Major Redesign of 116th Street Will Affect Upper West Side Bus Routes

By Gus Saltonstall

The city broke ground earlier this week on a major redesign of 116th Street in Manhattan, which will affect buses on the Upper West Side.

The redesign will create two-and-a-half miles of new bus lanes and street upgrades along portions of the 116th Street corridor, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn announced on Monday.

“When your bus is moving slower than you can walk, something isn’t working,” Mamdani said in reference to slow bus speeds along 116th Street. “New Yorkers should spend less time in traffic and more time with their families and enjoying the city.”

Specifically, the redesign will add offset and curbside bus lanes, dedicated traffic signals that give buses a green light before other vehicles, protected bike lanes, and 35,000 square feet of new unspecified pedestrian space.

Where exactly are these changes taking place along 116th Street, though?

The redesign will take place east of the Upper West Side, but it will affect buses that travel through the Upper West Side.

“The redesign will benefit riders of the M116, one of Manhattan’s slowest bus routes, as well as the M3, M7, M102, BxM1, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9 and BxM11,” reads the news release from the city.

The M116 stops on the Upper West Side along West 106th Street at Broadway, Amsterdam, and Columbus, while the M7 travels throughout the entirety of the Upper West Side before cutting east at 106th Street, and eventually making it way down the 116th Street corridor for five avenues.

Construction on the 116th Street corridor is expected to continue through the fall, so drivers should be aware of possible delays in the area during this period.

You can read more about the project — HERE.

Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.