Under a proposal from NYC DOT, a crosswalk will be extended across a Lincoln Tunnel entrance at Ninth and 36th. The angled NYPD parking on 36th will be converted into green space. Image: NYC DOT.

The Department of Transportation presented the findings [PDF] of its five-year study of transportation in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood at a packed public meeting last night. The massive transportation analysis included many critical projects that have already been announced, such as the 34th Street Select Bus Service route and extensions of the protected bike lanes along Eighth and Ninth Avenue, as well as a full slate of new improvements for the neighborhood, from signal retimings meant to improve pedestrian safety to new plaza space and a continuous sidewalk by the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel.

The neighborhood study emerged from a pedestrian safety campaign conducted under the banner of the Ninth Avenue Renaissance, which started in 2006. DOT received federal funding for a study, solicited hundreds of public comments, walked through the neighborhood five times, built a powerful traffic model for the complicated Midtown area and analyzed 86 separate intersections.

Certain improvements were implemented as DOT studied the neighborhood. Leading pedestrian intervals, which give pedestrians time to establish their presence in a crosswalk before traffic gets the green light, were installed at six dangerous intersections, while pedestrian signal times were extended to provide for slower walkers.

Some of the biggest changes within the study area, which runs from 29th Street to 55th Street between Eighth Avenue and the Hudson River, are projects that have already been announced. Select Bus Service along 34th Street will speed bus trips, add new loading space and shorten pedestrian crossing distances with new bus bulbs. The extension of Eighth and Ninth Avenues, by far the two most dangerous corridors for cyclists and pedestrians, according to DOT, is expected to significantly improve safety for all users.

Other improvements, though, will be brand new. Pedestrians will again be able to walk down the west side of Ninth Avenue past the Lincoln Tunnel under DOT’s recommendation. Currently, the sidewalk is interrupted at 36th Street by an unsignalized tunnel entrance. “We would provide a crosswalk and a stop light for the traffic,” said Andrew Lenton, the project manager for the transportation study.

Another sidewalk will be restored around the corner on 36th Street. “Right now, it’s occupied by NYPD vehicles parking on the sidewalk such that you can’t even walk,” said Lenton. Under DOT’s proposal, the sidewalk and parking lane would be turned into green space.

At Ninth Avenue, the two sides of 41st Street don’t quite line up, forcing drivers to maneuver to the right and slowing traffic. By installing what they called a “mini-plaza,” DOT can smooth traffic flow while shortening crossing distances for pedestrians and creating new public space.

There was some conflict, however, over the possibility of creating additional pedestrian space on Dyer Avenue between 34th Street and 35th Street. DOT proposed closing the northbound lane of that block to traffic during the afternoon rush. When the northbound lanes were closed due to construction in 2009, the Port Authority noticed improved flow into the tunnel during peak hours. Many community members called for making the lane closure permanent and DOT said it supported the idea. “We agree. What’s the point of banning it for PM only if the advantage is you get that extra space that you can take away from roadbed and give to pedestrians?” asked DOT engineer Greg Haas. But, said Haas, the Port Authority didn’t want to see a permanent closure in case it decided it wanted the lane reopened. “They want it to be there, just in case,” he said.

The plan also includes some small but important improvements for buses heading to the Lincoln Tunnel. During the afternoon peak period, the existing southbound contraflow bus lane on Dyer Avenue will be extended by one block, from 41st Street to 42nd Street. Currently, 60 buses an hour zigzag from 42nd Street onto Ninth, then 41st, and then Dyer. Extending the bus lane would allow buses to make a single turn instead of three. Similarly, making the right turn from Ninth Avenue to 41st Street bus-only all day long, instead of only during the afternoon rush, will prioritize bus access to the tunnel.

In general, the city’s proposals were met with enthusiasm. “We are pretty excited,” said Christine Berthet, the co-founder of the Clinton Hell’s Kitchen Coalition for Pedestrian Safety. However, Berthet and many pedestrian safety advocates were disappointed to see DOT opt to use leading pedestrian intervals at five dangerous intersections rather than split phases. LPIs give pedestrians a head start into the crosswalk while split phases mark off separate periods for pedestrians and turning vehicles to move. “In theory, it sounds good,” Haas said of split phases, “but they’re not as good as they’re cracked up to be. There’s a lot of non-compliance.” He argued that on the East Side, where split phases are in use, pedestrians see the light for crossing traffic turn red and step out into the crosswalk just as a green arrow sends turning cars in their direction.

DOT agreed to install a split phase at 43rd and Ninth, however, and monitor its effects. If it’s successful, it could be expanded to other intersections, said Haas. Berthet said she would continue to push for split phases. “We’ve been clamoring for split phases,” she said. “They’re the only way to protect the turning movement.”

Many were also concerned about DOT’s lack of a timeline for implementation. While Borough Commissioner Margaret Forgione said that easy changes like signal retiming would be put into place shortly, there is no construction schedule for changes like the 36th Street green space or new Ninth Avenue sidewalk.

Additional safety improvements could be added on top of the study’s recommendations in the near future, however. Under DOT’s Safe Streets for Seniors program, the area between Broadway and Ninth Avenue is slated for additional safety upgrades, which Forgione said will be put together over the next couple of months. Where the transportation study included pedestrian refuge islands along the new bike lane, for example, the senior safety program might install a neckdown on the other side of the street to narrow crossing distances.

Average weekday eastbound trips, 2008. Source: TSTC/Port Authority of NY & NJ.

The Lincoln Tunnel XBL was established all the way back in 1971. In the last 38 years, bus ridership crossing the Hudson has boomed, especially this decade, but capacity for buses hasn't kept pace. Unless provisions are made to accommodate more bus travel -- and soon -- riders will face slower trips, the ridership gains of recent years will flatten out, and traffic troubles will deepen as more commuters choose to drive.

The good news is that it doesn't take all that much time or money to deliver some significant enhancements for bus riders. In a new report, "Express Route to Better Bus Service" [PDF], Tri-State lays out a strategy to expand on the success of the Lincoln Tunnel XBL and make bus travel more attractive for all trips across the Hudson. It's a wake-up call for the Port Authority to get moving on some long-overdue improvements.

"A population nearly the size of Cincinnati travels by bus across the Hudson River every weekday, but plans to enhance service for these riders are stalled," said Tri-State's Veronica Vanterpool, co-author of the report. "With bus travel anticipated to grow, we need to stop treating bus riders like second-class citizens and provide them with faster commutes and better access to information."

Tri-State recommends creating a westbound Lincoln Tunnel XBL during the evening rush and moving full-speed ahead with plans for a new high occupancy/toll lane for the morning commute (which has been stuck in the study phase for way too long). The report also touches on strategies to speed bus service across other Hudson River crossings, organize on-street loading for the city's growing volume of private bus operators, and make it easier for riders to plan their trips.

Follow the jump for the full slate of Tri-State's major recommendations.

Key Recommendations 

Short Term

1. Expedite the completion of the Lincoln Tunnel High Occupancy Toll Lanes study and implement the recommendations immediately.
2. Establish a westbound XBL in the Lincoln Tunnel during the evening rush hour.
3. Create an online portal for regional bus riders, with maps, route schedules and carrier information.
4. Improve communications technology for buses and update signage.
5. NYC should develop, with community input, strategies for formalizing bus loading/unloading and bus parking areas in neighborhoods across the city.
6. Coordinate with MTA and Westchester County’s Bee-Line to create and/or expand existing bus service between Westchester County and George Washington Bridge Bus Station.

Long Term

1. Study the potential for High Occupancy Tolling on the Holland Tunnel and GW Bridge.
2. Move forward plans to renovate and add capacity to the Port Authority Bus Terminal with community input, and to construct a bus garage on the West Side.

In a post on Mobilizing the Region yesterday, TSTC says it's time to build on the success of the much traveled Manhattan-bound express bus lane:

The Lincoln Tunnel’s Manhattan-bound XBL is the busiest bus lane in the country, carrying 1,700 buses with over 62,000 passengers on weekday mornings. In fact, it is so popular that it is now congested at times, though it still speeds bus times by 15-20 minutes according to the Port Authority. This has prompted the Authority to study the creation of a bus/high occupancy toll (HOT) lane in the tunnel to alleviate gridlock on the bus priority route.

However, there has been less discussion on how to improve evening rush hour traffic into NJ, which is actually worse. During the average evening peak period (4-7 pm), nearly 15,000 cars travel westbound into NJ; by comparison, around 13,900 cars enter NYC during the morning rush (7-10am). Usage of a Jersey-bound XBL (which would either replace an NJ-bound general purpose lane or be a contraflow lane carved out of NY-bound traffic) would almost certainly rival that of the morning XBL, providing real benefits for the largest share of trans-Hudson commuters and creating further incentives to commute by mass transit.

A Jersey-bound XBL would also help to alleviate some of the problems that the new blocking-the-box crackdown is meant to address. Some of the worst box-blocking hotspots are in Hell's Kitchen, where cars line up for block after block on their way out of Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel.

For more ideas about improving bus service on bridges and tunnels, see Cap'n Transit's series on the topic.

Photo of NJTransit bus leaving Manhattan via Lincoln Tunnel: Jumpy/Wikimedia Commons/MTR