Ritchie Torres Secures $12.3 Million for Bronx River Greenway Link
The project will fill in a missing link in the Bronx River Greenway between Starlight Park and Bronx River Park, while creating safer crossings at three complex intersections.
The city is set to move forward on a long-delayed project to build a key link in the Bronx River Greenway [PDF], thanks to $12.3 million secured by Council Member Ritchie Torres as part of a half-billion dollar plan to reconstruct West Farms' Lambert Houses.
The two-way bike path will run north from Starlight Park along the west side of East 177th Street, guiding cyclists across East Tremont Avenue via a mid-block crossing to Bronx Street, a car-free block that connects to the Lambert Houses and Bronx River Park, the next leg of the greenway.
Last year, 22 vehicle occupants and nine pedestrians were injured on the blocks surrounding the proposed greenway segment, according to DOT crash data. The project will simplify three complex intersections by eliminating excess vehicular lanes, shortening crossing distances, and adding sidewalk expansions and median islands.
Streetsblog first reported on the plan in June 2014, when the city presented its preliminary design to Bronx Community Board 6. That year, greenway advocates documented the sorry state of walking and biking access to Starlight Park:
Torres said he pushed for the project to get funded because he believes safe streets are "a matter of public health."
“What we need is not only more housing, but more infrastructure, and not only more infrastructure, but safer infrastructure," he said. "A poorly designed street is an insidious threat to the residents who live there."
Now that funding is secured, the design phase will wrap up this summer, DDC told Torres's Deputy Chief of Staff Raymond Rodriguez. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2017 and take three years.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Why Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Long COVID
Covid-19 transformed many U.S. cities' approach to sustainable transportation forever. But how did it transform the lives of sustainable transportation advocates who developed lasting symptoms from the disease?
Analysis: ‘Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program’ is a Failure By All Measures
The Department of Transportation wants the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program to simply expire in part because it did not dramatically improve safety among these worst-of-the-worst drivers and led to a tiny number of vehicle seizures.
School Bus Driver Kills Cyclist in Boro Park, 24th Bike Death of 2023
Luis Perez-Ramirez, 44, was biking south on Fort Hamilton Parkway just before 3:15 p.m. when he was struck a by school bus driver making a right turn.
‘Betrayal’: Adams Caves to Opposition, Abandons Bus Improvement Plan on Fordham Road
The capitulation on Fordham Road is the latest episode in which the mayor has delayed or watered down a transportation project in deference to powerful interests.
Friday’s Headlines: Yes He Said Yes He Will Yes Edition
That headline above is a reference to the last line of James Joyce's Ulysses, which we won't pretend to have read. But we have that ... and other news.
