UES Construction Begins On Major 3rd Ave Bus & Bike Lane Upgrade

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — You complete me.

That's what Third Avenue and its 50,000 daily bus riders might be saying after the city announced Monday a slew of "Complete Street" upgrades to bring off-set bus lanes, bike lanes and safety upgrades to the major Upper East Side thoroughfare.

According to the Transportation department, construction begins next week.

When completed, the two-mile stretch will boast similar upgrades made to First and Second avenues years ago.

Already on Sunday evening, workers outside of Third Avenue restaurants and eateries, like Breads Bakery, were seen taking down their sidewalk dining sheds in anticipation of the roadwork (while diners inside J.G. Melon's dining shed across the avenue happily enjoyed the return of cottage fries).

“This project will be transformational for Third Avenue, prioritizing the safety and mobility of all New Yorkers,” said Transportation commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Building a Complete Street featuring a dedicated bus lane, protected bike lane, and pedestrian islands is about putting people first.”

"This is a major win for safety along one of Manhattan’s busiest boulevards,” said Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. “This innovative approach to accommodating a variety of modes of transportation sets a new precedent for keeping Manhattan moving safely.”

Benefits for bus, bike and peds

During the morning rush hour from 8 to 9 a.m., over 150 buses travel Third Avenue along the M98, M101, M102 and M103 routes, but at a snail's pace of 5.4 miles an hour, according to the DOT, a problem they hope to fix by installing "offset" bus lanes.

Similar to lanes found on First Avenue, offset bus lanes use the lane next to the parking lane, helping to keep a clear path for the 50,000 riders that take a Third Avenue bus.

And for many bike riders, including the more than 1,700 trips currently made, Third Avenue will finally get a parking-protected bike lane to complement — and alleviate demand on — the also northbound First Avenue bike lane.

DOT noted that for this project, the agency "refined"their bike lane design, making a wider, 11-foot segment on the uphill sections between East 64th and 66th streets, as well as between East 80th to 82nd streets, to allow for bikers to more safely pass others without having to leave the protected lane.

And at eight intersections with left-turn signals, bike lanes will also get a wider treatment and physical safety barriers to reduce the chances for collisions, according to the DOT.

Those under foot will also get treated to the "complete" package.

Pedestrian islands will be built at intersections, helping to improve visibility between users, slow down drivers and bikers and to help reduce the time it takes to cross the 70-foot-wide roadway.

The project comes at the expense of two lanes of car lanes, according to the final DOT presentation to Community Board 8.

Midtown idea, but Upper East Side more dangerous

Midtown residents launched a campaign to "reimagine"the thoroughfare as a more people-friendly boulevard back in 2021.

And while the DOT said Monday they are exploring "completing" all of Third Avenue in Manhattan, they announced in October that the project would start in the Upper East Side, where the road has proven to be the most dangerous to residents.

Community Board 8 voted overwhelmingly in favor of the redesign in October, calling the avenue a "relic," with super-slow buses and a terrible safety record.

The board added to their resolution a request that "all traffic laws be prioritized on Third Avenue," reads the resolution, regardless of mode.

Since 2018, there have been 370 crashes and 429 injures, over 200 of which were to car drivers according to DOT data mapped by crashmapper.org. In the same time period, six people were killed.