MTA to install bike racks at dozens of subway and commuter rail stations
Image courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA on Flickr
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week released an action plan to better serve the city’s cyclists, including the installation of bike racks on the front of buses and outside of dozens of train stations. As part of the agency’s Extending Transit’s Reach plan, the bike racks will be installed on the front of M60 SBS, S79 SBS, and Q44 SBS buses, all of which are Select Bus Service routes that span across four boroughs. The city’s transit agency will also work to install bike racks at the entrances of 37 subway stations that currently lack parking for bikes.
The MTA will also install bike racks at 18 commuter rail stations in suburban areas, five Long Island Rail Road stations, and 13 MetroNorth stations, according to NY1. This would bring the percentage of NY commuter rail stations with bicycle parking to 85 percent.
Another part of the plan is to move forward with the construction of three ramps on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge that will provide better connectivity between Randall’s Island, Manhattan, and the Bronx in adherence to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
Additionally, the MTA will make the lower level of the Henry Hudson Bridge wider so that it is better suited for shared use, and construct ADA-compliant ramps on both the north and south approaches to the bridge.
“It’s time for the MTA to fully embrace bicycle, pedestrian, and micromobility access as we plan and expand New York’s transit system,” Janno Lieber, MTA Chair and CEO, said.
“Extending Transit’s Reach provides a framework to better integrate MTA subway, bus, and commuter rail service with the ways that New Yorkers are increasingly using to get around. It will enable the MTA to attract new riders to the system, and to harness increasingly popular modes of transportation to essentially expand the transit system.”
The 92-page Extending Transit’s Reach action plan provides a framework for the MTA to make it easier for New Yorkers to access public transit and work seamlessly with the NYC Department of Transportation and other stakeholders to ensure “multimodal” connectivity for cyclists, pedestrians, and micro-mobility users, according to an official press release.
“This report is a positive step toward improving transit access for the growing number of New Yorkers who ride bicycles and other micromobility devices,” Ydanis Rodriguez, commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation, said. “DOT has been closely collaborating with the MTA to identify subway stations with a high need for bike parking, particularly at outer-borough, end-of-line stations.”
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