Brownsville Bus Stops Are Way Too 'Cozy,' Study Finds

BROWNSVILLE/ EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN — Four bus stops in Brownsville and East New York are too close together and slow down bus service, a new report finds.

Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a New York-based transit advocate group, on Monday released its sarcastically named 2019 "Cozy Awards," which are given to the pairs of MTA stops that the group deems too close together. Specifically, the "awards" went to the 27 city bus stop pairs that were 260 feet apart or less, which is slightly less than a standard Manhattan block.

The 11 pairs of bunched-up Brooklyn stops won it the disadvantageous distinction of "coziest borough."

In Brownsville, on Hegeman Avenue, the Thomas Boyland and Bristol street B51 stops are just 220 feet away from one another—the third-snuggest stops in Brooklyn— while the B14-serviced Sutter Avenue Van Sinderen Avenue and Junius Street stops are roughly 250 feet apart, the analysis found.

East New York is home to two duos of clustered stops, as well, the report found.

On New Lots Avenue, the Bradford Street and Miller Avenue B83 stops are spaced just under 230 feet away, according to the report. And the stops on opposite corners of Euclid Avenue and Linden Boulevard—serviced by the B13, B15 and B20 routes— are just 242 feet away from one another.

Bus stops that are positioned nearby to another on the same route add time to commutes, the transit advocacy group's report argues.

"Overly close stop spacing can cause a number of challenges for a bus system. Every time a bus reaches a stop, not only does it have to wait for riders to exit and board, but also often has to wait to merge back into traffic," Tri-State Transportation Campaign explains. "This not only slows buses down, but increases variability in timing, making riding the bus less reliable."

Spreading out stops is a cheap way to improve MTA bus service, according to the analysis.

"In a city where so many residents rely on public transit, close stops are detrimental to a functioning bus system that truly serves the city," it reads. "Fixing this problem is also one of the most cost-efficient ways the MTA can improve transit service, since rebalancing stop spacing costs a fraction of many other operational or capital improvements."

Correction: Because of incorrect information in the Tri-State Transportation Campaign report, an earlier version of this story misstated the number of stop pairings on the "Cozy Awards" list. It is 27, not 32.