A Limited for the 21 st Century: Applying BRT Principles to Create Select Bus Service on Hylan Boulevard

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 A Limited for the 21 st Century: Applying BRT Principles to Create Select Bus Service on Hylan Boulevard Corresponding Author: Eric B. Beaton New York City Department of Transportation 55 Water Street, 9th Floor New York, NY 10041 Phone: 212-839-6697 Fax: 212-839-9892 Email: ebeaton@dot.nyc.gov Co-Authors (alphabetical): Theodore V. Orosz, AICP CTP MTA New York City Transit 2 Broadway, A17.53 New York, NY 10004 Phone: 646-252-5623 Fax: 646-252-5648 Email: theodore.orosz@nyct.com Richard Ravit AICP CTP AECOM 605 Third Avenue, 30th Floor New York, NY 10158 Phone: 212-973-2900 Fax : 212-973-3000 Email : Richard.Ravit@aecom.com Robert Thompson New York City Department of Transportation 55 Water Street, 9th Floor New York, NY 10041 Phone: 212-839-6698 Fax: 212-839-9892 Email: rthompson@dot.nyc.gov Darnell Tyson, P.E. MTA New York City Transit 2 Broadway New York, NY 10004 Phone: 646-252-5635 Fax: 646-252-5648 Email: Darnell.Tyson@nyct.com Word count: 5,939 Tables and Figures: 1,250 (5x250 words) Total count: 7,189

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 2 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 ABSTRACT Staten Island is the most suburban of New York City's five boroughs, but it still has a large number of bus riders, particularly on the Hylan Boulevard corridor. MTA New York City Transit and the New York City Department of Transportation worked together to improve bus service in this corridor by implementing short-term, low-cost BRT elements, including limited-stop spacing, targeted bus lanes, and pedestrian enhancements in a manner appropriate to this high-traffic suburban setting. The resulting S79 Select Bus Service showed the value of these simple improvements in improving bus service with strong public support, while maintaining other traffic flow needed on the street. The project improved bus speeds by 13-19%, while also improving pedestrian safety.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 3 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 INTRODUCTION Although New York City is often thought of as a transit-friendly mix of high density land uses, much of the city has a semi-suburban nature, including much of the borough of Staten Island. These areas of the city still have high public transportation usage and slow bus speeds at least when compared to national figures but some of these areas also suffer from high levels of traffic congestion. Improving public transportation by providing higher quality bus service is important to improving the transportation balance in these areas, but a different package of solutions is needed than might be appropriate in a dense urban environment. The S79 Select Bus Service project shows how transit service can be improved by applying Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) designs and other transit, traffic, and pedestrian improvements with a targeted approach. The project improved bus speeds on the S79 by 13-19%, while maintaining other traffic flow, and improving pedestrian safety along the corridor. New York City BRT Study In 2004, MTA New York City Transit (NYCT), the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) launched a series of initiatives to reverse the decline in bus speeds, including a joint study of how BRT could be implemented in New York City. The study identified candidate corridors for BRT i, leading to the selection of five pilot projects citywide, which were branded as Select Bus Service (SBS). Through the corridor selection process, it was always evident that Hylan Boulevard was by far the strongest transit corridor on Staten Island. Among the several local services that operate along Hylan Boulevard there are two primary destinations: the Staten Island Ferry and Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The bus routes that terminate at the Ferry are generally parallel to the higher-speed Staten Island Railway. The S79 bus route, which terminates at the subway in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was growing rapidly, making it the best candidate for SBS on Staten Island. Agency Partnership Improvements to surface public transportation require the transit provider and roadways agency to work closely together to plan and implement projects. Over the course of implementation of SBS projects, NYCT and NYCDOT have developed a strong and ongoing partnership, where both agencies are committed to the goal of improving bus service on corridors throughout the city. This partnership occurs on a daily basis among planning staff, as well as at the executive level, and among staff dedicated to public outreach. The S79 SBS route is the fourth SBS project to be jointly implemented by the two agencies. Through the development of these projects, the agencies have developed a shared toolbox of relatively low-cost solutions that can be implemented through normal agency business procedures, as well as a shared public communications approach. This toolbox and planning partnership could then be applied to the S79 SBS project. CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND The S79 SBS operates in Staten Island, one of New York City s five boroughs. With approximately 471,000 residents on 58 square miles/150 square kilometers, Staten Island is the least dense borough in the city, with most of the island featuring suburban-style housing and auto-oriented retail development. Within this context, there is still heavy transit use, both for local trips, and for trips to the Manhattan central business districts (CBDs).

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 4 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 Limited Stop Bus Service Longer stop spacing is part of the SBS program, but such initiatives have a long history on other routes in New York City. NYCT introduced limited-stop service in in the 1970s and this program has been steadily expanded across the city, now including services in every borough. Some limited-stop services are peak hour/peak direction only and some operate for most of the service day in both directions. At the same time NYCDOT was expanding a network of curbside bus lanes, which were generally in effect in the peak hours/peak direction of travel. There were also experiments with leading bus indicator traffic signals, transit streets, and peak-hour contra-flow lanes. SBS in New York City Prior to 2012, NYCT and NYCDOT had jointly implemented SBS on three routes around the city. In 2008 the first SBS project was inaugurated successfully on the Bx12 Fordham Road/Pelham Parkway corridor in the Bronx and northern Manhattan ii, with M15 First Avenue/Second Avenue SBS beginning in 2010 iii, and M34/A 34 th Street SBS in 2011. Across these corridors there were consistent improvements to bus service, with bus travel times declining approximately 15-20%, and bus ridership increasing about 10%, with high levels of customer satisfaction. These results led the agencies to continue planning for implementation of additional routes. Transportation on Staten Island Staten Island is the most suburban of New York City's five boroughs, with a highway-oriented street network resulting in relatively high auto ownership and use (64% drove/carpooled to work compared to 28% citywide iv ). In terms of transit, the borough is served by one commuter heavy rail line (Staten Island Railway, SIR), local buses, limited-stop buses that primarily operate peak hours only, and express buses that provide zone express service to the CBDs of Manhattan. The St. George Ferry Terminal serves the Staten Island Ferry, which provides 24-hour-a-day service to Lower Manhattan, 5 miles north of Staten Island. Fifteen local bus routes and 9 limited stop bus routes provide timed transfers to connect with every boat to provide a one-seat ride to most neighborhoods on the island. The passenger rail service on the island is the SIR, which operates from the Ferry Terminal at St. George in the northeastern corner of the island to Tottenville, serving 22 stops over 13 miles. The SIR operates local service 24 hours a day with zone express service operating during peak hours in the peak direction. Ridership on the SIR is approximately 20,000 customers a day. The local bus network is composed of 20 local and 11 limited stop routes, with a combined ridership of 82,000 customers a day. Eight of the local routes operate at all times. The network is primarily focused on the St. George Ferry Terminal, but also provides a number of routes that operate north-south through the center of the island or as circulators to popular mid-island or south shore destinations including the Staten Island Mall and Tottenville High School. One limited stop bus route and two local stop bus routes intersect with the (R) subway line at 86 th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Many Staten Island residents use express buses to travel to Manhattan, rather than a multi-leg transit connection. The express bus network, most of which operates peak direction, peak hours only, is composed of 20 bus routes, carrying 35,000 passengers a day. Buses typically make limited stops to the Staten Island Expressway, which bisects the island traveling east-west. The buses then operate closed door along expressways into either Lower Manhattan or Midtown Manhattan. A premium fare is charged for this service and coaches are provided with luggage racks and customer amenities typically found on intercity buses, with the exception of restrooms.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 5 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 A key transit location on Staten Island is the Eltingville Transit Center (ETC). This intermodal transfer point was constructed by NYSDOT in 2004 and is operated and maintained by NYCT (at the intersection of Arthur Kill Road and Richmond Avenue). The park and ride lot has a climate-controlled waiting room with a real time bus arrival display, and free parking for 375 vehicles. In addition to the S79 SBS, 4 local bus routes, 2 limited stop bus routes, and 8 express bus routes operate to the Center. Hylan Boulevard Corridor Hylan Boulevard is one of the busiest transportation corridors on Staten Island, providing a critical route for both private automobile and bus traffic. The project focused on the full S79 bus route, which in addition to traveling along much of Hylan Boulevard also extends Staten Island-bound along Richmond Avenue to the ETC and the Staten Island Mall, and Brooklyn-bound over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (VNB) to the 86 th Street/Fourth Avenue business district in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where it also connects to the (R) subway line. Along its route, the bus route made several off-corridor deviations to serve various destinations, including the ETC, and the Yukon bus depot. With more than 2.9 million annual passengers and nearly 9,000 customers on an average weekday, the 15-mile S79 bus route along Hylan Boulevard and Richmond Avenue is the second busiest bus route on Staten Island. Additionally, Hylan Boulevard is an important corridor for other local bus services, as well as for express buses to Manhattan. Hylan Boulevard carries over 32,000 customers per day on all of the local and express bus routes combined. Bus travel times were slow, with one-way travel time on the S79 from the beginning to the end of the route generally exceeding one hour. Hylan Boulevard is also a key route for automobile traffic, carrying more than 40,000 daily vehicles (at New Dorp Lane), with much of the traffic also headed to the VNB. Traffic congestion can be severe at peak hours, particularly at bottleneck intersections where large numbers of turning vehicles and cross traffic limit the amount of traffic signal time available to through traffic. Hylan Boulevard generally has three lanes in each direction plus a center turn lane and a narrow center median. The adjoining land use is primarily commercial, with a diverse mix of development types. In some locations, one- or two-story buildings with storefronts are next to the sidewalk. In other locations there are retail strips or free-standing stores that are separated from the street by small parking lots. Finally, there are some commercial developments set far back from the street by large parking lots. Historically, the curb lanes on Hylan have been available for on-street parking, especially where buildings adjoin the street. However, in 2002 the curb lanes were designated as No Standing in the peak direction in the morning and evening rush hour periods, to serve growing traffic along the corridor. The street typically operates at or near capacity, particularly at rush hours. An additional factor for traffic along Hylan Boulevard is that for much of its length it is the only major arterial street along the South Shore of Staten Island. Amboy Road and Richmond Road form one continuous parallel route farther inland, but they have only one effective moving lane in each direction for much of their length. There is no parallel arterial closer to the shoreline except for Father Capodanno Boulevard, which runs parallel to Hylan Boulevard for approximately 2 miles between the Verrazano- Narrows Bridge and Greeley Avenue. Father Capodanno Boulevard provides a fast alternate route between the Bridge and central areas of Hylan Boulevard and points south. Additionally, Hylan Boulevard provides many challenges for pedestrians seeking to walk along or cross the street. The 70-foot width of the street and the high volume of traffic result in a street that is difficult to cross. In many locations sidewalks and curb ramps were in disrepair or were non-existent. Since every bus rider is a pedestrian for a portion of their trip and all need to cross the street at some point addressing these pedestrian access issues were a key goal of the project.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 6 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 Figure 1 Typical roadway and land use conditions along Hylan Boulevard PROJECT PLANNING Staten Island is dependent on both cars and surface transit, with constrained capacity for both. With these conditions, there is little tolerance for additional traffic congestion. The project would need to get buses through key congested intersections without imposing substantial delays on the other traffic at those intersections. Early in the project process, the study defined a series of goals: Develop a project supported by the community Improve transit speed and reliability Maintain traffic flow Improve pedestrian safety and comfort Public Participation A key reason for the success of this project was an extensive public and agency outreach program. NYCT and NYCDOT publicized the project in the local media, on agency websites, and on buses. The

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 7 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 team met regularly with the public and elected officials to obtain input on issues important to the community and to help guide the development of the recommended package of improvements. The team was determined to be responsive and sensitive to community concerns. Part of the context for this outreach is that there had been a prior study of BRT improvements on the corridor that had not been well received by the public and elected officials. These proposals would have included substantial reductions in street space for private vehicle travel and parking, and the effects of these proposals were not well explained. Therefore, the outreach for this project began with issue identification, in order to build a concept in line with stakeholders experiences on the corridor. The project team developed solutions specific to the Hylan Boulevard corridor, reflecting local stakeholders expressed concern that improvements implemented along other SBS corridors in the City may not work along the auto-centric Hylan Boulevard corridor. In response, the team worked closely with stakeholders to develop solutions to fit the distinct characteristics of the corridor rather than apply a one size fits all approach. It was vital to not only plan differently for this corridor, but also to make clear to the public that the planning was taking into account this more suburban context. An important contributor to the success of the project was the presence of a project champion, in the form of the Staten Island Borough President, a position that has few formal powers but which still carries substantial political weight. While always being careful to support a balanced plan meaning one that did not have substantial negative effects on traffic flow or parking the Borough President helped line up support from other stakeholders, elected officials, and local press in a way that helped the project throughout planning and implementation. Transit Corridor Planning As noted above, the Hylan Boulevard corridor serves not only the S79 bus, but also several other local and express bus routes. An emphasis on measures to improve the corridor for all routes was employed, with route planning and traffic engineering solutions sought that would benefit not just the S79 but all of the buses that share the corridor. Prior to the study, the S79 local route contained 80 bus stops in total. This number was reduced to 18 to speed service, transforming the route to a limited stop bus route. The plan was to provide aggressive stop spacing, while still providing walkable distances to stops for most customers. In most other implementations SBS stops are spaced similarly to subway stops, approximately every half-mile (800 meters) primarily at major points of interest and transfer points. However, a slightly more customized approach was taken to Staten Island, whose customers are generally less likely to utilize public transit. S79 stations roughly mirror the SIR along the section that both routes share, but the modes serve different markets, with the SIR carrying passengers to the ferry terminal. On Staten Island, stops have an average spacing of 0.75 miles, with one or two exceptions. In Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, there are 2 stops, one at the intermodal terminal at 86 th Street and one adjacent to the Verrazano Bridge. These are the two main transfer points and the busiest locations along the route in the area. Frequent local bus service is provided by the S59 along Richmond Avenue and the S78 along Hylan Boulevard. At meetings with stakeholders, some customers expressed concern that the local S59 and S78 bus routes would become overcrowded due to the greater stop spacing on the S79 SBS. To address this concern, frequency and span were increased on the two underlying local services. To also assist in the transition to SBS and ensure customers were not placed at a financial disadvantage, an additional free 3-leg transfer was offered to customers to continue their trip using a local bus to the S79 SBS and then connecting to a bus or subway in Brooklyn.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 8 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 As a net result, the S79 local bus service was replaced with S79 SBS. The S79 SBS operates with fewer, more widely-spaced stations than the former S79 service, which enables buses to travel faster between stations and reduce overall travel time along the corridor. The route was implemented with very few timepoints so that Bus Operators will not have to slow down or wait if running ahead of schedule. The S79 route also operates with a dedicated fleet of branded buses for increased visibility. All other local and express bus routes were maintained throughout the corridor. At some stations, local and/or express bus stops were slightly relocated to make it easier for buses to access the curb, to provide more space for waiting customers, and to facilitate buses passing each other. At many bus stops along the S79 SBS route it was possible to reduce crowding on the adjacent sidewalk, reduce conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles, expedite boarding, and reduce overall dwell time. This was accomplished by either designating the stop only for the S79 SBS or, if the stop was served by multiple bus routes, by increasing the separation between the individual stops. 271 272 273 274 275 276 Figure 2 Hylan Boulevard SBS corridor Street Planning A key goal of the project was to improve bus travel times while minimizing impact on general traffic. Staten Island is unusual in both New York City and in the United States in that it has relatively

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 9 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 suburban land use, while having relatively high levels of peak-hour transit ridership. Eighty-four percent of Staten Island households own at least one motor vehicle, versus 47% in New York City overall. Meanwhile, while Hylan Boulevard looks much like many inner-suburban arterials in America, it has peak bus volumes of up to 80 buses per hour bound for Manhattan and Brooklyn. While intra-island transportation is dominated by car usage, the street network largely predates mass auto ownership, with few wide arterial streets needed for use by both cars and surface transit. Because of the high frequency of bus service along Hylan Boulevard, especially in the peak periods, these curbside travel lanes are heavily used by buses both traveling and stopping. This activity has limited the volume of general traffic that used the curb lanes for through movement, as opposed to accessing driveways or turning right. Given the pre-existing peak period curbside travel lanes on Hylan Boulevard, and their already heavy use by buses, the project team decided that the most cost- and timeefficient way to implement bus lanes would be to convert the curbside travel lanes to bus lanes, which would reduce conflicts with other vehicles, particularly helping buses get through some of the most congested intersections on the corridor. In order to avoid both perceived and actual traffic impacts, the project team decided that Hylan Boulevard bus lanes should only be installed in the section where Father Capodanno Boulevard provides a parallel route. The project did not seriously consider widening the roadway to add a bus lane, as this would have been both very expensive, and highly disruptive to many businesses close to the roadway. Bus lanes were also seen as desirable in two other segments of the corridor. As the S79 bus route approaches the Staten Island Mall, it travels along a section of Richmond Avenue with four travel lanes in each direction plus a wide center median with left turn bays (in some cases with double left turn lanes). Because this segment of Richmond Avenue can become congested at peak shopping times but otherwise had too much road capacity, full-time bus lanes were installed for approximately 0.6 miles in this area, from Platinum Avenue to just south of Forest Hill Road. Although there is no on-street parking in this area, the bus lanes were placed in the offset position one lane away from the curb in order to normalize the remaining lane widths and reduce off-peak speeding. The resulting configuration has three travel lanes in each direction, in addition to the bus lanes and left turn bays. At the southernmost section of Richmond Avenue approaching Hylan Boulevard, queues could form because most morning peak traffic and buses from Richmond Avenue turns left to travel north on Hylan Boulevard. A southbound offset bus lane was installed on the final ¼-mile (400 meters) approaching Hylan Boulevard, except for part of the last block, in order to provide sufficient capacity for all traffic at the intersection. In addition to the bus lane there is one general traffic lane and a parking lane in each direction. All bus lanes were painted red, as is standard on SBS routes, to improve visibility and compliance. Curb bus lanes are operational only during the a.m. and p.m. peaks and implemented only in locations where bus delays could be reduced without adversely affecting general traffic. However, the offset bus lanes are in effect at all times. The bus lanes save travel time for all Hylan Boulevard bus passengers, including those on the S79 and on numerous express bus routes that serve longer-distance customers traveling to the Manhattan CBD. The traffic planning for the project was by no means limited to bus lane design. At many locations along the corridor, left turn bays were added, and street geometry adjusted in ways that helped all traffic flow on the corridor, including the buses. In some locations, flush medians and similar treatments were used to narrow travel lanes to reduce off-peak speeding issues, in ways that did not

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 10 321 322 323 affect bus service. Traffic signal timing was better coordinated along the corridor, improving flow for both buses and other traffic. 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 Figure 3 Typical street design and SBS bus station on Hylan Boulevard following project implementation Traffic Analysis Before the project proposals were presented to the community, an evaluation of the effects on traffic in the project area was performed. The traffic study showed that the project would not cause a significant impact to traffic. The following is a synopsis of the findings. Where bus lanes were proposed on Hylan Boulevard, nine major intersections were analyzed to determine potential traffic impacts. On Richmond Avenue, traffic analysis was performed for the highest-volume intersection in the area near the Staten Island Mall. The analysis showed that all major intersections would meet acceptable levels of service for general travel lanes in the Build condition. Key analysis assumptions that resulted from the analysis of alternatives included a diversion rate of ten percent of through traffic (northbound in the a.m. and southbound in the p.m. peak hours) from Hylan Boulevard to the parallel Father Capodanno Boulevard, as well as changes to the signal progression and to the peak hour factors. This diversion is based on NYCDOT experience with projects on congested streets where alternative routes are available; all traffic is still accounted for along alternative routes. Because of this assumption, one intersection on the Father Capodanno corridor (Lily Pond Avenue at McClean Avenue, on the final approach to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) was also analyzed. Another assumption was that right turning traffic would use the bus lanes, as is allowed by New York City traffic rules. The intersections were analyzed using 2000 Highway Capacity Manual procedures the

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 11 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 standard methodology approved for use by NYCDOT. The plan was analyzed as the Build condition under impact criteria specified in the New York City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) Technical Manual (2010). CEQR guidelines define a significant traffic impact at signalized intersections as an increase in average vehicle delay of five seconds when the No Build condition is worse than mid-level of Service (LOS) D(45+ seconds of delay), four seconds when the No Build condition is within LOS E, and three seconds when the No Build condition is within LOS F. These guidelines are very conservative and were established primarily for the City s review of development projects, defining impacts associated with those actions and the need for mitigation measures. These rigorous 5-4-3 significant traffic impact criteria have been applied to compare Build to Existing conditions. In summary, the analysis determined that the planned changes allow for general traffic to operate without significant traffic effects as compared to existing conditions, while providing improved conditions for buses and pedestrians. The curbside bus and right turn lanes on Hylan Boulevard (northbound in the a.m. peak period and southbound in the p.m. peak) would operate better than existing conditions at every analysis location. In all locations, this means operating at LOS A, B, or C, which would allow bus customers to move more quickly along Hylan Boulevard than they did before. The general through traffic lanes would operate at a similar LOS to before, or slightly better, at nearly all locations. Pedestrian Planning In addition to planning for improvements for bus in motion, substantial attention was paid to the experience of accessing and waiting for the bus. The SBS project focused heavily on improving sidewalks, providing pedestrian ramps and refuge islands and improving pedestrian access to bus stops. At multiple locations along the corridor, bus stops either lacked sidewalks entirely or had only small segments immediately adjacent to the stop. In these locations NYCDOT constructed new sidewalks. Improving pedestrian access to bus stops is a key tenet of the City of New York s Safe Routes to Transit Program and promotes walking as a healthful form of non-motorized transportation along the corridor. Although many intersection corners along the corridor have full pedestrian ramps, some corners did not. Some of these ramps also did not comply with ADA requirements. To mitigate this condition, and where space exists, NYCDOT installed ADA accessible ramps with tactile warning strips near bus stops. At many SBS stations, the pedestrian environment was upgraded by: providing larger boarding areas, constructing sidewalks, installing new bus shelters, constructing new concrete bus pads, and installing pedestrian ramps. A dedicated S79 SBS bus station was constructed at the Eltingville Transit Center in an area not previously available to bus passengers. At several signalized intersections with medians wide enough to accommodate a pedestrian refuge island, NYCDOT constructed refuge islands to provide a haven for pedestrians unable to finish crossing the street during the designated Walk phase. This treatment also can reduce the speed of turning vehicles, which in turn reduces the number of serious crashes occurring at these locations. The wide median along Richmond Avenue in the vicinity of Yukon Avenue presents an excellent opportunity to create a median station that not only halves the distance that passengers would have to cross Richmond Avenue to access buses serving the Staten Island Mall but also is a significant upgrade compared to the existing bus stop. NYCDOT and NYCT are considering implementing a median bus station at this location as part of a long-term program of improvements for the corridor.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 12 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 Figure 4 New sidewalk constructed to bus stop previously in dirt path, new concrete bus pad Cost The total capital and operating cost for all improvements, such as new bus stations, bus branding, sidewalks, pedestrian refuges, additional local service, and other elements is approximately $7 million. This exemplifies how a project that benefits thousands of New Yorkers daily can be implemented cost efficiently. Implementation All elements described above were in place for SBS service launch on September 2, 2012. In the days prior to the beginning of SBS service, fliers were distributed to passengers at key bus stops to inform them of service changes, in addition to posted notices on the bus, and information provided at all SBS stops. Additionally, personnel were stationed at key bus stops along the route after service commenced to explain the service, and answer any questions provided by customers. RESULTS The area immediately adjacent to the Hylan Boulevard portion of the project corridor was severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy, so immediate results were difficult to measure. However, it appears that bus speed has improved, without any substantial impacts on other traffic, and by October 2013 travel patterns appear to be close to pre-sandy conditions.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 13 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 Bus Speed On the S79 SBS a travel time savings of 13-19% was observed. The improvements are due to having fewer stops, dedicated bus lanes along a section of the route, traffic signal optimization, and three routing changes to make the route more direct. The installation of red bus lanes along the northern 2 miles of Hylan Boulevard was a measure that not only benefits the S79 SBS but also the numerous local and expresses buses that use the corridor as well. During the peak period these buses operate at a frequency of one bus a minute. The red bus lanes have been a well used component of the SBS toolbox throughout its expansion around the city. The lanes are self-enforcing, supported by overhead signs placed at regular intervals along the corridor. The lanes keep the travel path clear for buses as they travel through some of the most congested sections, most notably the New Dorp neighborhood. The lanes require a significant investment and regular maintenance but they also yield tangible benefits to travel time and speed. Travel speeds were presented by time of day for the northbound and southbound directions on the route. The Before case represents data points from Summer 2012, immediately before the implementation of S79 SBS, while the After case captures readings from March 2013 after the implementation of the service. The average end-to-end travel time decreased from 71 to 62 minutes northbound and from 68 to 55 minutes southbound, representing a 13% reduction in travel time southbound and a 19% reduction in travel time northbound. This time savings is similar to the time savings achieved on other implementations of SBS but is also significant because the time savings was achieved even though offboard fare collection was excluded from this implementation. The maximum observed speed increased to 17.3 mph northbound during the nighttime period and 19.1 mph southbound during the nighttime period, from 15.4 mph and 16.3 mph, respectively. Bus Ridership In general, the S79 ridership was performing better than other Staten Island routes prior to the introduction of SBS in September. In September and October 2012, ridership showed very little change, which is not uncommon for new services, since it often takes time for some riders to adapt to the new stopping patterns. Beginning in November 2012, ridership growth on the S79 and the S59/78/79 began to greatly outperform the rest of Staten Island (Figure 5). This growth was likely due to a combination of riders attracted to the faster service provided by the S79 SBS, as well as some ridership diversion from the parallel SIR, which experienced service disruptions (and ridership loss) after Sandy. Since the S79 SBS provided a fast connection to the subway in Bay Ridge, it provided a good alternative for riders previously riding the SIR and Staten Island Ferry. An analysis of bus-subway transfer activity revealed a significant development. Between May 2011 and May 2013, transfers between the S79 and the R subway route in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, increased by 34% from 1,227 per day to 1,591 per day. This shows a trend of actual modal shift from express buses or SI Railway to the S79 SBS, indicating that customers are responding to the faster service.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 14 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 Figure 5 S79 ridership trend compared to other corridor local bus routes and other Staten Island local routes Traffic Patterns While the implementation of the bus/right turn lanes create a theoretical reduction in the capacity for general traffic on the corridor, traffic impacts have not been significant. On Richmond Avenue near the Staten Island Mall and approaching Hylan Boulevard, general traffic can easily be accommodated in the remaining general traffic lanes. On Richmond Avenue near the Mall, the northbound bus lanes are particularly useful to serve right turning vehicles in addition to buses, as all the large shopping centers are on the east side of the street. Where the bus lanes were implemented on Hylan Boulevard, the reduction in general traffic capacity is not as disruptive as might be expected, for three reasons: So many buses previously traveled and made stops in the curb lane that many private vehicles avoided using it for through movement; The bus lane reduces the friction caused by private vehicles weaving in and out of the curb lane while attempting to bypass queues; and Curbside bus lanes are available for all right-turning traffic. Because Hylan Boulevard is lined by many off-street parking lots, the bus lane serves to isolate not just traffic turning onto intersecting streets, but traffic entering and leaving driveways as well.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 15 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 In order to measure the impact of the project on traffic conditions, Automated Traffic Recorder (ATR) counts from before the project, in June 2012, were compared to ATR counts after the project in March 2013. Overall, while peak hour traffic volumes declined on Hylan Boulevard, there was no clear pattern of diversion to other streets. In the a.m. peak hour of 7:15 to 8:15, traffic on Hylan Boulevard at the turn at Steuben Street to head towards the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge declined by 22%, or 327 vehicles, after the project. However, the volume at the parallel location on the Father Capodanno corridor, on Lily Pond Avenue at Major Avenue, also fell by 10%, or 233 vehicles. Meanwhile, on the parallel route inland from Hylan, Richmond Road, the volume increased just slightly on the approach to the bridge at West Fingerboard Road, by 1% or just 14 vehicles. One possible explanation for this pattern could be that Superstorm Sandy's damage to the neighborhoods between Hylan and Father Capodanno resulted in lower travel demand on both of these streets, but Sandy-damaged houses would not, by itself, cause the entire decline. The fact that traffic on Hylan Boulevard declined further than traffic on Father Capodanno could suggest some diversion effect from Hylan to Capodanno, even as both carried less traffic than before the project. Richmond Road's relatively stable traffic could reflect that street's distance from the storm-damaged areas, or it could reflect a relative shift in traffic away from both Hylan and Father Capodanno. It should be noted that traffic volumes farther south do not provide the same evidence of a relative shift of demand from Hylan to Father Capodanno Boulevard. Just north of Seaview Avenue, after the primary opportunities for drivers to move from Hylan to Capodanno, the volume on Hylan actually increased by 3%, or 52 vehicles, while it declined by 6%, or 103 vehicles, on Father Capodanno. In the evening peak hour, there was a similar pattern of traffic declines on Hylan and Father Capodanno Boulevards, while traffic remained steady on Richmond Road. Traffic fell by 8%, or 92 vehicles, on Hylan at Steuben Street, while it fell even more on Lily Pond Avenue, by 13% or 224 vehicles. At Seaview Avenue these declines occurred in a reverse pattern, with a 12% drop (208 vehicles) on Hylan and a 9% drop (128 vehicles) on Father Capodanno. Meanwhile, traffic on Richmond Road effectively held steady with an increase of 8 vehicles just south of West Fingerboard Road. In summary, traffic volumes after bus lanes were implemented did not clearly change substantially or divert to parallel streets. Traffic on both Hylan and Father Capodanno Boulevards declined by small amounts, while there was no major change on parallel Richmond Road. These traffic patterns will continue to be monitored going forward to understand whether they may still be reflecting changes from Superstorm Sandy. CONCLUSION The improvements implemented along the Hylan Boulevard corridor provided significantly faster and more reliable bus service, improved access to bus stops and enhanced vehicular and pedestrian safety, without substantially affecting traffic patterns. Critically, these improvements were achieved on a substantially suburban corridor, with traffic patterns, land uses, and public opinions different from those in other high-use transit corridors in New York City. This project therefore serves as an example of how careful planning can allow BRT-style tools to take traditional limited-stop bus service to a higher service level.

Beaton, Orosz, Ravit, Thompson, Tyson 16 i McNamara, I. G., S.L. Zimmerman, T. Orosz, H. S. Levinson, D. Sampson. Bus Rapid Transit in New York City: Corridor Evaluation and Screening. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 1971, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2006, pp. 3-13. ii Barr, J., E. Beaton, J. Chiarmonte, T. Orosz. Select Bus Service on Bx12 in New York City: Bus Rapid Transit Partnership of New York City DOT and Metropolitan Transit Authority New York City Transit. In Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2145, Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2010, pp. 40-48. iii Barr, J., E. Beaton, J. Chiarmonte, T. Orosz, D. Paukowits, A. Sugiura. Select Bus Service on the M15 in New York City: A BRT Partnership Between the New York City DOT and MTA New York City Transit. In TRB 91 st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD. Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2012, Paper #12-1809. iv 2009-2011 American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates, compiled by NYC Department of City Planning: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/census/boro_econ_09to11_acs.pdf