The Downtown Connection shuttle bus, which provides approximately 800,000 free rides to Lower Manhattan residents each year, will be changing its eastbound route between Battery Park City and City Hall to Chambers Street, instead of Warren Street. (The westbound route between City Hall and Battery Park City, along Murray Street, will not be affected.) This alteration will eliminate three stops, starting later this month and continuing through September, 2019.
The new routing, which goes into effect on Monday, February 20, is necessary to accommodate a street rebuilding project, by the City’s Department of Design and Construction, on Warren Street, which was announced earlier this month and is expected to take three years.
Because Chambers Street is narrow, heavily congested, and already hosts two-way traffic, the Connection shuttle will not be able to stop anywhere along the new, eastbound portion of its route. As a result, three existing Warren Street stops will be not be duplicated on Chambers: at the intersections with North End Avenue, Greenwich Street, and Church Street. Passengers who would ordinarily utilize these stops are urged to walk one block south and pick up the bus on the westbound leg of its journey, along Murray Street. On this portion of the route, the bus will continue to stop at the intersections of Murray with Broadway, with Greenwich Street, and with North End Avenue. (Whole Foods customers take note: This means that the Warren and Greenwich stop often used to enter the store will no longer be served, but the stop at Murray and Greenwich, most often used by shoppers after they have left the store and are headed to points west and south, will still be in service.)
“Many residents rely on the Downtown Connection to help get around Lower Manhattan and making sure we continue service as seamlessly and safety as possible is the highest priority for us,” said Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin.
The Downtown Connection shuttle bus is offered by the Downtown Alliance in partnership with the Battery Park City Authority, and operates seven days each week, from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, at an average interval of ten minutes during the week and fifteen minutes on weekends.
The mission of the Downtown Alliance is to enhance Lower Manhattan for businesses, residents and visitors. Along with the Downtown Connection bus, the Alliance also provides local security, picks up trash, and operates the business improvement district, or BID, that covers the area south of Chambers Street.