An infrastructure project aimed at improving bus service and street safety near Yankee Stadium is now underway in the Bronx, city officials announced. Led by the New York City Department of Transportation and the New York City Department of Design and Construction, the initiative will upgrade key portions of East 161st Street and surrounding corridors along the Bx6 Select Bus Service route. The project introduces dedicated bus-only lanes, including converting the 161st Street underpass to exclusive bus use, alongside pedestrian safety improvements and new rider amenities.
The redesign spans East 161st Street from Ruppert Place to Morris Avenue, as well as segments of East 163rd Street and portions of the Bx6 route in Manhattan. A central feature is a fully protected, center-running bus lane along East 161st Street between Concourse Village West and River Avenue, one of the few of its kind in New York City. Construction has already begun on parts of East 163rd Street. The project also upgrades the existing bus tunnel under the Grand Concourse to allow two-way bus traffic, supported by additional westbound bus-only lanes to ease congestion.
Map via NYC.
Safety and accessibility improvements are a major component of the plan. The city will install full-length boarding islands, curb extensions, and pedestrian refuge islands to shorten crossings and improve visibility. Additional upgrades include 370 ADA-compliant ramps, expanded medians, new lighting and traffic signal poles, and extensive streetscape work featuring new trees and plantings. Crews will also reconstruct roadways and sidewalks while upgrading underground water mains and sewer infrastructure.
The corridor serves approximately 25,000 daily riders on the Bx6 SBS line and connects heavily trafficked areas between Manhattan and the Bronx. Nearby subway access includes the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station, served by the B, D, and 4 trains, as well as nearby stops along the Grand Concourse and Jerome Avenue lines, providing additional transit connectivity for commuters and visitors.
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Placing the bus lane in the middle of the road makes a great deal of sense. The bus lane on Main St. in Flushing runs next to the parked cars and is constantly blocked by delivery trucks.
There’s a small stretch of the route that already runs in the center it’s much better than curbside or offset. They will need physical separation throughout and cameras at the entry points. This should also continue the entire length from Yankee Stadium to Bruckner Blvd.
Fordham Road should get similar treatment but they are going with offset lanes there.
Good! Bus lanes over bike lanes! I always wanted this for 161st.
Until they stop the double parking, it won’t make much difference.
People are opening their trunks to avoid camera tickets from the buses. The NYPD and MTA Police should do random crackdowns with $500 fines for that. It’s unacceptable, and people have noticed the lack of enforcement and keep doing it.
Also looking at the 2022 plan, I really hope they added more center running bus lanes with physical separation because that plan is almost the same as what currently exists. Biggest difference being the westbound tunnel under the Grand Concourse will be bus only, that’s really it. Otherwise some bus bulbs and concrete curbs. As that plan stands there will be almost no change in travel time.
It would show real incompetence to implement that 2022 plan as is. It needs to be center running bus lanes from Jerome Avenue to Bruckner Blvd with physical separation.
Another transplant who comes from Portland with TDS.
What the fuck does Trump or Portland, Oregon have anything to do with this project?!? You are a literal dumb fucking brainwashed MAGA cunt that worships a pedeophile, a rapist, and convicted felon who’s destroying America with each day he’s unfortunately alive. No amount of “Christian love” will save you from getting into heaven as you use religion as an excuse to attack people that are trying to save America from MAGA incels like you.
Blo Me, what a stupid desperate sounding username to solicit for sex. Your dick is probably too small anyways for anyone to suck.
Blo Me, I have yet to see a MAGAt like yourself do something other than projecting. You republican retards are such gaslighitng scumbags.
Blo Me, stop openly confessing who you voted for and being a keyboard warrior
It would be really cool if eventually this ROW would by used by a future Bronx extension of the IBX
If this is the 2022 plan there will be no ROW. It will be mostly the same as it is now with the addition of bus bulbs/curb extensions and the bus only westbound lane under the Grand Concourse.
Like Fordham Road this corridor is a good candidate for rail though.
i wish this would have been done whrn i worked near this route it would have saved me a lot of time and hassle, but good to see it happening.
One things for sure it’s understandable that Chinese flu of 2019 showed us how many useless non-essential people there are in NYC. With the mandate of staying at home / work from home making NYC a ghost town of 200,000 in the city commuting to the city as firemen, policemen, bus drivers, emts, hospital staff, nursing home / hospice care takers, etc. Because we didn’t need the rest of the useless eaters running around the streets.
Wander off somewhere.
Will my fellow Bronxites now be paying customers?