Update to Nostrand Avenue bus service

Following up on our post the other day about City plans to upgrade B44 bus service, I talked to Keith Bray, Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Transportation.

As mentioned earlier, the B44 line along Nostrand and Rogers is slated to be one of the first routes for New York's new bus rapid transit program. Bus rapid transit is expected to dramatically improve commuting time for those who ride the buses every day and make the buses more reliable. But recently, the Nostrand Merchants Association held a protest of the plan to upgrade, expressing concerns that the new bus lane would eliminate parking along Nostrand.

Bray said that his department was planning to sit down with Councilmember Tish James (who represents the district north of Empire; our Councilmember, Mathieu Eugene, has so far been silent on this issue) and the Nostrand Merchants to clarify some misinformation. According to Bray, there's not going to be any massive loss of parking. Select bus service is designed specifically to improve traffic congestion, not add to it. Bray believes that once DOT reps can sit down and openly discuss the plan with elected officials, merchants, and other community members, there's not going to be any serious opposition to it.

That said, the DOT does plan to have several public meetings in the future about the Nostrand buses. At those meetings, it'll be helpful to have bus riders and other community members come out and express support for public transit. We'll be sure to let you know when those happen.

RELATED:
PLG buses lose again; Nostrand Merchants protest bus upgrade

Comments

[babs]

"[O]ur Councilmember, Mathieu Eugene, has so far been silent on this issue." Why am I not surprised? I look forward to testifying on the need for improved B44 bus service at a future meeting!

[Bob Marvin]

Most anyone who's heard Dr. Eugene speak would be very grateful for his silence on this or ANY other matter :-)

[brn442]

Mr Eugene, excuse me, Dr. Eugene is too busy being a "councilman"
And as Bob said, he speaks as though he's selling you a used car. Cringing.

[Bob Marvin]

brn442,

I think you owe used car salesmen an apology :-)

[babs]

The agenda for CB9's 6/22 meeting is up, and it is to include a presentation about the SBS service on the B44 line: http://www.communitybrd9bklyn.org/detail_meetings.asp?EventID=385
This is not a hearing, from what I understand, so I don't believe there will be any chance to speak, but supporters of this plan should attend, as I'm sure the opponents will (chiefly Nostrand Ave merchanrts who don't want to lose their privste parking, but also residents who fear increased traffic on their streets as a result).

[carrie]

You can indeed speak at the community board meeting; you just need to call in advance to get on the list... Contact Pearl Miles at 718-778-9279 or
bk09@cb.nyc.gov. You can only talk about the agenda items specific to the scheduled meeting.