Brace for bus and bike lane boom following NYC ballot approval

Bus and bike lanes in New York City are now on the fast track.

Advocates said Wednesday that a ballot measure that passed Tuesday night reforming the process for construction of bus and bike lanes means more street safety projects throughout the five boroughs.

The measure will amend the city charter to “simplify the review of street safety projects to reduce construction timelines,” according to the text of the ballot question. The measure passed with 65% support, or 1.1 million voters.

“This really just defangs some of the opponents who have sought to slow down and stop these street safety projects,” said Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office estimated construction timelines on major bus and bike lane projects could be reduced by at least 33%.

Furnas and other street safety boosters said the ballot question came in response to the extensive delay of bus and bike lanes under former Mayor Eric Adams.

“These delays are deadly,” Furnas added, referring to Vision Zero data that shows 205 recorded traffic deaths last year.

Mamdani has resumed several high-profile projects that stalled under Adams, a protected bike lane on McGuinness Boulevard in Greenpoint, busways on Manhattan’s 34th Street and Fordham Road in the Bronx, and a redesign of Grand Army Plaza .

Hartley Bernstein, an attorney who sued the city to suspend street redesign plans on 31st Street in Astoria and W. 72nd Street in Manhattan, said the question means more bike and bus lanes are on the horizon.

“My interpretation is quite simple: This proposition essentially grants the authority to an unelected individual, the commissioner of transportation in the city of New York, to make any changes that he feels in his specific and individual opinion is necessary for safety,” Bernstein said.

The measure still requires the city to solicit input from community boards before moving forward with any street redesign.

“ I have no doubt you're going see a lot more of these projects. If that wasn't the purpose, we wouldn't have the proposition,” Bernstein added.

Sara Lind, executive director at the transportation advocacy group Open Plans, agreed.

“[Mamdani] clearly understands he’s using all the levers at his disposal to help speed up these critical safety projects and these projects that will help all New Yorkers get around more quickly and have different options,” Lind said.