Some locals were surprised last week when new bus lanes and parking regulations began on 86th street to prepare for speedier bus service on the M86.
The M86 will be transitioning to “select bus service” on July 13. Select bus service is a program designed to speed bus service on plodding routes like the M86. Passengers will have to buy tickets at ticket boxes next to the bus stops in advance and will simply board the bus at either door instead of waiting to scan their Metrocards at the front. Ticket inspectors will periodically board the bus and check passengers’ tickets to make sure they’re paying for the ride.
Some SBS lanes also entail street changes, but the changes to 86th were expected to be relatively modest.
That said, one bus lane is causing some concerns. One reader tells us that her building on 86th between Central Park West and Columbus suddenly got a bus lane and no standing signs (although the signs have since been changed to “temporary” no standing signs, as seen at left). She wrote:
“Suddenly, without notice, a new ‘Bus Only’ lane appeared in front of our building at 10 West 86th Street, complete with a ’No Standing’ sign. One of our board members measured it at 243 feet, long enough to reach from the corner of CPW to 16 West 86th. We asked a cop if residents could briefly stop in front of the building to unload groceries or, more important, allow an elderly person with a cane or walker to safely get to his or her front door. The cop said that cars were not allowed in the bus lane and that they would have to be loaded/unloaded from the traffic lane. This seems dangerous.
We asked Helen Rosenthal’s office to investigate, and they did. A man named Charles called to say he had looked at the lane and agreed that it seemed overly long and created an unsafe situation. He added that this was the DOT’s domain, and that a city council member did not have the power to change or even address the situation. Charles advised me to attend the community board meeting next Tuesday July 7th at Rodeph Sholom, and a number of us from the building plan to do so.
I’m curious whether other UWS dwellers have contacted you about this issue. The community board promised to be clear these kinds of changes with residents of the neighborhood, but nobody got any notice of this development until it happened. We knew Select Bus service was coming, but the length of the lane seems egregious.”
Expect some discussion of this Tuesday night at the Community Board meeting; it starts at 6:30 and will be held at Congregation Rodeph Sholom, 7 West 83rd street.
WOW, what a poorly planned solution. This is the kind of solution that is implemented when you have policy makers instead of transportation engineers running DOT.
“The cop said that cars were not allowed in the bus lane and that they would have to be loaded/unloaded from the traffic lane.” – Classic!
I’ve also noticed that some of the ticket boxes face the sidewalk, yet on the next block the boxes face the street. Was this by design or an error when they assembled the boxes? It seems dangerous to have them facing the street where people will line up to collect their tickets.
Most of the boxes that I’ve used on other SBS lines, M15 for example, do face the street. Stupid, yes, but that’s the way they’ve been doing it for years. That being said, I cannot wait for this service to start. I’m really surprised it’s taken this long to get SBS on 86th.
Typical DOT heavy handedness and another situation where the public gets shafted. Soon we can expect road beds to have lanes only for bikes, buses and BMWs and no place for cars to park and unload or people to cross without taking their lives into their hands. Worse, you can’t even walk in the park these days without risking getting hit by a Lance Armstrong want-to-be. Check out what is happening on what is supposed to be a pedestrian promenade on the upper level
walkway on Riverside Drive between 72nd and 79th Street — but view it from a distance if you don’t want to get run over by a biker.
“Soon we can expect road beds to have lanes only for bikes, buses and BMWs and no place for cars to park and unload …”
Wait – you mean there are cars on the Upper West Side that are *not* BMWs? Is that legal?
(Yes, of course, I know that there are Mercedeses, but we all know that the laws don’t apply to them anyway.)
As an occasional rider of the packed and very slow M86 buses, I’m eagerly awaiting the bus lanes, which typically speed travel with little inconvenience for others. A look at the city’s site on bus lanes says drop-offs and pick-ups are permitted in bus lanes (see below for link):
“If possible, arrange your pick up or drop off where there isn’t a bus lane – across the street, or on the cross street, for example. However, you may stop in a curbside bus lane for the time it takes for a passenger standing at the curb to enter or a passenger to exit the vehicle and get onto the sidewalk.”
Here is additional information from the site: “You cannot pick-up or deliver goods in a bus lane during the hours it is in effect. Many curbside bus lanes have mid-day hours where parking and deliveries are permitted, and many streets with bus lanes have delivery space on an opposite curb, or on a cross street. You can use these hours and locations for deliveries, or schedule the delivery before or after the bus lanes are in effect.
“If you drive, park, or stand in a bus lane during hours of operation you face fines ranging from $115 to $150.”
See https://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/bus-lanes.shtml.
i can’t drop off or pick up my disabled wife anywhere near our apartment.
What if you have a monthly MetroCard?
you can use your monthly-just put it in the box and it will spit out a paper ticket. it wont mess up anything.
it takes time to get used to but we had to do it on 34th st and it does get easier.
waist of paper but it works once you get the hang of it
West 57th st has become so crowded with traffic that getting across town is an ordeal. Could the DOT get rid of curbside parking until those huge buildings are finished? That would ease the terrible traffic jams that are a part of every day getting across 57th street.
It seems like DOT is given absolutely too much power! How did that happen?
I for one, applaud it. We need bus lanes strictly for buses to get quicker service!!! I use them and the subways to get around. Traffic makes it close to impossible to do so above ground! Except for taxis and commercial vehicles, leave your car at home!!!!!
The increase in Manhattan traffic over the past few years is mostly commercial – the increase in e-commerce and “demand” delivery (Amazon, Google, Fresh Direct etc); commercial and business service vehicles (building services, etc); tourist related; and Uber. Also corresponds to increase in development.
Not really people driving own vehicles.
Jay,
The proof to Lisa’s observations are (1) that Amazon is selling more in Manhattan, esp Amazon Express, Google Shopping is selling more in Manhattan, Fresh Directis selling more in Manhattan; (2)building services are increasing in Manhattan, etc); (3)tourisism is increasing attendant with the tour buses, etc related; and (4)Uber is growing dramatically in Manhattan. As for lisa’s observation: “Also corresponds to increase in development.” all you gotta do is go outside.
I’ve seen no data to prove this. What’s your source?
It certainly seems intuitive, though, doesn’t it?
Let’s just remember that 89.22% of all statistics are made up.
Maybe, maybe not. I’d like to see some data. Lisa seems very definitive in her statement, so I’d like to see what the basis is.
Perceptions can be skewed by a whole bunch of things. Data… not so much.
I think this is great. It is going to speed cross-town transit for so, so many riders. I like that there are common-sense allowances for the disabled. Happy to see this!
I’m not a big fan of SbS, but it would be interesting to see if it really does speed up the bus along w86th St. Since they made that Street two lanes between Amst and Central Park West, traffic now crawls on that part of West 86 street. if cars or taxis are pulling over in the bus-only-lane to drop off stuff, passengers, etc. it’s going to just delay the bus and undo all the good of the SBS system.
In my opinion what slows up the buses more than anything else are the handicapped wheelchair riders. It can take five minutes to put somebody on the bus and five minutes to take somebody off the bus. We really need separate handicap only buses, especially the m104, the M7, and the M11 buses.
“Separate but equal on busing.” Hmmm….where have I heard that before?
Separate buses for the disabled violates the ADA. The spirit of the ADA is that the disabled enter and ride with all the other passengers, ideally from the front door, etc.
As someone who for years WALKED from West End to York Ave (divorced parents) faster than the crosstown, this is incredible and will be one of the most used corridors in the city. There are plenty of kids on either side of the park who cross over to go to school and as we know plenty of Upper East siders who want our subway lines instead of taking the overcapacity 7 and L lines. Buses, as the most efficient form of ground transportation on our streets deserve nothing less than VIP status because ridership is predicted by service level. Give us a bus that comes reliably and crosses even a bit faster than walking and people will ride it in droves. And if it’s really that successful, it would be great to extend it on the West Side the way it snakes up to the end of York to expand its reach and ridership.
With that said, the current West Side portion of the M86 is far shorter and more straightforward than the East Side end of the line. And traffic levels on the portion of 86th Street pictured don’t seem to merit lanes seen in commercial corridors. With the exception of the rush hours, eastbound traffic on that portion of West 86th should be able to accommodate a bus only lane and one less lane of private vehicles (particularly with the dedicated left turn lane). If you put in a couple of loading zones for cars, taxis, and DSNY, you could also see the bus bulbs on the West Side that are really going to improve sidewalks on East 86th. I know it’s CB8’s baby, but we could really use some of those here as well.
Amen. How can anyone with a schedule afford the time it takes to get on an MTA bus!? I pray to God that my knees sustain me long enough to continue walking & taking the subway as long as possible!
The whole point of the bus lane is to facilitate travel for those on public transport. If even one vehicle stops, stands or parks in the lane the entire point of the drill goes down the tubes. It works in hundreds of cities in Europe and South America. It can work here. It’s one of the few positive aspects of Bloomberg’s legacy.
Of course you’re totally right. The only difference is that citizens of those other cities, where this system works, do not have the Sense of Absolute Entitlement held by so many New Yorkers nowadays. So their stopping — or I’ll bet even parking — screws up an entire transit line and the comings-and-goings of perhaps hundreds of other humans. Tough!! Me first!!
I agree. There are too many people in this city, and especially in this neighborhood, who need a good dope-slap up ‘longside the head to get their attention and teach them the meaning of “social responsibility” and “civility”.
I’m not sure that: “a good dope-slap up ‘longside the head to get their attention and teach them the meaning of “social responsibility” and “civility”.” is, in itself, such good civility.
Does anyone else think this is one of the most ridiculous programs in transportation? You have a metrocard, why not have several readers at the various doors? That’s what they do in London where the idea came from but has been changed. So:
1. You have your metrocard and are running for the bus and you miss it because you need to go to the machine and get a receipt.
2. You are at 86/Broadway and want to go to 42/Lexington. Normally you have a choice – take the 86th street crosstown and then the Lexington bus downtown or the 104 downtown and the 42nd Street crosstown. Not now, you are committed to the 86th street!
3. Who thought this up, who mucked it up after seeing how it works in London. How much money is the maker of those machines making.
Dumb, dumb, dumb system and hardly speedy or efficient.
True what others have said about taking the subway from that location, unless of course You Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead With Those Kind of People Down There. If that’s the case, then: Aww.
Also true re the bus is the same, all that will change is the method of payment.
And, as for “You have your metrocard and are running for the bus and you miss it because you need to go to the machine and get a receipt”, I’d like to teach you a new word that will help you deal with this trauma:
Now here it is, sound it out slowly:
“W A I T”.
I know you can’t believe it, but there *will* be another bus. Promise. The world has not come to an end. “Wait”. Try it sometime. Your blood pressure will appreciate it.
Or maybe you could just plan to get to the bus stop 10 or 20 seconds earlier to be sure you can buy a ticket. Just maybe.
Additional or more frequent buses could fix that problem.
um, you present a not-real-life problem Elaine. First of all if you’re at 86 and Broadway you also have the option of the 1 train down. The subway is 99% of the time the clear choice if speed is your biggest concern (which would drive a “I want to see what bus shows up first” attitude). Second, get a monthly unlimited metrocard (which most people who regularly commute and are the more time-conscious travelers already have). This way it doesn’t matter if you buy the SBS ticket then want to swipe in on the 104 or 1 train. Third, you might have to just make a decision and stick with it for a full 5 minutes – such is life. SBS bus service will be great on that route and save thousands of people time. I call that progress.
Totally agree, except for “it doesn’t matter if you buy the SBS ticket then want to swipe in on the 104 or 1 train”.
You have to wait 18 minutes between swipes of an unlimited-fare MetroCard. (That’s how the MTA keeps you from selling one swipe after another.) And somehow I just don’t think our Original Poster is prepared to put in that kind of time.
Your suggestion of making a decision and sticking with it for five minutes is a good one.
If you get your SBS ticket and then decide to take the 104 or the 1 train, you don’t have to wait 18 minutes. It will count as a transfer and there’s no wait.
I’m guessing Elaine is one of the many UWS folks who can’t stand any change whatsoever. Doesn’t matter what the benefits of change are.
Good point — you’re absolutely right.
From 86th/BWY take the #1 to Times Square and the Shuttle to GST – 20 minutes, tops.
I don’t think SBS is ridiculous. I think it works fairly well.
The reason there aren’t readers on the bus is because much of the delays are due to people boarding the bus. If people don’t have to slow down to pay their fare while getting on the bus, people can get on and off the bus quicker and the bus moves quicker. Plus, I’m sure it’s a lot cheaper to install 20 machines on the sidewalk than four readers per bus on 6000 buses.
I’m not sure what you are saying in #2. The buses are exactly the same except you pay outside instead of on the bus. Routes/stops aren’t changing.
Are the private garages paying the MTA for this?
Fewer parking spaces equal more garage usage.
At $15 per hour and more, we are getting ripped off, big time.
Why doesn’t the M 86 really go cross town? The most western stop in either direction is at Broadway (once in a while, a driver will pick up passengers at West End as they start the trip east). This seems unfair to residents on West End Avenue and Riverside Drive. I have posed this question to the MTA, with no response.