The potential teardown of the lightly-trafficked Sheridan Expressway in the South Bronx is the most exciting street reclamation initiative in the works anywhere in NYC. For years, local advocates doggedly built the case for replacing the aging highway with housing, parks, and other uses. Recently we've seen some major breakthroughs that make the teardown an increasingly realistic scenario. Most notably, the U.S. Department of Transportation is funding a comprehensive study by the New York City Department of City Planning to determine what could take the Sheridan's place.
Tomorrow the city will be hosting its first public workshop for local residents to weigh in with their ideas about the future of the Sheridan and the surrounding neighborhoods. From Vincent Pellecchia at Mobilizing the Region:
This Saturday, October 15 from 9:30am to 2:00pm, the NYC Department of City Planning will host a public charrette at Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School - 1021 Jennings Street, Bronx, NY – 10460. Bronx residents and anyone interested in the future of the South Bronx should plan on attending.
A public charrette is essentially a workshop that allows citizens to get involved in the planning process by helping the City better understand the community and their visions of what the future of the community should look like.
The focus of the charrette will be to develop land use and transportation scenarios for the future of the Sheridan Expressway.
Basically, the City wants to hear from you. It wants to know what you think is the best way to use the Sheridan and surrounding land, and the best way for getting around the South Bronx more safely and efficiently.
