News from New York City

1. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is testing double decker buses, as I have been suggesting for awhile for WMATA. See "Double-Decker Bus Gets a Trial Run," from the New York Times blog.

The buses seat about 20 more people compared to the 60 foot long articulated buses, they are 20 feet shorter and therefore more maneuverable, and they cost $300,000 less than an articulated bus. Now, they won't fit under the Friendship Heights bus terminal, and I wonder how they would be on hills.

Darrayle Williams, 50, a New York City Transit driver, will be testing a double-decker bus for the next 30 days. (Photo: David Goldman for The New York Times)

2. The New York Times also has a story and two nice images of the bump outs on Broadway that add more space for walking and sitting, as two traffic lanes have been replaced by an urban island. See "Front-Row Seats on Broadway, if You Dare."

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times. Mala Ghisai, left, with her daughter, Sangeeva Van Elleswijk, 16, said that the nearby traffic enhanced their lunch on the Broadway esplanade on Monday.

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times. Strategically placed planters, weighing 600 to 1,000 pounds, help protect people on an esplanade from wayward traffic.