R. wrote: “NYCT buses have started to park right at the intersections along Church Street at Reade, Chambers and Thomas. This is very dangerous and completely blocks the view southward down Church Street for anyone using the crosswalk. Last evening there was a bus at almost every intersection.”

The MTA office replied quickly: “The buses on Church Street have difficulty using their assigned layover locations because they are being blocked by construction, parked cars, and vehicles using placards…This occurs on a daily basis.”

PLACARD PARKING! There you have it: one city agency being stymied by another agency whose members are using illegal placards.

It does seem that they could park further away from the corner, to keep sightlines open, but it is ridiculous that the illegal parking is so rampant that our own bus system cannot function properly.

(When R. wrote the MTA himself, he got a different answer: “Following your report, the Department of Buses-Road Operations investigated and found the buses that do park on Church St are from private bus companies such as ShortLine Hudson buses. Road Operations will continue to monitor the area to avoid future occurrences of this issue.” So that’s a whole other issue.)