Bronx Bus Upgrade Plans Shelved, Fordham Road Remains Congested as NYC DOT Withdraws Proposal

After a series of discussions and pushback from stakeholders, a contentious plan to reshape Fordham Road into a more bus-friendly corridor has been officially scrapped, leaving Bronx bus riders to contend with the same old traffic woes. CBS News New York reported that the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) has abandoned both proposed alterations, which included a parking lane beside the bus lane and an idea for a bus-only section along Fordham Road, following objections from local elected officials and community stakeholders. 

Despite efforts to speed up bus service for the 85,000 daily riders along the second busiest route in the city, riders will have to continue navigating through the crowded streets. "This congestion is crazy right here," bus passenger Tahj Varela told CBS News New York.

Another project's prospect was to convert the existing curbside bus lane into an offset lane, a proposal which theoretically could have increased bus speeds by as much as 20 percent, according to a Streetsblog article. However, this idea was left on the drawing board. The Streetsblog investigation also found that bus speeds remained as slow as they were prior to the mayor's decision to stop the project.

Local businesses and institutions expressed relief at the abandonment of the proposals. "We have over 300 businesses here in the BID, and we have major cultural institutions as well as educational institutions here. And we did have some concerns about just kind of how this would change our neighborhood structure," Albert Dalipi, deputy director of the Fordham Road Business Improvement District, stated in an interview with CBS News New York. Conversely, opinion among transit advocacy groups and everyday bus riders remained divided, with some expressing disappointment that the city couldn’t find a way to actualize the improvements.

Despite the NYPD's promise to enforce bus lane restrictions more stringently, their efforts have not brought significant improvements. Following the abandoned project, the NYPD issued inconsistent ticket numbers, with ticket blitzes in 2023 and 2024 reporting to have only marginally higher volumes of citations compared to periods before the crackdown. "Any of the options would have been better than what we have today, which is a free-for-all of cars on the street and a bus lane that is constantly blocked," Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director of Riders Alliance, told CBS News New York.

The DOT has indicated that they continue to evaluate upgrades to the corridor while seeking to balance the needs of straphangers, cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers. "When we are talking about reshaping neighborhoods, DOT must listen to all sides to make an informed decision that is best for the community. We continue to consider upgrades to the corridor as we build a New York City that works for everyone — straphangers, cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike," a City Hall spokesperson said in a part of the statement released on the issue, obtained by CBS News New York.