Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Here’s the DOT Plan to Make the Bronx Side of the Madison Ave Bridge Less Terrifying

The project would add safer pedestrian crossings and a short stretch of bike lanes protected by flexible posts at the foot of the Madison Avenue Bridge in the Bronx. Image: DOT

A stretch of 138th Street linking the Bronx to Manhattan is in line for walking and biking improvements from DOT. The project would add bike lanes and safer pedestrian crossings to the blocks between the Madison Avenue Bridge and Third Avenue [PDF].

Currently 138th Street has painted bike lanes east of Third Avenue, but the segment approaching the bridge is a free-for-all of excess asphalt, with dangerous crossings and no bike lanes.

"If you’re coming down Grand Concourse and you’re going to turn onto 138th Street, nothing is identified there," said Transportation Alternatives Bronx committee co-chair Kevin Daloia. "There’s no identifiable crosswalks, no identifiable bike paths. It’s a very busy area. The intersections there are very wide.”

DOT has sketched out 40 potential projects to improve the often scary walking and biking connections to the 16 bridges connecting Manhattan and the Bronx, and this is one of them.

At the foot of the Madison Avenue Bridge, where traffic is most intense, the project calls for a short stretch of bike lanes protected by flexible posts, as well as more direct marked crosswalks leading to the bridge and painted expansions of sidewalks and pedestrian medians.

Between Walton Avenue and Third Avenue, the bike lanes would be unprotected, and pedestrian crossings would be improved with painted markings and three concrete islands. At the southern end of the Grand Concourse, DOT also proposed pedestrianizing a semi-circular driveway outside the Fince del Sur Farm.

The proposal would pedestrianize this semi-circular roadway outside the Fince del Sur urban farm. Image: DOT
This semi-circular driveway outside the Fince del Sur urban farm would be converted to pedestrian space. Image: DOT
The proposal would pedestrianize this semi-circular roadway outside the Fince del Sur urban farm. Image: DOT

A related improvement considered at DOT's Harlem River access workshops last year would add protected bike lanes to the Madison Avenue Bridge roadway. That would be a more resource-intensive capital project going through DOT's bridges division.

DOT said last spring that it would release the final Harlem River Bridge Access Plan in the fall, but the document has yet to materialize.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Beach Reading: Zohran Mamdani’s Answers to Streetsblog’s Mayoral Candidate Survey

Spend the holiday weekend with Zohran Mamdani's answers to Streetsblog's mayoral candidate questionnaire.

July 4, 2025

Friday Video: Why NYC Needs ‘Low-Traffic Neighborhoods’

London's Church Street, like so many of our business corridors, was choking on cars — until the advent of the low-traffic neighborhood.

July 4, 2025

Friday’s Headlines: E-Bikes in Parks … Permanently Edition

The Parks Department will permanently allow e-bikes in city parks following a two-year pilot. Plus more news.

July 4, 2025

Anti-Miracle On 34th Street: Adams Administration Pauses Work On 34th Street Busway

The highly-anticipated 34th Street busway may not happen under Mayor Adams after all, sources said.

July 3, 2025

Manhattan DA Says Alleged Central Park Hit-and-Run Cyclist Didn’t Flee, Drops Charges

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old cyclist "remained on the scene for about 45 minutes after the crash and waited for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured person."

Sean Duffy’s ‘Great America Road Trip’ Wants You to Drive to Central Park

Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" encourages Americans to drive to sites in the most transit-rich and car-choked parts of the country.

July 3, 2025
See all posts