B38 riders are getting 2.7 miles of new bus lanes on DeKalb and Lafayette

New York City is redesigning DeKalb Avenue from Broadway to Flatbush Avenue and Lafayette Avenue from Ashland Place to Patchen Avenue. The plan adds 2.7 miles of bus lanes, along with protected bike lanes and other safety upgrades. Most of the bus lanes run along the curb from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. A stretch of DeKalb near Downtown Brooklyn gets an offset bus lane that runs around the clock.

The main beneficiaries are B38 riders, about 18,000 people a day. During rush hour, buses on these avenues can slow to about four miles per hour. Most people who live nearby get to work by transit, bike, or on foot, and most households there don’t have a car. You don’t have to sign up for anything. The lanes are meant to make the bus faster and more reliable, and the city says it will ticket drivers who block them.

The redesign is also about safety. Since 2021, crashes on the two avenues have injured 841 people, 47 of them seriously, and killed one.

The project is part of “Next Stop: Fast Buses, Better Service,” a bus speed program run by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Governor Kathy Hochul, and the MTA. The city Department of Transportation started construction on November 5, 2026, and has not said when the work will be finished. Local Council Members Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé said they supported the plan.