By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MURRAY HILL — Murray Hill residents continued to bang the drum Tuesday night against a plan to create new dedicated bus lanes along 34th Street that would create a "disaster" for emergency vehicles and residents in wheelchairs.
Though the 34th Street Transitway plan, which could install concrete dividers to separate buses from car traffic from the FDR Drive to Twelfth Avenue, isn't finalized, the Department of Transportation asked several dozen residents to fill out a survey on the proposal at a community meeting.
In addition to accessibility issues, many raised concerns about declining property values and increased pollution and traffic.
"I think it's a disaster waiting to happen," said senior citizen Beulah Wolff, a resident of 34th Street. "I wouldn't be able to access my building with a cab. And they can't get the emergency vehicles past two lanes of buses - there's no room!"
Many Murray Hill residents have spoken out against the project in recent months. A residents' group that opposes the plan, the 34th Street Transitway Action Committee, recently delivered a petition signed by 2,000 residents against it to the Department of Transportation last month.
"This is a hassle for the daily basis, the daily life of residents. They're taking a six-hour problem and making it a 24-hour problem," resident Carrol Rapoport, 66, said, referring to the current bus traffic congestion during rush hours in Midtown and Murray Hill. "The whole thing is an inconvenience."
Other issues that came up included the effect of traffic increase on property values, loss of business on bus-lane sides of the street, and the way in which the DOT was handling the project. Many also believe the buses would prevent emergency vehicles from reaching residents.
Some residents felt that the meeting, meant to provide a "one-on-one" discussion with concerned citizens, was just for show. And some said that questions put to the DOT weeks ago remained unanswered.
"They propose putting a wall up between my front door and the street," resident Timothy Hughes said. He didn't want the DOT to create permanent barricades for the bus lanes. "No matter what dream world we live in, this plan brings up a host of issues that won't be solved."
Writing down resident's complaints, however, DOT employees insisted Tuesday that they will come up with a new plan that addresses as many of them as possible.
"We need to wait and hear the responses we're going to get," DOT spokesperson Seth Somolov said. "It doesn't happen overnight."
