bike lanes.

By: Alon Levy

Alon Levy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:00:09 +0000

There’s a long range plan to put a high-capacity subway underneath.

By: Blaise

Blaise — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:33:48 +0000

Great article! The point that rings out to me is that while 2nd Ave is being torn up, there should be two way service on 1st. The bike lanes on 8th and 9th are de facto two way, and it kinda works. I also would hope that there is a long range plan to convert it to light rail or other higher capacity transit.