http://tags.library.upenn.edu/tag/transportation_policy+mta PennTags Feed http://tags.library.upenn.edu/makerecord/url/19065 http://tags.library.upenn.edu/makerecord/url/19065 August 17, 2007, 1:42 pm<br />City Experiments by Adding Color to Bus Lanes<p>By Sewell Chan<br />bus lanesA new red bus lane on 57th Street. (Photo: New York City Department of Transportation)</p><p>With support from the Federal Highway Administration, New York City will be the first locality in the United States to test painted bus lanes, the city's Department of Transportation announced today.</p><p>As part of a trial period, existing bus lanes on East 57th Street, from Second to Fifth Avenues, and on Fordham Road, from University Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the Grand Concourse in the Bronx, are being painted terra cotta, a deep red like the color of bricks. If the experiment works, officials hope that more motorists will stay out of the lanes, which are used during the morning and evening rush, on weekdays.</p><p>The coloring of bus lanes - red is the most common color, but green and yellow have also been used - has been used in London; Edinburgh; Rouen, France; Seoul, South Korea; and Melbourne, Australia.</p><p>The colors do not affect the current bus lane rules. Vehicles other than buses may not drive in any bus lanes during the hours that they are in operation, except to make the next legal right turn. On East 57th Street and Fordham Road, the bus lanes are in effect from Monday to Friday, 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.</p><p>The painting on 57th Street should be complete by Sept. 1, and the Fordham Road painting will begin after that.</p><p>Two different paint treatments are being evaluated. &quot;One option involves adding color to the entire bus lane, while the other option involves applying the color only down the center of the lane,&quot; the department said in a news release. &quot;A five-foot wide strip down the center may be more cost effective and more durable, since the strip will experience less wear from bus tires than a full lane striping would. However, this treatment may not be as effective as the full lane striping at reducing unauthorized use.&quot; On 57th Street and Fordham Road, one treatment will be used on one side of the street, and the other treatment on the opposite side. </p>