Mamdani Admin Unveils Plan to Extend Bus Only Lanes on Madison Ave. Below 42nd St.
The project had been stalled under the previous administration but top officials representing the mayor were joined by other politicians and activists to announce the bus lane extension along 19 blocks of lower Madison Ave.
| 12 Jan 2026 | 03:33
Buses traveling along the 19-block stretch of Madison Ave. below 42nd St. move 92,000 passengers a day but should be moving faster once the DOT completes the project to paint lanes dedicated solely to busess. Currently buses crawl at four to five MPH on the avenue. (
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Department of Transportation head Mike Flynn (at dias) was joined (from left, front row) city council member Harvey Epstein, Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman-Sigal and deputy mayor Julia Kerson to unveil plans for new bus lanes on lower Madison Ave. (
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The Madison Ave. corridor, which moves 92,000 people a day by bus on one of the slowest moving avenues in the city, should soon see faster buses as the city unveiled plans to extend the Madison Ave. bus lanes an additional 19 blocks covering the stretch from 42nd St. to E. 23rd St.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani skipped the press conference but dispatched newly appointed Department of Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn and deputy mayor Julia Kerson to the session to announce the lower portion of Madison will soon be getting the double bus lanes doused in red paint.
“When Mayor Mamdani asked me to serve as his transportation commissioner, he challenged me to make New York City streets the envy of the world, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” said Flynn. “We’re going to achieve it by thinking big, focusing on New Yorkers’ day to day lives, and acting with urgency,” he said.
Kerson blasted the Eric Adams administration for not moving faster on the project. “Last year, DOT proposed extending the bus lanes on Madison Avenue from 42nd Street down to 23rd Street,” Kerson said at a press conference at Madison Square Park. “But interference from the last administration caused the agency to miss this painting season, delaying critical improvements for transit riders.”
Flynn and Kerson were joined by newly installed city council member Harvey Epstein and newly installed Manhattan borough president Brad Hoylman Sigal. and Betsy Plum, executive director of the Riders Alliance and Ben Furnas head of Transportation Alternatives.
Flynn did not have a specific timeline, but indicated the work would have to wait until warmer weather rolls in. The work involves painting the 19 block stretch and roadside signage. He said it would be completed “before the end of the year.”
Buses along the heavily traveled route move at only four to five miles per hour, Flynn noted.
When the work is completed is completed, the lower portion of Madison Ave. will have one lane open to vehicular traffic and one lane for curbside parking that will become a travel land during rush hour. The double lanes designed for buses only will be similar to what is in place on Madison Ave. from E. 42nd to E. 60th St.
Betsy Plum, executive director of the Riders Alliance, an advocacy group for subway and bus transportation also spoke at the press conference. “Buses are the silent backbone of the city,” she said. “For too long, they have been slow and unreliable.” And she noted that when there are problems that stop subways from moving, whether from flooding, electrical switch problems or accidents and injuries of passengers, buses are often the only reliable mass transit option.
“Operation is about execution,” said Kerson. “It’s about coordination across agencies for moving barriers and making sure good projects don’t stay stuck on the shelf,” Kerson said.