Daniel Convissor's Website
Is Staten Island's "Bus Lane" a HOV Hoax?
The NY State DOT is expected to announce plans to add a
bus lane to a portion of the Staten Island Expressway at a
public meeting on the SIE Major Investment Study to be held
Wednesday night. The lane addition proposal, part of a
package of "fast track" improvements to the gridlocked
corridor, comes with no guarantee that it will not be opened
up in the future to cars as well. Efforts by the Tri-State
Campaign to add such a guarantee were rejected by the New
York Metropolitan Transportation Council, which has yet to
approve the project. Meanwhile, the fourth lane is to be built
using design specifications suited for auto use -- which
differ from those needed for a lane to be used only by
professional bus drivers -- making the project look
suspiciously like an opening bid to add high occupancy
vehicle lanes for the length of the expressway.
The proposal should receive closer scrutiny within the MIS
forum before advancing any further. A growing number of
Staten Island express bus riders are calling for removal of
cars from the existing Gowanus Expressway HOV lane,
where congestion is worsening because cars carrying as few
as two occupants can gain entry. Furthermore, the new SIE
bus lane will cost $75 million and is being planned outside of
the ongoing long range plan the major investment study is
supposed to develop. The extent to which a bus-only lane will
help travel times has yet to be determined.
Mobilizing the Region Number 179, 6 July 1998, published by
the Tri-State Transportation Campaign
Up to the Staten Island Transportation Page
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Last updated: 4 April 1999