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A vote against Select Bus Service for all the wrong reasons


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Community Board 15 votes against SBS on the B44.

When it comes to purely local government in New York City, nothing stands in the way of progress more than the Community Boards. These glorified neighborhood associations are generally stocked with people who aren’t representative of their constituents and have not embraced a pro-transit, pro-biking, pro-pedestrian livable streets/livable city agenda. They vote against protected bike lanes and true rapid transit bus lanes because their cars need valuable on-street real estate for below-market parking spots. In a sense, the community boards are a mockery of democracy.

 

Late last week, in a move that would surprise no one, Community Board 15 out in Sheepshead Bay voted against Select Bus Service along the B44. The DOT and MTA — two organizations that will probably not heed the non-binding CB15 vote — have been planning to unveil a Select Bus Service route from Sheepshead Bay itself to Williamsburg with subway connections to the B, Q, 2, 5, A, C, J, M and Z trains. Already, 42,000 people ride the B44, and the SBS route should increase that total.

 

The Community Board though doesn’t want it. In car-heavy CB15 where only 50 percent of residents rely on mass transit, its representatives say the elimination of parking spots hurts “the little guy.” “I might start riding the bus more often,” Tom Bowers, a senior who no longer uses his car, said to a reporter. “But most of the time, things like this hurt the little guy.”

 

Others claimed the new bus route would “inconvenience” the neighborhood while at an April Community Board meeting, members decried the lost parking spaces. Comparing the long Brooklyn route to the Bronx’s Bx12 service, CB15’s chair cast a skeptical eye on the whole thing. “For all this money they’re putting out during a time when they’re cutting service, how much time are they really saving?” Theresa Scavo said. “I dont think six minutes is worth all of this disruption.” If my commute were six minutes faster each way every day, I’d save an hour a week and over two full days in commuting per year.

 

Of course, these Community Board vote comes as no surprise. As Ben Fried from Streetsblog meticulously detailed in May, CB15 is opposed to safer streets for seniors and feels that SBS pre-boarding receipts would lead to an immeasurable increase in paper trash on the floor. But, hey, more car emissions. I sometimes wonder if these Community Boards are simply parodies of government.

 

The real problem with this Brooklyn Select Bus Service route isn’t its impact on parking or the supposed cost of painting some lines on the ground and building out some bus bulbs. It’s the route selection. The B44 already serves its purpose; it gets riders to the nearest subway line while passing through some business corridors. Few, if any, people ride from Sheepshead Bay to Williamsburg, and that probably won’t change much with the introduction of Select Bus Service. A Flatbush or Utica Ave. route would have been preferable choices over the Nostrand/Rogers Ave. combination for both the traffic-calming impact and ridership levels.

 

When time comes to evaluate the bus lanes, NYC DOT and the MTA aren’t bound by the Community Board 15 vote. They can disregard it as the bitter rantings of an auto-centric neighborhood that can’t stand to lose some lane and parking space for the good of everyone else. While Tom Bowers may think better transit service will “hurt the little guy,” he’s completely wrong. Community Board vote or not, the little guy will win when buses move faster.

 

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2010/06/04/a-vote-against-select-bus-service-for-all-the-wrong-reasons/

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This is an unjust thing for Brooklyn Community Board 15 to do by voting against SBS on Nostrand Avenue. It would speed up their commute and connections to the (2) and (5) at the Junction. But on the other hand, I think they oppose it because of what happened on Fordham Road around Arthur Avenue when SBS took effect there. Most of the auto shops lost their business because of lack of parking. In my opinion, CB15 opposes it since they fear that the bus lanes on Nostrand Av would result in the small businesses in Sheepshead Bay would either lose a lot of customers to the Junction or just shut down altogether.

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I have to probably support CB15 on this, but for other reasons---putting it on Rogers Avenue sets it up for failure, as it misses the major Fulton Street business district area.

 

To me, if a route should be proposed for SBS, it should be the B46, as the second-busiest and third-busiest routes already have it (the B44 is the fifth-busiest route in the system). The B46 is the busiest route in the system and may be the busiest in the USA.

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The city has a finite supply of parking as it is, if a neighborhood where there's a lot of car owners don't want the bus lanes, they shouldn't be forced to have them. As it is city streets are an obstacle course already. Personally I dont believe in forcing people to use any transportation method they dont want.

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Oh well, if they don't want that's their loss...the MTA has an offer take it or leave it.

 

And barely any people ride buses from end to end on the longer routes, just take a ride on the Q60 from 63rd Drive to 33rd Street the entire bus pretty much changes...and thats like just 1/2 of the Q60 route

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The B44 SBS would've meant the demise of the B44 limited and less service going up New York Av. Plus fare beating is a problem in that area of Brooklyn [as well as on the B41 and B46]. SBS wouldn't solve this, but just encourage it more. I don't think SBS would've ever worked on the B44.

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The B44 SBS would've meant the demise of the B44 limited and less service going up New York Av. Plus fare beating is a problem in that area of Brooklyn [as well as on the B41 and B46]. SBS wouldn't solve this, but just encourage it more. I don't think SBS would've ever worked on the B44.

 

Yeah, the SBS would be a really bad idea, the fare-beating will be a major problem, especially with some neighborhoods it passes.

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If they don't want to lose parking, here's what should be done:

SBSplandiagram.jpg

The blue square represents a bus stop.

 

The whole point of SBS is to have a separate, protected bus-only lane. If parking is left open next to the bus lane, it can't be separated from the other lanes of traffic, and you will have cars and vans darting across it, driving in the bus lane, and stopping to parallel park, which defeats the point.

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As much as I'm a fan of Shitty Bus Service (:P), I don't think the B44 is the best choice for it. Moving the northbound segment onto Rogers Avenue I have qualms with right now, as the B49 runs on Rogers heading up currently. Will the B49 be sent to Bedford Avenue in both directions as a result?

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As much as I'm a fan of Shitty Bus Service (:P), I don't think the B44 is the best choice for it. Moving the northbound segment onto Rogers Avenue I have qualms with right now, as the B49 runs on Rogers heading up currently. Will the B49 be sent to Bedford Avenue in both directions as a result?

 

The other issue is that northbound service will miss SUNY Downstate and Kings County Hospital...which can be a major revenue generator.

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If they don't want to lose parking, here's what should be done:

SBSplandiagram.jpg

The blue square represents a bus stop.

If you know anything about driving, that is just impractical to the the system as a whole. Not many cars could be parked considering the position of the bus stop. Also, remember that these things are 60 feet, so there must be enough space to station the bus and have the cars be parked.

 

As mentioned, parked cars would have to use the bus lane as an access route to the parked lane. And these guys are not angels, they will abuse it to maximise their advantages.

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I have to probably support CB15 on this, but for other reasons---putting it on Rogers Avenue sets it up for failure, as it misses the major Fulton Street business district area.

 

To me, if a route should be proposed for SBS, it should be the B46, as the second-busiest and third-busiest routes already have it (the B44 is the fifth-busiest route in the system). The B46 is the busiest route in the system and may be the busiest in the USA.

 

The only problem is that in the northern portion of the route (Malcolm X Boulevard), the streets are narrower.

However, Utica Avenue is less accessable to the subway than Nostrand Avenue, which is why I agree that it would be a better choice. Nostrand Avenue partially parallels the (2)/(5) trains, as well as the Brighton Line about 15 blocks to the west, wheras Utica Avenue is a mile from the closest parallel subway line (Nostrand Avenue), and nowhere near a subway line in the southern portion.

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The only problem is that in the northern portion of the route (Malcolm X Boulevard), the streets are narrower.

However, Utica Avenue is less accessable to the subway than Nostrand Avenue, which is why I agree that it would be a better choice. Nostrand Avenue partially parallels the (2)/(5) trains, as well as the Brighton Line about 15 blocks to the west, wheras Utica Avenue is a mile from the closest parallel subway line (Nostrand Avenue), and nowhere near a subway line in the southern portion.

 

That it doesn't parallel a subway line to me though is good (the B46). North of Eastern Parkway could be an issue, but these could be the stops from Kings Plaza going north:

 

Arrive/depart Kings Plaza, then:

 

1. Fillmore Avenue (southbound only; driver changes)

2. Avenue N

3. Flatlands Avenue

4. Avenue H/Kings Highway

5. Avenue D

6. Church Avenue

7. Empire Boulevard

8. Eastern Parkway/St. John's Place (stop would be on the north side of Eastern Parkway)

9. Fulton Street

10. Gates Avenue

11. DeKalb/Lafayette Avenues

12. Myrtle Avenue

13. Flushing Avenue/Graham Avenue/Woodhull Hospital

14. Lorimer Street

15. Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Lane 3

 

B46 local service would only run as far as DeKalb Avenue. B47 service would be extended to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. This would be made possible by the truncation of the B13, freeing up buses.

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That it doesn't parallel a subway line to me though is good (the B46). North of Eastern Parkway could be an issue, but these could be the stops from Kings Plaza going north:

 

Arrive/depart Kings Plaza, then:

 

1. Fillmore Avenue (southbound only; driver changes)

2. Avenue N

3. Flatlands Avenue

4. Avenue H/Kings Highway

5. Avenue D

6. Church Avenue

7. Empire Boulevard

8. Eastern Parkway/St. John's Place (stop would be on the north side of Eastern Parkway)

9. Fulton Street

10. Gates Avenue

11. DeKalb/Lafayette Avenues

12. Myrtle Avenue

13. Flushing Avenue/Graham Avenue/Woodhull Hospital

14. Lorimer Street

15. Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Lane 3

 

B46 local service would only run as far as DeKalb Avenue. B47 service would be extended to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. This would be made possible by the truncation of the B13, freeing up buses.

 

I agree that it is better to have SBS in an area nowhere near a subway line, as they don't have the option of speeding their travel. At least for a section of Nostrand Avenue, they have the option of the train.

 

However, currently the B46 local runs to DeKalb Avenue when the limited runs. There is no need to extend the B47.

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That it doesn't parallel a subway line to me though is good (the B46). North of Eastern Parkway could be an issue, but these could be the stops from Kings Plaza going north:

 

Arrive/depart Kings Plaza, then:

 

1. Fillmore Avenue (southbound only; driver changes)

2. Avenue N

3. Flatlands Avenue

4. Avenue H/Kings Highway

5. Avenue D

6. Church Avenue

7. Empire Boulevard

8. Eastern Parkway/St. John's Place (stop would be on the north side of Eastern Parkway)

9. Fulton Street

10. Gates Avenue

11. DeKalb/Lafayette Avenues

12. Myrtle Avenue

13. Flushing Avenue/Graham Avenue/Woodhull Hospital

14. Lorimer Street

15. Williamsburg Bridge Plaza Lane 3

 

B46 local service would only run as far as DeKalb Avenue. B47 service would be extended to Williamsburg Bridge Plaza. This would be made possible by the truncation of the B13, freeing up buses.

Hmm.. How about this: the route could follow the B44 route as planned from Willy B terminal to Eastern Parkway. Then turn on Eastern Parkway to Utica, and travel down on Utica to Kings Plaza.

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I have to probably support CB15 on this, but for other reasons---putting it on Rogers Avenue sets it up for failure, as it misses the major Fulton Street business district area.

 

To me, if a route should be proposed for SBS, it should be the B46, as the second-busiest and third-busiest routes already have it (the B44 is the fifth-busiest route in the system). The B46 is the busiest route in the system and may be the busiest in the USA.

 

 

 

Actually aemoreira, the M15 on Manhattan's East Side is (NYCT)Busiest and maybe the USA's as well.

 

Plus NY Ave. should be the northbound route that a proposed B44 SBS should take. However NY Ave would have to be become fully a 1-way street the whole way between Glenwood and Fulton. Right now (correct me guys if i wrong) NY Ave. is a two-way street between Clarkson(Kings County Medical Center) and Glenwood.

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Actually aemoreira, the M15 on Manhattan's East Side is (NYCT)Busiest and maybe the USA's as well.

 

Plus NY Ave. should be the northbound route that a proposed B44 SBS should take. However NY Ave would have to be become fully a 1-way street the whole way between Glenwood and Fulton. Right now (correct me guys if i wrong) NY Ave. is a two-way street between Clarkson(Kings County Medical Center) and Glenwood.

 

In the most recent rankings, it fell to #2, behind the B46, which is now #1.

 

As for the picture---is it 1201?

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Wirelessly posted via (Mozilla/5.0 (Danger hiptop 4.6; U; rv:1.7.12) Gecko/20050920)

 

Why not give it to the B41 because its whole Flatbush/livingston st blocks are big enough for a sbs and it goes from jay st to kings plaza.

With just as the same amount of subway connections.

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B41 gets horribly congested north of Nostrand Av. Unless they were to ban parking lanes and force at least most of the traffic to other streets, the B41 SBS will never happen.

 

Then businesses there would throw a fit because they would lose customers, and the DOT doesn't seem interested in allowing additional parking spaces.

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