A dedicated busway on Fifth Avenue, without a through lane for cars, is needed. As the initial presentation given to the CAB said, 50-130 buses per hour use the street around the clock and bus routes on the avenue serve 110,000 riders. The opposition to the project is nonsensical. The signage clutter claim is ridiculous, and there are already signs in place for the bus lanes. Businesses concerned about the inability to have people pick up/drop off passengers on the avenue should be dismissed. The initial plan allowed for pick up/drop offs, and parking is already not allowed on the avenue. In order to serve the most people, and the majority of people who travel on the corridor and who patronize businesses and cultural institutions along it, it is imperative that the DOT reverse course and restore the busway proposal, as was announced by Mayor De Blasio in his Better Buses Restart announcement.

The proposed bike lanes on 5th Avenue must have physical protection, ideally they should be raised above the level of the roadbed and protected by tree boxes. The DOT is well aware that every single bike lane in the city is used as a parking zone for placard holders and a taxi/truck loading zone if there isn't physical protection making it impossible for cars to enter the lane. In addition, it is critically important that the intersections be designed to accommodate two-phase bicycle turns, and that the intersections be offset and geometrically calmed to encourage cars to yield to bicycles. This will reduce bicycles using the roadway to turn, and make the lane more comfortable for less experienced cyclists, while reducing conflicts between pedestrians, cars, and bikes. 2nd Avenue's offset intersections are a good example of this, although there needs to be clearly marked bike boxes to make clear where to wait for turns, and the traffic calming needs to be built out with concrete, not just with armadillos, which cars regularly drive over at high speeds.

As mentioned, DOT should build-out safe bike lane intersections at the upcoming 38/39th street crosstown bike lanes to improve bike accessibility to and from the Fifth Ave area.

Why in a city of 8 million residents, should the DOT continue the status quo of providing subsidized on-street car storage and traffic lanes for the most space-inefficient form of transportation: the private vehicle? Bicycles and Buses are much more space-efficient in the sense that space allotted to these modes carries exponentially more riders/commuters per square foot. If the city wholeheartedly takes on the transformation that Amsterdam started in the 70s, much more people would be opting for public transport or bike commuting, thus freeing up space for ALL users, including people who NEED to use private/for-hire vehicles, such as people with disabilities.

As one who has experience working in operations for a large retailer on Fifth Ave, I saw firsthand that easily 99% of revenue came from tourists & local shoppers who arrive via public transport (what tourist rents a car in New York? NONE). Thus it makes sense to implement bus priority improvements since it will make Fifth Ave an even more attractive place to shop with increased bus accessibility, and drive up business.

There is no evidence that improved bus priority infrastructure negatively affects businesses. As a matter of fact, it does the exact opposite (as it did along 14th Street). Improved bus service will draw more commuters and thus bring more foot traffic. How does one think all the tourists/local shoppers on Fifth get to/from the area? Via PUBLIC TRANSPORT!

If DOT invested in better bus priority infrastructure (citywide, not just on 5th Ave) then buses would become more reliable and punctual, and thus be a more attractive option of commuting instead of for-hire/private vehicles. (See 14th Street)

We need full build-out of protected bike lane intersections at 5th/55th and 5th/52nd. There needs to be a safe north-south bike route connecting to these two crosstown lanes, which would allow for more accessible bike options via 5th and two/from Central Park and the Queensborough Bridge. DOT needs to do much more to encourage bike use in the COVID and post-COVID era as it is a socially distant, healthy, and efficient means of commute.