Thursday marked the first day that New York City had officially closed off 14th Street to passenger vehicle traffic. Going forward, only buses are permitted on one of Manhattan's busiest streets.
Passenger vehicles can drop off passengers during the 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. window; however, they must exit after one or two blocks.
Data for day one was not available. Anecdotally, bus passengers seemed to be pleased as service was up to 10 minutes faster. Commuters, on the other hand, were pissed.
Having driven through Thursday's melee myself I can confirm it was a mess downtown. Traffic that would have been on 14th Street made its way into local side streets that became clogged as well as 23rd Street, which was experiencing a bit of a messy situation.
Given New York's latest moves, it's clear it's soon to become yet another anti-car metropolis.
Buses cruised along without getting trapped behind cars.
Thousands of riders used to being late to work or for appointments were suddenly early.
On Thursday, New York City transformed one of its most congested streets into a “busway” that delighted long frustrated bus riders and transit advocates but left many drivers and local businesses fuming that the city had gone too far...
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