Bus riders in Community Board 6 (CB6) had a lot to get off their chests when it came to commenting on the draft plan for the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Their feedback, along with Assembly Members Robert Carroll’s and Jo Anne Simon’s input, was collected at a public community workshop specifically geared toward CB6 on January 26, one of the 18 virtual workshops scheduled for each community district in Brooklyn between January and March.
Released in December 2022, the draft plan is part of a long-term citywide redesign of the bus network and outlines both minor and major adjustments to the current Brooklyn bus network. Such adjustments include adding nine new routes, straightening routes, enhancing interborough service, improving service frequencies on 24 lines, and right-sizing the distance between bus stops.
Two new routes being proposed in Red Hook specifically are the B81 (a 7.1-mile-long route that will run between Red Hook and Midwood) and the B27 (a 3.4-mile-long route will connect Red Hook to Vinegar Hill/Brooklyn Navy Yard, replacing existing B57 service).
Assembly Member Carroll voiced concerns on proposed service cuts to the B103 (a “very popular bus that a lot of people rely on”); the removal of the stop in front of P.S. 889/M.S. 890 that was requested by the school; the removal of stops along 5th Avenue on the B63 route “that may create burdensome distance for seniors to walk”; termination of the B69 for Windsor Terrace and Kensington; and eliminated service near K280 and Brooklyn Urban Garden Charter School on the B61 line.
“This is a critical busline for students,” Assembly Member Carroll noted on the later issue. “I really want to make sure we’re really careful about this line. Again, it says the B81 is going to serve this route, but we must make sure this service is as good as the B61.”
“Any Plans to Bring Back the B71 on Union?”
After MTA officials reviewed the massive proposal, the Zoom room was divided into two breakout rooms to discuss local route proposals serving the community district. Some attendees argued that families with children would get shortchanged with the relocation of routes and elimination of stops. “Please leave the B61 as is,” said Nicole, a local mother who has a middle schooler. “If you change it, it will become a timely matter. The children that attend schools along the route will have issues in their schedules.”
Many also passionately pleaded for the return of the B71. Said local Marc Korashan, “Please restore the bus on Union Street as Smith Street and Court Street are both shopping and dining destinations.”
“I agree [with] the need for the B71 to relieve rush hour, single occupancy vehicle traffic congestion along local streets in Park Slope,” added local Gregory Homatas.
“We need bus service back on Union Street,” said local Eric Kochhar who noted the impending Gowanus rezoning, which will bring more people to the area. “There is just no good alternative without it.”
“There seems to be no outreach done in the neighborhood of Red Hook,” commented Emmitt Mendoza-Gaspar, chief of staff for Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes, during the meeting.
Hello, Manhattan?
Dave Lutz, author of the “Citywide Greenways Plan,” noted that the stated purpose of the new bus plan is to speed buses and move passengers more directly to their destinations. “But, after seeing the new bus plan, you have to ask, ‘Is Red Hook included in those goals?’” he pondered.
Lutz believes the proposed bus route changes in Red Hook “offer a one-time opportunity to accomplish an agenda item that has been a priority here for more than 25 years—a direct local bus through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to Manhattan.” Red Hook and Columbia Waterfront residents, he says, have been requesting this even before the Union Street bus was eliminated in 2010 due to budget cuts and low ridership.
“For B61 passengers, things have gotten worse over the years,” Lutz told RHSR on Jan. 9 ahead of the Jan. 26 meeting. “Since the recent BQE lane closure, Columbia Street has been added to existing traffic jams on Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street before we transfer to the subway. Expected growth of warehouse, cruise ship, and container port business and a new large pre-k school being built here will further clog our narrow streets, making a direct route to Manhattan even more imperative.”
Because the new proposed B81 bus route would follow the same B61 travel path from the Red Hook ferry terminal to Prospect Park as well as follow the B69 travel path on McDonald Avenue, Lutz believes this could serve as the perfect opportunity to allow bus service from downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook Houses and then to Lower Manhattan. “The B81 would cover the rest of the present B61 route to the park and beyond,” Lutz explained. “The connection to Manhattan could save locals up to a half hour of travel time. This change would eliminate duplicate service, and improve service to riders with or without a short extension of B81 service to Union Street.”
Next Steps
Nicholas Roloson, assistant director of government community relations at MTA, reiterated multiple times that the agency will sift through the publics’ feedback, which will inform and shape the Proposed Final Plan. Expected to be released sometime later this year, the Proposed Final Plan will be followed by another round of public outreach.
“I encourage the public to review the draft plan and participate in the engagement process so that the MTA can fulfill its goal of a better bus network for Brooklyn,” said Assembly Member Simon.
If you missed attending the CB6-specific outreach event last month and would like to have a say on the proposed plan, submit your feedback at contact.mta.info/s/forms/bus-network-redesign or via the web-based interactive mapping tool, “Remix,” on MTA’s website (which allows customers to view proposed bus routes and stops in detail, and directly comment on specific routes).
One Comment
If the people want it they need to shorten it. it’s to long. This line had 26 Stops and the New Route would be 46 Stops. They need to make it like the B103LTD..