New York City officials have confirmed that a delayed street redesign extending double bus lanes on Madison Avenue will be completed this year.
The project will extend the existing double bus lanes from 42nd Street south to 23rd Street in Manhattan. The scheme is intended to improve bus speeds and reliability for around 92,000 daily local and express bus passengers travelling from all five boroughs.
The redesign is also expected to support the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion pricing programme by improving access to Manhattan’s central business district without private vehicles.
Madison Avenue currently has double bus lanes between 60th Street and 42nd Street, alongside two general traffic lanes and a parking lane, serving 34 local and express bus routes. South of 42nd Street, buses often operate without dedicated space and can travel at speeds as low as 4.5 miles per hour, compared with a citywide average of 8.1 miles per hour. NYC DOT data indicates that 55 percent of people using this section of the street travel by bus.
Deputy Mayor for Operations Julia Kerson said:The Mamdani Administration is serious about keeping this city moving. Installing new bus lanes on Southern Madison Avenue will speed up commutes for nearly 100,000 riders a day. That saves New Yorkers time, money, and headaches. That’s real impact, and I want to thank DOT for delivering it.
Plans to extend the bus lanes southwards were proposed by NYC DOT in 2025, but the project was paused before construction began. Under the revised plan, the redesigned section will include two bus lanes, one general traffic lane, and one parking or peak-hour travel lane.
NYC DOT has cited results from nearby Fifth Avenue, where the introduction of double bus lanes led to increases in local bus speeds of between six and 12 percent, and express bus speeds of between 11 and 20 percent.
