42nd Street to become dedicated ‘bus corridor’ during World Cup matches

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Manhattan’s 42nd Street and several other major thoroughfares will become temporary bus and shuttle corridors for use on World Cup match days this summer. Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Friday announced a Midtown transportation plan to ensure smooth travel to and from MetLife Stadium during the tournament, including converting 42nd Street, portions of Fifth and Sixth Avenues, and West 40th Street into dedicated transit lanes. The streets will be limited to shuttle buses, official World Cup affiliate vehicles, MTA buses, and emergency vehicles beginning six hours before kickoff and continuing until three hours after each match.

“NYC is ready to welcome the World Cup to our backyard,” Mamdani said. “But even as the eyes of the world turn to our city, our responsibility remains the same to make sure New Yorkers can still get where they need to go safely, affordably and without unnecessary disruption.”

“Whether you’re heading to the stadium for a match, the park for a pick-up game or the office like any other day, our streets will work for everyone,” he added.

The plan is being coordinated with the NYNJ Host Committee, the MTA, NJ Transit, and the Port Authority to keep the city moving safely on World Cup match days. The tournament includes five group-stage matches on June 13, 16, 22, 26, and 27, a round of 32 match on June 30, a round of 16 match on July 5, and the final on July 19, as 6sqft previously reported.

NYC is expected to see a substantial influx of visitors for the tournament, leading to increased congestion and traffic delays, particularly in Midtown around Penn Station.

The Mamdani administration is warning New Yorkers to plan for these disruptions, as well as changes to street and bus routes. Residents are also urged to walk, bike, or take the subway instead of driving for non-essential trips when possible.

On game days, World Cup-related travel will be routed through designated Midtown corridors, streamlining access to MetLife Stadium while minimizing disruption for commuters.

Each match day will be designated a “Gridlock Alert Day” to discourage non-essential travel, and the city will work with local businesses to limit truck deliveries in Midtown during matches and encourage the use of public transportation.

NYC plans to convert 42nd Street into a bus and shuttle corridor from First Avenue to 12th Avenue. It will also dedicate the two easternmost lanes of Sixth Avenue as bus and shuttle lanes between 42nd and 59th Streets.

Existing bus lanes along Fifth Avenue between 42nd and 59th Streets will also be reserved for shuttle service. West 40th Street between Eighth and 11th Avenues and West 41st Street between Eighth and 10th Avenues will be converted into bus and shuttle-only blocks.

Travelers using NJ Transit should also be aware of major service changes on match days. Roughly four hours before kickoff, NJ Transit will limit outbound rail service from Penn Station to the World Cup.

Match tickets and NJ Transit tickets will be validated before entry into the station, prompting street closures around Penn Station. The city will close 33rd Street between Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue to vehicles, as well as 32nd Street between Sixth Avenue and Seventh Avenue.

Street closures will begin at least six hours before each match, with most streets reopening shortly afterward. The section of 33rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues will reopen three hours after each match ends.

Travelers not attending matches with New York as a transit origin or destination will be able to use their rail tickets or passes for alternative transit options at no additional cost, including PATH service from 33rd Street and NJ Transit buses from the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The transportation plan builds on permanent streetscape improvements by the Mamdani administration ahead of the World Cup. Last week, Mamdani announced that Sixth Avenue’s protected bike lane would be widened along one of its most congested stretches.

A week earlier, the administration said it would install a center-running eastbound bus lane along Broadway between 69th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, a busy corridor used by roughly 9,000 daily riders on the Q70-SBS, also known as the “LaGuardia Link.”

Other projects include the redesign of Ninth Avenue from West 34th to West 50th Streets in Hell’s Kitchen, and new bike and pedestrian entrances to the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan.

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This post was originally published here.