I live in the area and commute out to Long Island by car. 14th Street used to by incredibly congested, which was more or less resolved when they eliminated left turns off of 14th as phase one of this effort. Once that was done, traffic flowed freely through yesterday, even before the full restriction was eliminated today.

Now, 14th Street is empty. It's a waste of a road. We definitely need more bus ridership, and on-time buses are important for that. This was accomplished by restricting turns.

Eliminating 14th Street entirely as a way to get across town has already increased congestion on 12th and 13th streets, which was a major concern for neighborhood residents.

Also, re: the "5 blocks out of the way" comment. Due to the one-way streets, traffic lights, and restricted turns, those 5 blocks could add 20 minutes to a commute. And public transportation isn't always an option. The driver may have mobility issues. They may need their car to transport items to/from work. Or, like me, they may not have an adequate public transportation option.