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Nearly a year ago, Mayor Adams decided to scrap plans to redesign Fordham Road to drastically improve bus speed and reliability for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers. In its place, he offered riders a new coat of paint along the already existing bus lanes.
The results? Buses on Fordham Road are just as slow as they were a year ago, with the Bx12 SBS averaging 9.4MPH in June 2024, unchanged from when the bus lanes were repainted in October 2023.
We know the solution, a true fully-dedicated busway that can keep buses moving fast and out of traffic. Now, we are once again calling on Mayor Adams to prove he has the courage to deliver for bus riders as promised.
Bus riders deserve better. Complete the form below to add your name to the open letter to Mayor Adams (full text below) and the demand the fast, reliable bus service he owes New Yorkers.
Full letter text:
Dear Mayor Adams:
As bus riders from the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, we write to you today to demand a busway on Fordham Road, the most important east-west transit corridor above 42nd Street, where riders face outrageously slow and congested bus service every day.
Mayor de Blasio built busways across Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn in the face of powerful local opposition because busways work. Last year, your administration repainted the curbside bus lanes from 2008 on Fordham in a half-measure to speed up service. It is clear that this hasn’t worked. We urge you today to act now, as the existing measures have failed and a bold new street treatment has proven necessary.
In the nine months since the lanes were repainted, Bx12 Select Bus Service has slowed, taking even more time from 85,000 daily riders on the second busiest bus route in New York City. From an average of 9.6 miles per hour from October 2022 to June 2023, bus speeds dropped to 9.4 miles per hour from October 2023, when the lanes were repainted, to June 2024. We have the evidence we need. Repainting the old lanes didn’t help bus riders at all. We need and deserve a contemporary design that addresses current conditions on Fordham Road.
From 2019 to 2023, the New York City Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority collaborated on a plan to speed up the Fordham Road bus, which had been improved during the Bloomberg administration but later worsened. Planners presented three proposals, including a combination of offset lanes and two busway options. An independent survey of Fordham Road shoppers, in which 91% of respondents live in the three nearest community boards, found 70% public support for a busway.
The opposition was led by the powerful leader of the Arthur Avenue merchants, who once claimed that a bike lane on Southern Boulevard would destroy the Bronx’s Little Italy. Mayor de Blasio built the bike lane there and it had no impact on business. Yet the same person argued again on Fordham Road that anything besides repainting the old lanes would harm the community, where 86% of people arrive by public transit or on foot. He even organized the Bronx Zoo and Botanical Garden to oppose bus improvements, although only 4% of drivers travel down Fordham Road to visit those world famous destinations.
We urge you to disregard the fears and anxieties of suburban NIMBYs and get stuff done for riders on Fordham Road. Of the seven people who signed the opposition letter last year, six don’t even live in the city and can’t cast a ballot here. Despite leading locally based institutions, none live in the Bronx or Upper Manhattan or represent a grassroots constituency here. Respectfully, you do. Please deliver for the communities that supported you and keep your promise to speed up our bus.
Sincerely,
Please note: Only riders whose home address is in Upper Manhattan or the Bronx will be added to the final letter.