Traffic along Madison Avenue in Manhattan.
Photo: NYC DOT
Construction is officially underway on the redesign of Manhattan’s Madison Avenue bus lane.
The once-stalled street design will extend double bus lanes on Madison Avenue between 23rd and 42nd Streets. The project aims to make buses faster and more reliable for 92,000 daily local and express bus riders while also supporting congestion pricing by making it easier to commute without a car.
On this stretch of Madison Avenue south of 42nd Street, 55% of people on the street are riding the bus with no dedicated space before this project started. The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) expects the construction to be completed, weather permitting, over the next several weeks.
“Every weekday, nearly 100,000 bus riders from all five boroughs are stuck crawling along Madison Avenue at walking speed. The snail’s pace of buses and the unpredictable commutes steal precious time from working New Yorkers that could otherwise be spent with their families and friends,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Mike Flynn. “The Mamdani administration will be laser-focused on improving New Yorkers quality of life with service upgrades just like this. We look forward to completing this project as soon as possible to help get New Yorkers where they’re going faster.”
As it stands, Madison Avenue has two bus lanes, two travel lanes and one parking lane from 60th Street to 42nd Street. Data from the DOT shows that buses along these routes get slowed down below 42nd Street, moving as slowly as 4.5 miles per hour by bus, nearly half the citywide average bus speed of 8.1 miles per hour.
In an effort to speed up service in this area, NYC DOT proposed extending the double bus lane design south to 23rd Street last year, but the plans were paused. The redesign will feature one travel lane throughout, one parking lane with left turn pockets from 23rd to 34th Street, and one parking/rush hour travel lane from 34th to 42nd Street. The plan will also modify curb regulations on Madision Avenue and some nearby blocks to help make parking more available.
“For too long, New Yorkers have been forced to watch critical infrastructure projects be slowed, scaled back, or scrapped altogether by an administration that lacked urgency. That ends now,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “By moving forward with work on Madison, we are choosing a city that works for the many, not the few. Faster, more reliable buses mean thousands of working people get where they need to go on time. And by shortening commutes, we’re returning invaluable time to New Yorkers. That’s what a functional transit system should deliver for every New Yorker.”
