The Cross-Bronx Expressway. Image Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office.
On September 24, 2024, the New York City Department of Transportation announced the next series of public workshops to discuss concepts for how to improve the Cross Bronx Expressway, including potential capping along certain portions of the highway. In late 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a $2 million grant to fund the study to reimagine the Cross Bronx to address disparate health outcomes for communities that were displaced or impacted by the creation and operation of the Cross Bronx Expressway.
The New York City Department of Transportation is working with the Department of City Planning, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the New York State Department of Transportation to continue the study. The most recent round of workshops were held this past June. This next round will introduce short-, mid- and long-term investment ideas for how to improve the Cross Bronx Expressway. Short- and mid-term concepts include accessibility enhancements, bike network connections, Open Streets, street safety, and other transit improvements. Long-term project ideas include highway capping (creating green space in certain places above the expressway), traffic management improvements, reconnecting the urban grid and preliminary ideas for the next steps after the study.
In-person workshops will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd and Saturday, October 26th. The October 23rd event will be held at MS 331, 40 W Tremont Avenue, from 6 to 8 pm. The October 26th event will be held at PS 106 The Parkchester School at 1514 Olmstead Avenue from 1 to 3 pm. A virtual workshop will be held on Monday, October 28th from 6 to 8 pm. To register, click here.
For further information about the project, click here.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez stated, “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the Cross Bronx Expressway and we are seizing the moment to right historic wrongs and improve the quality of life for Bronxites. These proposals represent more than a year’s worth of outreach, and reflect the ideas and concerns voiced by hundreds of residents who have attended prior workshops. Working with the community, we look forward to advancing concepts to cap the expressway, expand the public realm, and foster better connectivity as we build a better future for the corridor.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)