The Case for Car-Free Streets: From NYC’s 14th Street to Every U.S. City
In the fall of 2019, I was living five blocks from Union Square when New York City banned most private cars from 14th Street.
The “14th Street busway,” as it became known, turned the two-way crosstown artery into a bus, truck, and taxi-only corridor between 3rd and 9th Avenues. Skeptics said traffic would spill over onto surrounding streets and that it would hurt businesses, that.
What I saw and felt was the opposite.
Union Square was more pleasant with less street noise. Crossing the street was easier. I watched buses zip by.
A year later, when I moved to the Lower East Side, I became a regular rider of the M14D, which goes across 14th st. I zipped from Chelsea to my apartment without the sluggish crawl that defines most crosstown bus service.
The data bear it out too. It’s clearly a success.
Now New York is preparing to do it again on 34th Street.
The success of 14th Street raises a bigger question: if busways work this well, why aren’t they on every major crosstown street in Manhattan? In the boroughts too? In every U.S. city with bus routes that get stuck in city car traffic?
This is the case for scaling them citywide and nationwide, starting with what 14th Street taught us.
Faster, More Reliable Buses
Let’s look at the data.
- Travel times along 14th Street improved by 22–47%, saving riders as much as 9.7 minutes per trip, according to 2019 City data.
- On-time performance shot up to 68% in October 2019, compared to just 45% the month before, according to MTA data. Faster and more reliable buses led to…
More Bus Riders
- Weekday ridership jumped roughly 15%, reaching over 30,000 average weekday riders, according to that same MTA report.
- Another study found total ridership grew 24% on weekdays and 30% on weekends, as reported by Gothamist.
It turns out, when a service improves, people use it more.
A safer 14th Street
We know that cars are the primary danger on American streets. By eliminating cars, 14th Street got safer. In the four months following the pilot’s launch, crashes dropped 53%, while injuries plummeted 63% compared to the previous year, as reported by Streetsblog.
More Cyclists
The ripple effects extended beyond buses: cycling on 14th St grew by 17% during morning commutes, as reported by Streetsblog.
As I’ve written about in my article on the case for protected bike lanes, car-dominated streets discourage people from biking.
The new protected bike lanes on 12th and 13th Streets that went in around the same time also helped, and I personally used them all the time.
This was the first time in my life I felt how everyday fights in cities transform one’s life. This car-free street made it easier for me to get across town, whether on a Citi Bike or the bus.
34th Street Busway: The Next Chapter
This fall, New York City will replicate the success of 14th Street and do the same to 34th Street.
It will obviously be a success. Right now, the M34 Bus moves an average of 5.5mph. That’s a fast walking speed, but for New York, it’s not out of the question.
This is in one of the most transit-rich areas in the world, where the vast majority don’t own cars.
More New Yorkers will ride the M34 bus once it goes faster than a fast walker. There will be fewer crashes and injuries. The street will get quieter.
It’s time that New York and other cities do this on all major streets.
The Case For DOing This on All Major Streets
If New York applied the busway model to every major crosstown artery (think 42nd, 59th, 125th, Fordham Road, Flatbush Avenue, and more), the city could see a transportation transformation not seen since the subway.
Some benefits are obvious, and replicate what I mentioned with 14th St.
- Faster, more reliable public transit.
- Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists.
But let’s talk about more of the benefits that we’ll see with each busway.
3. Cleaner Air, Less Noise
Private vehicles are one of the biggest contributors to street-level air pollution in NYC. Car-free corridors eliminate hundreds of idling engines every hour, reducing particulate matter and noise. For people living near these streets, the difference can mean fewer asthma attacks, better sleep, and higher quality of life.
Cities are not loud and dirty, vehicles are!
4. Equity for Transit-Dependent Communities
Over half of New Yorkers don’t own a car, and bus riders are disproportionately low-income people and those who live further from a subway stop. Prioritizing busways is a direct investment in the mobility of those who rely most on public transit, while still maintaining access for truck deliveries and emergency services.
5. Reclaim Space Freed Up By Fewer Cars (Wider Sidewalks, More Planters, more Homes)
As shown in the 14th Street example, once you improve transit service and make places car-free, you can now take that space back.
Add Green Infrastructure
On 14th Street there are now dozens of planters, which absorb stormwater and provide pollinators plants. Multiply this across countless blocks and you have some effective green infrastructure.
Expand the sidewalk
They’ve also painted lanes that in practice make the sidewalks wider. This makes it more pleasant for pedestrians. It’s easier for them to cross the street and more space to move, which is very important in dense corridors near subway stations.
The 34th Street Project Includes 10,000 New Homes
It’s no secret that New York is in a major housing crisis. The supply of homes available doesn’t match the demand, and this is a major reason why it’s so expensive to live in New York. (The same applies to many other U.S. cities.)
As reported by Gothamist, the 34th St busway includes a rezoning that will add up to 10k new homes in Midtown.
Especially with congestion pricing in effect, it’s a chance to reclaim public space from cars. I’ve written in-depth about how congestion pricing works here.
6. No, It WOn’t Make Traffic Worse on Other Streets (Induced Demand)
Every time something like this gets proposed, there’s a logical concern: so where will the cars go? Will they go onto local streets and cause traffic elsewhere?
Traffic doesn’t necessarily “spill over.” It often disappears. This is the principle of induced demand in reverse: when you take away road space for cars, the buses get faster and biking gets safer, so more people use those options instead of calling a rideshare or taxi.
The data backs this up.
After the 14th Street busway launched in 2019, DOT studies found minimal to no sustained congestion increases on adjacent streets like 13th and 15th. Meanwhile, 14th Street itself became a model of reliable transit and calmer streets.
7. No, It Won’t Hurt Businesses (It’ll Help Them)
Another fear is economic: that removing cars will hurt local businesses. But research repeatedly shows the opposite. Pedestrians and cyclists spend more money at local businesses than drivers. This is explained nicely in this Bloomberg article. But it’s intuitive. If you’re walking, you look around. If you’re driving, you’re driving through.
Walkable streets without excess cars are also more inviting than one choked with cars.
Yes, This is Possible in Your City Too
I’ve written a lot about my travels around the country without a car.
Yes, New York has a lower percentage of car owners and better mass transit than any other U.S. city. This puts it in the best position to push for delivery truck, bus, and taxi-only streets like this. However, many downtowns in big and small cities will see increased transit ridership and fewer cars if the transit gets better. Induced demand works everywhere.
Of course, the extent varies on the city and the usefulness of the route.
But this idea of New York exceptionalism, that it’s different from other U.S. cities, I see as less and less true the more time I’ve spent in other U.S. cities.
Some parts of Pittsburgh or more walkable than many parts of New York. Nearly every city has lots of transit riders and many walkable neighborhoods. Start there.
Improved public transit becomes a positive feedback loop. The better it gets, the more people take it, and the more people will want it to be better.
These Fights Come Down to Political Will
New York City has already proved that car-free crosstown streets work. The 14th Street busway turned one of Manhattan’s most congested corridors into a showcase for faster buses, safer walking and cycling, cleaner air, and thriving street life. The soon-to-be 34th Street busway will show it wasn’t a fluke.
We can have a New York with less traffic and less honking, more green space and outdoor dining, faster buses and safer bike lanes. We can have a network of crosstown streets where buses glide, cyclists feel safe, and pedestrians own the right of way.
A crosstown grid built for people is within reach. The only question is whether we’ll fight for it.
How to do this is for another article. Although if you’re in NYC, you have many options to help out, from groups like Transportation Alternatives and Riders’ Alliance, to subreddits like MicromobilityNYC.
I’ll open it up to the comments section. How do you want to fight for a city with better transit, cleaner air, more green space, and safer streets?
