The city Department of Transportation presented plans to add bus lanes along much of Bay Parkway and a section of Cropsey Avenue during a June 10 meeting of Brooklyn Community Board 11, according to the amNY.
The proposal calls for a mix of offset and curbside bus lanes on Bay Parkway between Avenue J and Shore Parkway, covering nearly the entire corridor between Borough Park and Bath Beach. Similar bus lanes would be added to Cropsey Avenue between Bay Parkway and 26th Avenue, the news site reported.
The project is part of the city's broader effort to expand bus-priority improvements across New York City.
“Bus riders deserve a fast, dignified commute, and we’re ready to speed things up,” Flynn said, according to amNY. “This redesign will increase bus speeds and reliability on two of Brooklyn’s busiest bus routes while enhancing safety for pedestrians and better organizing traffic for drivers.”
The Bay Parkway-Cropsey Avenue project aims to improve travel times on the B6 and B82 bus routes, which serve about 80,000 riders daily. The routes rank among Brooklyn’s busiest, and buses along portions of the corridor can move as slowly as 3 miles per hour during periods of heavy congestion.
More than half of residents living along the corridor commute using public transportation, according to 2023 U.S. Census data cited by DOT.
The proposal also includes a series of safety improvements. Bay Parkway and Cropsey Avenue are designated priority corridors under the city’s Vision Zero initiative. From 2021 through 2025, 30 people were killed or seriously injured in crashes along the sections targeted for redesign, the news site said.
Plans include dedicated left-turn lanes at 14 intersections and possible left-turn restrictions at others, with final locations to be determined in consultation with Community Boards 11 and 12. Additional improvements include up to 18 pedestrian median islands, accessibility upgrades to curb ramps and signals, and painted curb extensions at select intersections.
The predominantly offset bus lanes are intended to minimize parking loss. The agency also plans to adjust parking regulations, create additional parking spaces near intersections and designate loading zones for deliveries, pickups and drop-offs, amNY reported.
