Most Private Cars Banned From 14th Street Beginning July 1

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Beginning July 1, most private cars will be banned from 14th Street for an 18-month pilot program, the Department of Transportation said.

Only buses and trucks will be allowed on the crosstown corridor between Third and Ninth avenues, except for vehicles loading or dropping off. Those private vehicles must turn right off the street at the next block. The hours for the transit and truck priority plan will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Previously, the so-called "busway" was floated to help mitigate disruptions during the L train shutdown. Then Gov. Andrew Cuomo presented a plan to make L tunnel upgrades without fully shutting down the train in January. The "busway" was in flux for months until the de Blasio administration announced the city would launch a "transit and truck priority" pilot program to transform the congested street.

Transit advocates swooned over the news. Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein said this week, "The 14th Street busway is great news for transit riders and neighborhood residents."

"By ensuring fast, reliable transit starting July 1, the busway will provide an excellent alternative to jam-packed L trains and expensive, inefficient car trips," Pearlstein said.

The street changes coincide with an MTA plan to launch select bus service along the notoriously snail-paced M14A and M14D routes, which run from the west side to the East Village and Lower East Side, the MTA said.

Bus riders will pay for tickets at fare machines on the sidewalks and see all-door boarding.

A handful of bus stops have been scrapped under the plan in order to increase bus speeds, the MTA has previously said.

Earlier plans infuriated seniors' advocates in the neighborhoods — who marched and rallied to keep some local stops. The final plan ultimately restored three stops on the Lower East Side.

Seniors in the West Village have called for stops in their neighborhood at Abingdon Square to remain. The MTA ultimately said it would test out the feasibility of keeping those stops for nine months.

Other expected changes the de Blasio administration previously announced include making bike lanes along 12th and 13th streets permanent, creating a shared-street on University Place, and keeping Union Square West closed to traffic.

Here's the proposed and final plan side-by-side, via the MTA: