Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Jay Walder is pushing the State Assembly to draft legislation that will allow him to install cameras in bus lanes to keep cars from obstructing the mass transit paths. Like the stop light cameras used to ID drivers who run red lights, the proposed program aims to clear the way for buses by cracking down on motorists who turn bus lanes into parking lanes, according to NY1.
"I simply don't think that the MTA ever made bus lane cameras a priority. In fact, I don't think the MTA has made buses a priority quite the way that we're doing today," said Walder. "One of the things that I've tried to say from day one is that buses are an under-utilized, untapped resource in New York. We can do much more with it, and we're making it our priority to do that." But the proposal is getting stuck in traffic in Albany, where legislators have concerns about the cameras compromising New Yorkers' right to privacy. "The Assembly, the legislature, has gotten over those issues with red light cameras," he added. "There's no reason why we can't get over those issues with the bus lane enforcement cameras."
This isn't the first time that Walder has called out bus lane blockers. He has already demanded the installation of cameras to keep cabs from parking in express bus lanes — causing the purportedly high-speed routes to not live up to their name.
