Scott Stringer released this a little over a week ago:
Office of Manhattan Borough President
Scott M. Stringer
1 Centre Street, 19th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Lax traffic enforcement allowed limousines, taxis and trucks to illegally block dedicated bus lanes at evening rush hours in key midtown intersections for as long as 15 minutes on more than 350 different occasions without a single vehicle being ticketed, according to a recent survey by the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. In the worst intersection, 40 buses were blocked every hour, an average of one bus every 90 seconds.
The bus lanes - which are supposed to be confined at key times of the day to buses traveling or picking up and discharging passengers - were blocked most often by parked limos and taxis, with on occasion as many as ten limousines parked and even double-parked along 42nd street near Lexington Avenue. The longest blockages tended to be the result of truck parking, particularly by package delivery and armored car operations.
Borough President Stringer said, "Ten of thousands of bus passengers are delayed by cars and trucks parked in what should be reserved lanes. Yet over more than forty hours of observation by my staff, not one driver parked in a bus lane was issued a summons, no matter how long he sat there. What's the point of having these regulations if they are never enforced?"
"New Yorkers who rely on buses need aggressive enforcement of bus lane restrictions, and a DON'T BLOCK THE BUS campaign including the installation of bus cameras. The cameras that catch drivers running traffic lights have made drivers more aware of the need to obey the law. Recording the license plates of cars and trucks blocking bus lanes - and making sure they pay their fines - will go a long way toward clearing these lanes and giving bus riders some relief from endless traffic delays."
Assembly Member Jonathan L. Bing said, "Congestion has caused problems for commuters, businesses, and all individuals that rely on mass transit in this area. I have introduced legislation in the Assembly would authorize the use of bus cameras to ensure our mass transit is efficient and traffic violators are punished. I applaud Manhattan Borough President Stringer for looking for solutions that would improve enforcement and decrease congestion in the center of our business district."
Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, said, "Imagine if cars blocked the subway. Albany's got to give bus enforcement cameras the thumbs-up to keep New York's 2.5 million daily bus riders moving."
The survey revealed that at the intersection of 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, violations of posted rules caused 40 buses to be blocked every hour during the evening rush. At 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, 19 buses on average were blocked per hour during the survey period.
The longest blockages were fifteen minutes or more, with the average blockage on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue being about four and a half minutes long, a significant issue for crosstown buses that are scheduled to run every five to six minutes at that time.
The DON'T BLOCK THE BUS survey included observations during evening rush hours at six different midtown intersections between July 14 and July 27. The most affected intersection was at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, which had 83 violations, blocking or slowing a total of more than 300 buses. The intersection of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue was second, with 76 blockages. Each of the six chosen locations was observed by an MBPO staff member for five 90-minutes periods on weekdays between 4 and 6 p.m.
The most common blockages for all intersections surveyed were caused by limousines, taxis or livery cars, which were responsible for more than a third of the obstructions; private cars were the next largest cause, followed by delivery trucks, though truck pickups and deliveries accounted for the majority of the longest blockages. The worst day for evening rush hour blockages at the intersections surveyed was Monday, with Wednesday the second worst. Thursday evening rush hour had the fewest blockages during the survey period.
New York City traffic regulations forbid drivers to stand or park in bus lanes at posted hours, often 4 pm to 7 pm, or to stand or park in bus stops at any time. The fine for violating these ordinances is set at $115. Since blocking a bus lane is not a moving violation, summonses may be issued by police or by traffic enforcement agents.
The six intersections surveyed were: 34th Street and Second Avenue; 34th Street and Fifth Avenue; 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue; 42nd Street and Madison Avenue; 57th Street and Second Avenue; and 57th Street and Madison Avenue.
To reduce the number of bus lane blockages, the Borough President's recommendations focus on a combination of increased enforcement and public education:
1. Enforcement cameras. Enforcement cameras already have proven to be effective in New York City to prevent violation of traffic signals, and in other municipalities (such as London) to improve the flow of traffic in bus lanes. Legislation now pending in Albany sponsored by AM Bing should be amended to allow the use of such cameras not only for Bus Rapid Transit ("BRT") lanes, but for all dedicated bus lanes. Expansion of the legislation is critical for Manhattan bus lanes such as the ones examined in our survey that do not have the BRT designation, but nonetheless are essential mass transit thoroughfares damaged by unpunished violations. AM Kavanaugh's legislation, bill number A. 417, already embraces this wider scope.
2. Traffic enforcement agents. Bus lanes plagued by particularly high rates of blockages, such as the midtown Manhattan intersections identified in the Borough President's survey, should be given priority enforcement status by the NYPD and the city's Department of Transportation.
The Parking and Vehicle Violations for blocking a bus lane or bus stop (code numbers 18 and 19, respectively) are presently classified as nonmoving violations. This means that traffic enforcement agents may under current law already issue tickets to be mailed later simply by entering a license plate number into a handheld device. (The Borough President's effort two years ago to address traffic that "blocked the box" required the legislative reclassification of that traffic violation in order for traffic agents to police that problem. No such reclassification is necessary here; traffic agents can and should be directed to police blockages to bus lanes without further delay.)
3. Public education. The city should mount a public education campaign highlighting for drivers the importance of observing the rules governing bus lanes; their general hours of operation; and the cost to fellow New Yorkers who make use of mass transit when these rules are violated. At this time there is no single place drivers can look at to learn the location and restriction times for all bus lanes. The first step is to make use of the Department of Transportation Web site for this purpose. Public service announcements made by the city also should take up this cause.
4. Long-term planning. Studies by Transportation Alternatives and other advocacy groups indicate that the most effective means for improving the flow of bus traffic is to establish physical street barriers segregating bus lanes. In light of the information presented by this survey, the Department of Transportation should reconsider adopting this approach in selected bus lanes beyond those already designated as BRT lanes. Meanwhile, the DOT is to be commended for its 34th Street Bus Priority / Transitway blueprint, an example of innovative long-term planning that holds the potential for improving mass transit and reducing traffic congestion.