City Life Org – Better Bus Service: Begin Installing Flatbush Avenue Bus Lanes This Fall

Rendering of a redesigned Flatbush Avenue and Fourth Avenue, in Brooklyn, with center-running bus lanes and a concrete bus boarding island. Credit: NYC DOT

Project Will Make Commutes Faster and More Reliable for 132,000 Daily Bus Riders —Primarily Low-Income Commuters of Color — and Enhance Safety Along a High-Crash Corridor

NYC DOT will begin installing new bus lanes on Flatbush Avenue this fall, following extensive public feedback on a new block-by-block design for the corridor, running from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn through Downtown Brooklyn, north Park Slope, and Prospect Heights. The project will deliver faster, more reliable commutes for 132,000 daily bus riders across the entire Flatbush corridor, while improving safety on one of Brooklyn’s high crash corridors. The redesign follows a robust traffic analysis that shows the project would significantly reduce cut-through traffic on Flatbush Avenue. NYC DOT expects to complete the project in 2026. 

After extensive community engagement and incorporating public feedback, NYC DOT on Thursday evening presented its proposed block-by-block design for center-running bus lanes to Brooklyn Community Board 2. More community board presentations are to come and NYC DOT welcomes further feedback before implementation begins this fall. 

Bus and Safety Challenges

Flatbush Avenue is a Vision Zero Priority Corridor, meaning it is one of the most dangerous streets in Brooklyn, with 140 people killed or severely injured within the past five years. According to MTA estimates, annual ridership of the B41, which serves nearly the entire eight-mile Flatbush Avenue corridor, is over 4.4 million riders—putting it among the 10 busiest bus routes in New York City. This high ridership is indicative of the fact that nearly 60 percent of the households along Flatbush Avenue have no access to a personal vehicle. 

NYC DOT is proposing bus lanes on the northern section of the avenue, from Livingston Street to Grand Army Plaza, where bus service is currently the slowest. Serving over 132,000 daily riders across 12 bus routes, bus riders across all of Flatbush Avenue currently experience bus speeds slower than four miles per hour at rush hours—about the same speed as a pedestrian walking the corridor. 

Flatbush Bus Lane Design and Implementation 

NYC DOT is advancing a plan for center-running bus lanes for Flatbush Avenue between Livingston Street and Grand Army Plaza, with new pedestrian spaces to improve traffic safety and reduce pedestrian crossing distances. The project will also adjust curb regulations along commercial uses to better support local businesses’ delivery needs. 

The center-running bus lane design features several key elements, including:  

• Six large concrete bus boarding islands spanning more than 13,000 square feet to create physically separated bus lanes and a high-quality transit experience 
• An additional 14,300 square feet of new, painted pedestrian space 
• Eleven new dedicated loading zones, which can fit over 50 trucks or 83 passenger vehicles 
• Up to 14 new roadway bike parking areas, which can accommodate more than 170 bikes 

Center-running lanes are the best option to dramatically increase bus speeds by creating physically separated spaces for buses and reducing conflicts with personal vehicles traveling the corridor. This design will allow Flatbush Avenue to move more people more efficiently than it does today. After NYC DOT installed center-running bus lanes on the Edward L Grant Highway, in the Bronx, the agency saw a decrease in pedestrian and cycling injuries by 29 percent and a reduction of total injuries by 17 percent.  

With center-running lanes, NYC DOT would install concrete bus boarding islands in the street to provide safe spaces for pedestrians to board, disembark, and wait to cross the street. The boarding islands would create a train-like service experience for riders while reducing instances of speeding drivers. 

Based on an extensive traffic analysis and experience from previous projects, NYC DOT expects the redesign would reduce traffic volume on Flatbush Avenue, create a welcoming corridor for pedestrians and bus riders. 

The agency plans to begin installing bus lane markings and painted curb extensions this fall, with work resuming when the weather warms in spring 2026. Due to the size of the project and complexity of constructing new concrete islands, the agency expects the project to be completed in fall 2026.  

Like this:

Like Loading…