MTA advances Utica Avenue Transit Improvements Study

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has moved into the next phase of the public outreach efforts for its Utica Avenue Transit Improvements Study.

New York City Transit personnel will attend all eight community board meetings in the study’s impacted area through the end of this month and in March, giving the first public presentations on the project and soliciting public feedback. Officials will set forth the scope of the study and share results from more than 5,000 surveys that were filled out by residents last year.

The B46 and B46 Select Bus Service routes already serve the area surrounding Utica Avenue, and are some of the busiest bus lines in the city, seeing average daily ridership of 44,000 customers, according to MTA. The Utica Avenue Transit Improvements Study will examine local transit challenges and analyze the possible impact of multiple modes of transportation – including bus rapid transit, surface light rail and subway – that might help improve mobility and connectivity around Utica Avenue.  Future solutions could include new services or enhancements to existing ones and are being considered in coordination with efforts to reimagine existing bus service with the Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign.

The study also aims to explore how transit can better enhance access to employment and activity centers, support economic growth and bring more resiliency to the system. The study will take place over the course of 2020.

A survey of more than 5,300 area customers conducted in the first half of 2019 showed that 42 percent of respondents in the area travel by bus, while 38 percent use the subway, 11 percent walk, seven percent take cars and two percent ride commuter vans. The survey also confirmed that respondents who live in the area generally work in employment centers in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn.