Main Street Traffic Flow Picks Up As
RIOC Turns Stops to Yields and
Shunts School Buses to Promenade
by Lillian Picchione

Main Street traffic is suddenly a whole lot smoother. Two changes in vehicle patterns were implemented in the past weeks. School bus drop-offs at the Child School have been rerouted to the Seawall Access Roads, taking the loading and unloading of buses off Main Street. In addition, crosswalks have changed. Attention-getting signs have been put in, the crosswalks have been repainted for increased visibility, and four of the stop signs have been replaced by yield signs.

RIOC president Herb Berman reports that the changes are a response to the volume of complaints received over the years. He explains that RIOC has made earlier attempts to work with the school bus operator to improve traffic. Berman blames the company’s "persistant refusal to cooperate with earlier plans" for why traffic changes weren’t made earlier. Bus operators are under an obligation to drop children from special-needs schools within a short distance from their destination.

The change appears to have had an immediate impact on the speed of traffic on Main Street. A round trip that earlier took 25 minutes included delays for school bus drop offs, such as a 2.5 minute delay experienced during a test ride in the February 11, 2006 WIRE. Such delays cause following buses to catch up, a situation called "bus bunching."

Since implementing the changes, life during Rush Hour is much improved. There are fewer honks and beeps. Cars move regularly through the intersections rather than stacking up at the Motorgate ramp and Deli. Less congestion results in less bus bunching among the Q102 and Red Buses.

Rush Hour on Roosevelt Island (typically 7:30-8:30 a.m. and 3:00-4:30 p.m.) is a bit different than other parts of the City because the combination of deliveries, school buses and hospital shift changes add more vehicles to the Island than does the Manhattan commute, which is heavily transit-based.

The school-bus rerouting means that between 7:15 and 8:30, school buses enter the access road between 2/4 River Road and PS 217, head south along the Western seawall, and drop off passengers before exiting near the Meditation Steps. Between 1:00 and 3:30 pm, buses enter the access road between 580 Main Street and Capobianco Field, head north along the seawall, and pick up students before exiting on the access road between the field and Motorgate Ramp.

There are some adverse affects to the school-bus rerouting. One of the pleasures of Roosevelt Island is a peaceful morning walk along the western seawall, watching the boats and the Manhattan skyline on the walk to work. Pedestrians now have to be more careful, because buses approach pedestrians from behind. While the eastern path has a lower pedestrian pathway not used by vehicles, the bumpy surface is not conducive to bicycles, scooters or wheelchairs. In addition, several RIRA councilmembers discussing the changes at their April 5 meeting expressed concern that they have observed schoolchildren emerging from side buildings without looking out for traffic.

The second change in traffic is the conversion of four Main Street stop signs to yield signs. The new crosswalks have signs in the center of the road that warn motorists that State law gives pedestrians the right of way.

The most visible change is that the intersection at the turn to the Motorgate ramp is no longer a three-way stop. At the ramp intersection, Island traffic now yields only to pedestrians, not exiting motorists. This means that vehicles exiting the ramp must now wait until all Island traffic clears the intersection. The change is particularly helpful to Red Bus traffic, which had four stops in quick succession between Capobianco Field and Gristedes. Now, the bus can roll past the ramp exit, allowing a smoother, faster ride.

The combination of the school-bus rerouting and the yield signs appear to have markedly increased traffic speeds on Main Street. Morning Red Bus commuters have a smoother, faster ride. Vehicles from the FDNY Special Operations Command building face less congestion at the Motorgate ramp. Vehicle commuters to Coler-Goldwater hospital have a speedier ride.

Claude Ritman, Executive Director of Coler-Goldwater Hospitals, expressed pleasure. "Overall, there has been an improvement," he says. Mr. Ritman used to urge his employees to be patient with the traffic, pointing out that due to its location, the hospital has some of the least traffic of any City hospital. But combined with the new Red Bus stop at Coler hospital, Mr. Ritman sees the improvements as "a step in the right direction." While he has not received feedback from staff on the bus drop-off changes (the change had only been in effect briefly before The Child School’s spring break), he sees the changes as "all for the better."

There is an additional benefit. In the past, service vehicles, Public Safety patrols, and property-management vehicles were observed using the Seawall. With the faster flow on Main Street, these vehicles may no longer be tempted to take the access road, which occurred at unpredictable times.

Like any silver lining, there is an attached cloud. By definition, increased vehicle speeds decrease pedestrian safety. Faster vehicles mean that in the event of a car crash, those involved are more likely to get hurt. In addition, a faster trip is an incentive to drive. It will be interesting to see if a larger number of Coler-Goldwater employees choose to commute by car now that the last minutes of the trip are faster.

But while increased traffic speed may decrease pedestrian safety, measures appear to have been taken to counteract that problem. The single most important way to improve safety is to make the traffic rules clear and easy to follow. To that end, the new crosswalks are more visible and emphasize pedestrian priority in a way that the old stop signs did not. Rasheed White, a new Red Bus driver, expressed happiness with the changes. Drivers just have to exercise "common sense," he says. He notes that even with the new signs, many drivers continue to stop at all the signs. "Force of habit."