NYPD Increases Bus Lane Enforcement on 34th Street After Fatal Accident

The NYPD is stepping up enforcement on West 34th street after a tragic incident near Penn Station on Seventh Ave Sept. 28 after a fifty-year-old bike delivery woman died after she was struck by a dump truck.

Days after the crash, there seemed to be heavier than norman police presence directing traffic on one of the busiest cross streets in Manhattan. Police had set up signs near the accident scene to alert drivers that the dedicated bus lane laws were being strictly enforced.

But drivers were having a hard time a deciphering glitch-plagued electronic sign that was visible when Chelsea News stopped by several days after the accident to inspect the scene. The sign was supposed to read “Bus Lane Strictly Enforced.” But seven letters in the sign were missing and two other letters were only partially illuminated. Drivers would have to be able to be skilled at deciphering code to figure out what exactly the NYPD was enforcing. But the NYPD did appear to be stepping up the presence of police in the area.

When Straus News returned Oct. 2, the sign warning “Bus Lane Strictly Enforced” seemed to be fixed.

The stepped up enforcement is the latest move by the city to try to make the congested and problem-plagued street safer.

At one point early last year, Mayor Zohran Mamdani with support from most Manhattan elected officials, had unveiled plans to turn 34th Street between Third and Ninth Avenues into a “busway only” route banning passenger cars. That ambitious plan to help speed up bus traffic was opposed by the Trump Administration and the Federal Highway Commission and the city halted its plan in October 2025.

Currently, the road has dedicated busway lanes in both directions but no dedicated bike lanes.

The investigation into the fatal accident determined that the woman and man were going in the same direction on West 34th St. when the collision happened around 10:51 a.m. on Sept. 28.

Police said the driver initially fled the scene.

The Joco bike that the woman was riding is from a company that rents bikes by the day or hours to delivery workers bikes around the city. The Joco bikes, with its distinctive orange and tan markings, gets returned to Joco at the end of the day.

There are no arrests at the time and the identity of the deceased woman has not yet been made public pending family notification.

Salah Edine, the manager at Moka & Co. a Yemeni coffee cafe at 142 W. 34th St. near at the scene of the crash, told Chelsea News, he was upstairs working when he heard loud commotion on the street the day of the accident. When he came downstairs he quickly realized the entire block had been turned into a full crime scene.

While the police investigation was underway, the MTA suspended the bus routes on 34th St. Edne said the coffee shop was closed “for five hours and were told by police that no additional customers were allowed to come in.”

He said the coffee shop “lost significant business” while the investigation was underway,

Edine said that he was very sad to later learn the delivery worker had died.

A manager at a clothing store on West 34th street near the accident scene said he was “very sad to hear about the incident.” On the day of the crash, police asked customers to leave from the back exit of the store and new customers were also blocked from entering for several hours.

Joco Bikes in a statement said the victim had “been a delivery rider for several years, and we were fortunate to have known her. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones,” according to CBS News,

There were about 3-5 police officers directing traffic and ensuring that the area remains safe for pedestrians and bike riders in one of the most busy areas in Manhattan.