181st Street Busway To Launch In Washington Heights On Monday

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — The 181st Street busway is launching in Washington Heights on Monday. The half-mile lane will bring bus and truck priority to 181st Street between Broadway and Amsterdam going eastbound, and Amsterdam to Wadsworth going westbound.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in mid-March that the new busway was coming to Washington Heights, which will be limited to buses, trucks, and emergency vehicles. While all other cars, taxis, and vans must make the next available right turn off the busway if they do enter.

Local access and parking will still be allowed.

"181st Street is one of the busiest and most congested corridors in Manhattan, resulting in average bus speeds of less than 4mph," said a spokesperson from the Department of Transportation. "These slow bus speeds have led to unreliable service for bus riders making connections to the A and 1 trains; any of the six MTA bus routes traveling on the north-south avenues; and the Port Authority’s George Washington Bridge bus terminal."

In the coming weeks, the Department of Transportation will also install bus lane cameras, which for the first 60 days following their installation will issue warning letters, before beginning to mail out fines.

The Department of Transportation announced in March that two months after its launch, the Flushing-Main Street busway in Queens has increased bus speed by 15 to 24 percent during the day, and 13 to 31 percent during the afternoon peak.

Before committing to the implementation of the new Washington Heights busway, the DOT formed a Community Advisory Board to guide the project, and also met with Community Board 12, the Washington Heights BID, local elected officials, and community small businesses.