Transformative Bus Lane Redesign on Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn, Improving Service and Enhancing Safety Along Corridor

A B41 bus travels along newly redesigned bus lanes on Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Credit: NYC DOT

Project delivers new physically protected bus lanes to better connect bus riders to seven subway lines

NYC DOT also redesigned seven intersections to calm traffic, create more pedestrian space, and enhance safety

New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez announced the completion of the redesign of Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn, from Boerum Place to Flatbush Avenue. The project delivers about a mile of newly designed bus lanes, the majority of which are physically protected, and seven intersection redesigns to make bus service faster and more reliable for 50,000 daily bus riders while greatly improving traffic safety on a corridor congested with illegal parking. With the completion of this project, NYC DOT installed more than 18 miles of new, enhanced, or protected bus lanes in 2023, among the most annual miles in record-keeping history, improving service for more than 300,000 daily bus riders.

“Our redesign of Livingston Street has transformed what was a congested, double-parked corridor into two-way fully protected and dedicated bus lanes to get bus riders where they’re going faster—while also preserving access and enhancing safety for everyone,” said NYC DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez. “Bus riders deserve fast and reliable service so that they spend less time in transit and more time with their families and friends, or at important appointments.”

“Bus lanes are the most effective way to speed up buses,” said NYC Transit President Richard Davey. “Millions of New Yorkers depend on buses, and we are committed, with our partners at DOT, to improve bus service reliability and help bus passengers reach their destinations faster and safer. With our ongoing rollout of expanded automated camera enforcement, customers can look forward to even quicker bus journeys.”

BETTER BUSES

The redesigned Livingston Street corridor serves four bus routes, the B41, B45, B67, and B103, and better connects those riders to seven subway lines—2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, and G—as well as important destinations like the Fulton Mall and Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Livingston Street was converted from two-way to one-way westbound for general traffic to provide fully separated dedicated space for buses. The innovative design physically places two-way bus lanes on the south side of the street and general traffic, parking, and loading on the north side. With the installation of new concrete bus boarding islands and plastic barriers, the buses are physically protected from traffic. NYC DOT will also work with MTA to expand automated enforcement along the corridor.

NYC DOT installed new loading regulations, including commercial meters, on the north side of the corridor throughout the length of the project to better manage deliveries and improve parking availability for drivers.

ENHANCING TRAFFIC SAFETY

Livingston Street is located in a Vision Zero Priority Area, defined as locations around the city with a high density of traffic deaths and serious injuries. There were 13 traffic deaths or serious injuries recorded on this stretch of Livingston Street between 2016 and 2020, with the most common pedestrian injury involving turning vehicles striking pedestrians legally crossing with the traffic signal.

To calm turning drivers and better protect pedestrians, NYC DOT redesigned seven intersections along the corridor with either newly painted pedestrian sidewalk extensions or concrete pedestrian islands. The new pedestrian space significantly reduces the distance between crosswalks and helps calm vehicles as they make turns.