Improvements to Third Ave. in Manhattan by NYC DOT for Bus and Bicycle Use

Cyclists and bus riders on Manhattan’s Upper East Side have a new way around holiday gridlock with the completion of improvements to Third Ave. The newly installed bus lane augments an earlier DOT project, the installation earlier this year of so-called Transit Signal Priority technology along Third Ave. between E. 7th and E. 125th streets earlier this year. The bike lanes widen further, to 11 feet, at two uphill sections — from E. 64th to E. 66th streets as well as from E. 80th to E. 82nd — an effort to create a passing zone for faster e-bikes to safely overtake traditional bikes. Six pedestrians and one cyclist were killed along the 37-block corridor between 2016 and 2022, according to DOT data. The system allows buses to communicate their location, with the traffic-light network, which adjusts to reduce the time buses spend at red lights. Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said, the redesign “helps prioritize the tens of thousands of bus riders who rely on this street every day for safe bus service.” Four bus routes — the M98, M101, M102, and M103 — run northbound up Third Ave., serving an estimated 50,000 riders a day, with the completion of bus and bike lane improvements along nearly two miles of Manhattan’s Third Ave. A Third Avenue street sign is pictured in Midtown Manhattan. (MRI Photos / Shutterstock) New York City announced the completion of bus and bike lane improvements along nearly two miles of Manhattan’s Third Ave. (NYC Department of Transportation) New York City announced the completion of bus and bike lane improvements along nearly two miles of Manhattan’s Third Ave. (NYC Department of Transportation)