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B103 Express Buses on 7th & 5th

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    1. User has not uploaded an avatar
      SouthSlopeSuit

      getting it
      Joined: Dec '06
      Posts: 139

      Since late February, the MTA has rerouted (permanently) the B103 Express Bus over 7th Ave / 9th St / 5th Ave.

      That's about 10 buses per hour barreling through the neighborhood during peak hours. They don't stop anywhere, and they go as fast as they can, effectively giving the neighborhood a big fat finger.

      The reason given is that the previously used 3rd Ave is too slow.

      Anyone else think that's not quite appropriate for 5th and 7th? Unlike industrial or arterial thoroughfares (like 3rd & 4th Avenues), these are largely local commercial / residential streets.

      Maybe they should be made into arteries. Maybe we can make them one-way (and strip one or both parking lanes during rush hours) to take some of the pressure off the BQE?

      Our quaint little streets are giving the people who choose to live at the edges of Brooklyn a much longer commute than they like.

      # Posted 1 yr ago
    2. ringrunner
      ringrunner

      above average
      Joined: Mar '08
      Posts: 704

      I grew up on the outer edge of Brooklyn and I could never figure out why anyone took those "express" buses. They always got stuck in traffic. In fact they were often the cause of the traffic.

      If you look at the route of the B103 it passes many subway stations. The now free transfer to the subway would get anyone where they are going quicker.

      Don't get me started
      # Posted 1 yr ago
    3. User has not uploaded an avatar
      HomeGrown

      what am I, new?
      Joined: Sep '10
      Posts: 5

      There is a residential block fronting 18th St. between the 8th Ave. exit ramp off the Prospect Expressway and 7th Ave. In the morning these buses come off the ramp and barrel down the single-lane side-street, then turn onto 7th Ave. and into the traffic congestion caused by the morning drop-off at PS10. And there are a lot of buses (each carrying no more than a handful of people). I counted 4 in the space of the quarter hour I was at Butterfly Garden (the park at 18th and 7th Ave.) yesterday. Collateral damage: The 18th St. residents have been told they can no longer hold block parties (something they’ve done for decades) because they now live on a bus route. 18th St. is not a major traffic artery -- it's what was left of the local street after they plowed through the neighborhood with the Prospect Expressway. Why route the heavy traffic off the Expressway now and onto local, residential streets? Why can't these buses get off the Expressway and keep going toward downtown on the two-lane 8th Ave., or (as they used to) get off at the next Expressway exit? From there they could take 3rd or (better yet, with a stop at 9th Street) 4th Avenue.

      # Posted 1 yr ago
    4. homeowner
      homeowner

      mod
      Joined: Jan '06
      Posts: 3,013

      As more and more people move onto 4th Avenue, and the push increases for traffic calming, and pedestrian-friendly approaches to that "Brooklyn Boulevard", you can expect to see more impacts on local streets. 5th and 7th Avenues are probably going to be the unfortunate recipients of the overflow. If you really want to make any changes, best to get with DOT now, and also try to engage folks from the community where the bus originates. I'm sure they are not happy to spend hours winding their way through neighborhood after neighborhood to get out of Brooklyn.

      # Posted 1 yr ago
    5. User has not uploaded an avatar
      reader

      getting it
      Joined: May '07
      Posts: 188

      I spoke to community board 6 rep yesterday, they said they have no voice in this, MTA can do whatever they want.
      He suggested elected officials may have more clout.

      Apparently CB6 suggested to the MTA that since these buses are speeding down 7th ave and across 9th St if they would make stops in Park Slope to serve the community being imposed on. The answer was no as the MTA claimed if they makes an additional stop or two they are no longer express buses.

      Now we have 7th Av that has two bus lines going in two directions, with additional bus traffic.

      Also living on 9th Street as I do, I've observed more of the buses on 9th than the B61, where service is sporatic, slow. crowded and the route truly bizarre.

      # Posted 1 yr ago
    6. User has not uploaded an avatar
      HomeGrown

      what am I, new?
      Joined: Sep '10
      Posts: 5

      Jeremy Laufer, Community Board 7 District Manager, was just notified by the MTA that the B103 route will be returned to its original travel path effective June 2012. This means the B103 will once again use the Fourth/Third Avenue exit from the Prospect Expressway and travel along Third Avenue on its inbound trip. CB7 really pushed for this change - thanks!

      # Posted 12 mos ago
    7. bluecat
      bluecat

      getting it
      Joined: Mar '07
      Posts: 237

      ^
      http://www.subchat.com/buschat/read.asp?Id=260492

      # Posted 12 mos ago

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