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Summer is New York is a constant battle with the weather—thunderstorms! Extreme heat!—but those of us who take public transportation to get anywhere have it worst: dealing with the season's temperature underground or while waiting for a bus has become borderline dangerous.
A new in-depth study by transit advocacy group Transportation Alternatives and NASA highlights the dangers of urban heat by specifically looking at the hottest bus stops across the city—and the results are pretty scary.
According to the analysis, the average temperature at the 400 hottest bus stops is 14.5 degrees higher than what was recorded at the 400 coolest ones.
"[The hottest bus stops are also] more likely to be located in Black, Latino, Asian and high-poverty communities, in Queens and the Bronx, and in the communities with the most bus riders," reads the survey.
The agencies' analysis revealed that bus routes and stops lacking surrounding trees or shelters are significantly warmer than those with such features, with most of these hotter stops located in Queens and the Bronx—areas that many high-poverty communities call home.
Overall, the study identifies a few issues with the way things are currently working. First and foremost, according to the experts, New York City suffers from the worst "urban heat island effect" in the nation: heat gets trapped here because of the limited green spaces available and the widespread asphalt.
"With the slowest buses in the nation and wait times often stretching over 30 minutes, sweltering bus stops are a critical, overlooked, and increasingly pressing risk factor," reads the survey. "New York City’s average summer temperature has risen five degrees in the past fifty years and is expected to rise nearly a degree with each coming decade."
The researchers created an interactive map that measures the urban heat island effect across areas and you play around with it right here.
Through their report and data analysis, the two agencies have also identified 100 stops and three routes—the Bx6, the Bx33 and the B46—that they deem to be in urgent need of intervention, also listing their own recommendations to mitigate the issue. These include the installation of bus shelters with seating and countdown clock at these high-priority stops, the planting of trees in the areas, potential new bus stop designs and the conversion of high-priority bus routes into express, car-free busway or enforced bus lanes, among many others potential solutions.
Below is a list of the 100 bus stops that the agency identified as most dangerous and in dire need of intervention:
The Bronx
- 3 Av/E 180 St
- 3 Av/E 180 St
- 3 Av/E 184 St
- Allerton Av/Laconia Av
- Allerton Av/Pearsall Av
- Allerton Av/Westervelt Av
- Allerton Av/Westervelt Av
- E 138 St/Bruckner Bl
- E 138 St/Cypress Av
- E 138 St/St Anns Av
- E 138 St/Walnut Av
- E 138 St/Walnut Av
- E 138 St/Willow Av
- E 149 St/Grand Concourse
- E 167 St/Bryant Av
- E 180 St/3 Av
- E 180 St/Arthur Av
- E 233 St/Bussing Av
- E 233 St/Carpenter Av
- E 233 St/Kepler Av
- Eastchester Rd/Astor Av
- Grand Concourse/E 149 St
- Grand Concourse/E Mt Eden Av
- Halleck St/Food Center Dr
- Halleck St/Hunts Pt Av
- Halleck St/Spofford Av
- Halleck St/Spofford Av
- Hunts Point Av/Garrison Av
- Katonah Av/E 234 St
- Katonah Av/E 237 St
- Katonah Av/E 239 St
- Katonah Av/E 239 St
- Longwood Av/Barry St
- Longwood Av/Barry St
- Longwood Av/Tiffany St
- Metropolitan Av/Purdy St
- Morris Av/E 156 St
- Morris Av/E 163 St
- Nereid Av/Edson Av
- Nereid Av/Monticello Av
- Spofford Av/Bryant Av
- Tiffany St/Oak Point Av
- Tiffany St/Oak Point Av
- Tiffany St/Randall Av
- Tiffany St/Randall Av
- Viele Av/Casanova St
- Viele Av/Casanova St
- Viele Av/Faile St
- Viele Av/Faile St
- Viele Av/Whittier St
- W Farms Rd/E 167 St
- W Farms Rd/Longfellow Av
- Walnut Av/E 133 St
- Walnut Av/E 133 St
- Walnut Av/E 135 St
- Walnut Av/E 135 St
- Webster Av/E 182 St
- Westchester Av/Home St
- Westchester Av/Olmstead Av
- White Plains Rd/Arnow Av
- White Plains Rd/E 215 St
- White Plains Rd/E 239 St
Brooklyn
- Av D/E 42 St
- Av D/E 43 St
- Av H / E 38 St
- Erskine St /Gateway Pl
- Erskine St/Gateway Dr
- Flatlands Av/Atkins Av
- Flatlands Av/Elton St
- Flatlands Av/Essex St
- Flatlands Av/Jerome St
- Fountain Av /Flatlands Av
- Fulton St/Buffalo Av
- Fulton St/Sackman St
- Fulton St/Utica Av
- Gateway Dr/Erskine St
- Glenwood Rd/Albany Av
- Glenwood Rd/Albany Av
- Glenwood Rd/E 38 St
- Glenwood Rd/E 39 St
- Kings Hy/Av N
- Nostrand Av/Av N
- Utica Av/Atlantic Av
- Utica Av/Av L
- Utica Av/Av M
- Utica Av/Farragut Rd
- Utica Av/Foster Av
- Utica Av/Foster Av
- Vandalia Av/Erskine St
Queens
- 213 St/92 Av
- College Pt Bl/Fowler Av
- College Pt Bl/Sanford Av
- Francis Lewis Bl/89 Av
- Francis Lewis Bl/90 Av
- Merrick Bl/220 St
- Merrick Bl/222 St
- Springfield Bl/136 Av
- Springfield Bl/Merrick Bl
Staten Island
- Forest Av/Clove Rd
- Post Av/Greenleaf Av