Chapter 8B: Public Transportation

A. INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses public transportation services and facilities on and near Route 9A. An assessment of the potential effects of the project alternatives on the mass transit system is also presented. The study area for this analysis is one to two blocks from Route 9A, an area that will undergo physical and operational transformation as a result of the project. Many transit passengers that board or depart transit services near Route 9A must walk to their final destinations. These pedestrians are affected by conditions along Route 9A and their presence adversely affects vehicular movement on Route 9A. Places of entry to and exit from mass transit services serve as principal pedestrian trip generators in the Lower area. Mass transit operations are the focus of this chapter. In addition, the performance of Route 9A has a direct impact on bus operations on Trinity Place/Church Street and Broadway. Hundreds of buses currently use these routes during the AM and PM peak hours. Buses on these routes and the passengers on the buses benefit from better Route 9A operations since some vehicles divert away from the inland streets, thereby reducing congestion along bus routes. Pedestrian conditions and their possible impacts on vehicular movement are discussed in Chapter 8A, “Traffic,” and 8C, “Pedestrians.”

B. 2003 EXISTING CONDITIONS Public transportation facilities inventoried in the study area included subway services, regional express bus services, public and other local buses, and ferry services. Bus service was examined in the study area and at routes leading into and out of the area, as these routes may experience impacts related to construction or post construction operations of the Route 9A alternatives. Route 9A and the adjacent inland streets of Trinity Place/Church Street and Broadway are heavily used by mass transit services, in particular local and express buses (see Figure 8B-1). There are no commuter rail or bus terminals along Route 9A, although 9A is adjacent to the PATH Terminal and is one block east of Park City (BPC) Ferry Terminal. The trans- Hudson rail tubes that serve the World Trade Center (WTC) Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) station pass beneath Route 9A. These tubes serve the PATH trains to Hoboken, Jersey City, and Newark, and provide connections to commuter rail service via Hoboken and Newark Pennsylvania Station.

TRINITY PLACE/CHURCH STREET BUSWAY To facilitate the movement of buses through Lower Manhattan during the recovery efforts at the WTC Site, the City of New York implemented a bus priority street in Lower Manhattan, the Trinity Place/Church Street Busway. Passenger cars previously using this route have now been directed onto Route 9A. Most of the diverted traffic travels northbound on Route 9A. The busway reserves the northbound Trinity Place/Church Street corridor for mass transit and allows

8B-1 Route 9A Project DSEIS commercial and service vehicles to serve local buildings. The busway currently operates from 6 to 10 AM and from 3 to 7 PM. During busway hours the Trinity Place exit from the BBT is closed and only buses are permitted to turn onto Trinity Place from Battery Place. Passenger cars can still turn onto the busway at intersections north of Battery Place.

REGIONAL EXPRESS BUS SERVICE Lower Manhattan is served by express bus service from across the New York metropolitan region. Express buses serve commuters as well as occasional visitors. For many - area communities, particularly in areas that lack subway service, express buses are the fastest and most affordable way to reach Lower Manhattan. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates express buses from Midtown and the Upper East Side to Lower Manhattan and from Brooklyn and Staten Island through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel (BBT) to Lower and Midtown Manhattan. New Jersey Transit operates a number of bus lines through the to Lower Manhattan. A variety of private bus lines, some subsidized by the City of New York, serve Lower Manhattan from New York City’s outer boroughs and other suburban communities.

MANHATTAN MTA EXPRESS BUS ROUTES MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) operates four express bus routes from Pennsylvania Station and Grand Central. Three of these routes terminate at the World Financial Center (WFC) on Vesey Street and use or cross Route 9A. The fourth route does not operate within the vicinity of Route 9A.

BROOKLYN MTA EXPRESS BUS ROUTES MTA NYCT operates five express bus routes to Lower and Midtown Manhattan from central and southwestern neighborhoods in Brooklyn. All five routes enter Manhattan via the BBT and make left turns onto Route 9A southbound. Two of the five routes enter the Battery Park Underpass and travel up the Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) Drive to Midtown Manhattan. The remaining three routes loop south on Route 9A to Battery Place, and then northbound on the Trinity Place/Church Street Busway. These three routes run southbound along Broadway to Battery Place, up Route 9A and right into the BBT to return to Brooklyn. Other express bus routes operated by private bus companies also serve Brooklyn.

STATEN ISLAND MTA EXPRESS BUS ROUTES Twenty-one MTA NYCT express bus routes connect central areas of Manhattan to Staten Island via the BBT. All of these routes use some part of Route 9A to reach their destinations, but several do not make stops until they reach Midtown. The majority (13) of these express bus routes loop around to the Trinity Place/Church Street Busway. The remaining bus lines use either the Battery Park Underpass to connect with the FDR Drive, Battery Place to reach Water Street, or Route 9A northbound past the World Trade Center (WTC) Site.

NEW JERSEY EXPRESS BUSES New Jersey Transit operates a number of bus routes to Manhattan. Most of these routes use the Trinity Place/Church Street and Broadway. Academy is the largest provider of service to New Jersey.

8B-2 Chapter 8B: Public Transportation

OTHER EXPRESS BUSES Three of New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYCDOT) subsidized bus carriers— Command Bus Company, Liberty Lines Express, and Triboro Coach—operate express bus service from the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan. Other companies provide service from Westchester County and the New York region’s three major airports. Some of these bus routes run along portions of Route 9A in Lower Manhattan.

LOCAL BUS SERVICE MTA NYCT operates local bus services with routes on, across, and near Route 9A. Other public transportation services in the vicinity of Route 9A include two ferry shuttles run by New York Waterway from the West 38th Street Ferry Terminal, the free Downtown Connection shuttle bus, and regularly scheduled hop-on/hop-off sightseeing tour buses.

MTA NYCT LOCAL BUSES Two local Manhattan bus routes, the M20 and the M9, have regularly scheduled service along parts of Route 9A in the study area. The M9 and the M22 also cross Route 9A at Battery Place and Chambers Street, respectively. Because bus depots are located adjacent to Route 9A north of the study area, some off-duty buses use Route 9A to access the start of their revenue service routes.

NEW YORK WATERWAY DOWNTOWN BUSES New York Waterway provides a local and an express bus service from the West 38th Street Ferry Terminal to Downtown. Of the two, only the express service enters the study area during peak periods. This bus runs the full length of Route 9A, reversing direction at the intersection of Route 9A and Battery Place.

DOWNTOWN CONNECTION SHUTTLE BUS In the fall of 2003, the Alliance for New York introduced a free downtown shuttle bus called Downtown Connection that connects the east and west sides of Lower Manhattan. This service is an expansion of free shuttle bus service provided by the Authority (BPCA) since 2002. Downtown Connection shuttle buses travel on Route 9A from Vesey Street to Liberty Street in both directions and crosses the southern end of Route 9A along Battery Place. Downtown Connection buses run from 10 AM until 8 PM, approximately every 10 minutes. The BPCA continues to operate its old shuttle bus on weekdays from 6 to 10 AM and on weekends from 7 to 10 AM. The BPCA shuttle bus follows the Downtown Connection route in the vicinity of Route 9A.

OTHER LOCAL BUSES Sightseeing buses also operate on fixed local routes through Lower Manhattan. Gray Line Buses runs two hop-on/hop-off sightseeing bus lines in Downtown, but neither operates near Route 9A.

RAPID TRANSIT There are many subway lines and stations located within a few blocks of the current Route 9A study area. The Seventh Avenue Nos. 1/9, the Eighth Avenue A/C/E, and Broadway R/W local service all have routes that are located west of Broadway in Lower Manhattan. The subway

8B-3 Route 9A Project DSEIS routes operating on these lines stop at the following seven stations near the Lower Manhattan segment of Route 9A: Chambers Street/West Broadway (Nos. 1/9 and 2/3 subway lines), Chambers Street/Church Street (A/C), Park Place (Nos. 2/3), WTC (E), Cortlandt Street (W/R), Rector Street/Trinity Place (W/R), and Rector Street/Greenwich Street (Nos. 1/9). There is currently no service at the Cortlandt Street Station on the Nos. 1/9 lines, as the station was destroyed on September 11, 2001. A new Cortlandt Street Station will reopen when complementary Fulton Street/WTC transportation projects are complete. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) also operates PATH rail service between New York and New Jersey. Following 2 years of closure after the attacks on September 11, 2001, PATH service between New Jersey and a temporary replacement WTC station resumed in November 2003. The PATH tubes traverse the Route 9A corridor below the current temporary roadway adjacent to the WTC Site. PATH trains at the WTC station provide direct access to seven New Jersey stations serving the communities of Hudson and Essex Counties.

FERRIES Several ferry services operate at terminals located near Route 9A. The ferry terminal located just north of the North Cove of Battery Park City and adjacent to the WFC is the closest to Route 9A. Ferries also operate from Battery Park. The Manhattan terminals of the Staten Island Ferry and the Liberty Island and Statue of Liberty ferries are all located in Battery Park. A temporary ferry terminal has been located at Pier A since the WTC attacks. NY Waterway serves terminals at the WFC and Pier 11.

C. NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE Several physical changes to public transportation services will occur in the study area under the No Action Alternative. In addition to the reconstruction of Route 9A, the Terminal of the Nos. 1/9 subway line will be replaced with a modern station. Two major projects along the Fulton Street corridor will tie all of Lower Manhattan’s subways and the PATH rail system together to create a major downtown hub. Alternatives for improving connections to the New York area’s three major airports are also being considered. The construction of millions of square feet of new or replacement office space, the introduction of thousands of new residential units, and the expansion of tourist visitation to Lower Manhattan expected to coincide with the completion of the WTC Memorial and new cultural attractions, will impact public transportation in Lower Manhattan. These projects will create increased demand for travel on Lower Manhattan roads. Increasing demand for travel to Lower Manhattan will increase crowding on the transit system and add to congestion on local streets. A general deterioration in traffic service as a result of increased congestion is expected to encourage the use of public transportation service. Dedicated projects that will impact public transportation are discussed below.

RAPID TRANSIT Three major rapid transit projects have been approved for funding through the $4.55 billion federal grant for downtown Manhattan transportation projects: the Fulton Street Transit Center, the Permanent WTC PATH Terminal, and a new South Ferry Terminal for the Nos. 1/9 subway lines. All three of these projects will improve public transportation service in Lower Manhattan, but during construction they may cause some inconvenience to customers.

8B-4 Chapter 8B: Public Transportation

LOCAL AND EXPRESS BUS SERVICE Bus routes in Lower Manhattan will be significantly affected by the reopening of currently closed streets in the WTC area and by the establishment of Fulton and Greenwich Streets through the WTC Site. Specific details regarding street direction changes and road usage regulations have not been finalized. As street patterns change, MTA NYCT and other transportation operating agencies will make service alterations accordingly. Changes to local bus service along Route 9A are also a possibility.

FERRIES Major rehabilitation and expansion projects are currently underway at the area’s ferry terminals. The Whitehall Ferry Terminal is undergoing significant renovations and a new WFC Ferry Terminal is being constructed to replace the former terminal with a higher capacity facility.

D. PROBABLE IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT ALTERNATIVES Both the At-Grade and Short Bypass Alternatives preserve public transportation services as currently provided. Both alternatives would moderately improve bus transportation by decreasing roadway congestion both on Route 9A and on inland through streets. Improved traffic conditions on Route 9A under either Build alternative, compared to the No Action Alternative would allow buses that run on or cross Route 9A to operate more efficiently.

YEAR 2006 (CONSTRUCTION) AND YEAR 2007 (INITIAL OPERATING YEAR) Under either of the Build alternatives, construction on Route 9A would be underway in the year 2006 and completed in 2007. In both 2006 and 2007, other currently forecasted major redevelopment projects in Lower Manhattan are expected to be under construction. Currently closed streets near the WTC Site would remain closed during these years. Both Build alternatives cause no adverse impacts on public transportation when compared to the No Action Alternative. Indeed, as described earlier in Chapter 8A, large benefits in vehicle hours of travel, vehicles hours of delay, and overall speeds accrue with both the At Grade and Short Bypass alternatives. In 2006 the Build alternatives, which are under construction, would maintain public transportation services. In 2007, both Build alternatives would reduce congestion and increase peak hour travel speeds on Route 9A compared with the No Action Alternative. Thus, beginning in 2007, both Build alternatives would improve overall public transportation service in the study area.

YEAR 2025 (FULL OPERATIONAL YEAR) In the year 2025, all currently forecasted major redevelopment projects in Lower Manhattan are expected to be complete. Currently closed streets near the WTC Site are expected to be open with Vesey Street anticipated to serve as an eastbound only corridor between West Street and Broadway. Fulton Street and Greenwich Street would be re-introduced through the WTC Site. The introduction of Greenwich Street would provide an area for pick-up and drop off of memorial visitors using buses. Fulton Street is expected to serve as a westbound pair to Vesey Street. It is anticipated that by 2025 the Trinity Place/Church Street Busway would be discontinued.

8B-5 Route 9A Project DSEIS

Under the No Action Alternatives traffic congestion would steadily increase and overall traffic conditions would diminish by 2025. In 2025 the Build alternatives would reduce congestion and increase travel speeds on Route 9A in the peak hours compared with the No Action Alternative. Since public transportation services operate on and near Route 9A, the Build alternatives would improve overall public transportation service in the study area. Ï

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