PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More red-painted bus-only lanes will be coming to Center City and South Philly.
Three high-ridership stretches will be painted red to keep drivers out of bus-only lanes: Chestnut Street from Broad to 21st streets, Walnut Street from Broad to 19th streets, and Oregon Avenue between Fifth and Front streets.
“The red bus markings alone really help make it obvious where the bus lanes are and makes it easier for drivers to understand that they can’t park or travel in those lanes,” Matthew Zapson, SEPTA’s manager of planning programs, told KYW Newsradio.
Red paint was first used to designate bus-only lanes three years ago. Since then, bus travel time has decreased, according to a city analysis.
“On Chestnut east of Broad, we saw buses traveling 12% faster almost immediately after upgrading to a red bus lane,” Zapson said.
Zapson said the red lane installments are in conjunction with PennDOT repaving projects. The streets are already milled, and Zapson said as PennDOT does resurfacing, crews will also improve the bus stops on Oregon Avenue, installing flex posts near the stops and relocating stops out of right turn lanes.
The changes add 1.7 miles of red-painted bus-only lanes to city streets, affecting 66,000 daily riders on nine bus routes. The Oregon and Walnut bus lanes are new, Zapson added. Chestnut Street has an existing bus lane, but the pavement had deteriorated to the point that it was nearly impossible to see, Zapson said.