Fordham Road needs a new busway
Riders on Fordham Road are often forced to board and disembark into the street as buses weave around illegally parked vehicles.
If the state of the bus lanes on Fordham Road are any indication of how attentive local leaders are to the needs of transit riders… let’s just say things aren’t looking great. Right now, even though routes like the Bx12 consistently clocks some of the highest ridership numbers in the entire city, buses on Fordham are forced to slog through traffic on bus lanes that have effectively (and literally) faded into nonexistence.
While plans for new bus priority projects on Fordham Road have been on DOT’s to-do list for years, the project has been delayed due to a lack of political will from local Council Members, ranging from passive, tacit support to active disapproval. The 3 Council Members whose districts the proposed project would span are Pierina Sanchez (D14), Oswald Feliz (D15), and Carmen De La Rosa (D10).
Right now, the Bx12, Bx22, and Bx9 are averaging about 7.5MPH, which is worse than the current citywide average of 8MPH. With Fordham Road being one of the most active, important transit and commercial corridors in the city, with 85,000+ daily riders using buses on Fordham to access shopping, jobs, education, and other opportunities, there’s already a solid argument for implementing a new bus priority project to speed up trips.
On top of that, DOT is already obligated to install at least 30 miles of new bus lanes this year in accordance with the NYC Streets Plan. Which means a new busway on Fordham Road is in lockstep with commitments DOT and Mayor Adams have already made to build 150 miles of new bus lanes by 2025 to speed up NYC’s buses, which are still the slowest in the entire nation.
For now, riders in the Bronx can reach out to the Council Members mentioned above to tell them to support a new busway on Fordham Road. With enough coordinated effort, we can win the support of local elected leaders to join us in pushing DOT and Mayor Adams to make much needed improvements to the current streetscape.