Petition aims to close TN Expressway entrance
BY ROBBIE SEQUEIRA
Locust Point residents are
petitioning city leaders to
urge transit offi cials to close
an entrance to the Throgs
Neck Bridge during peak
hours, citing unmanageable
congestion and traffi c for local
commuters.
Linda Palma, a Locust
Point resident who started an
online petition two weeks ago
and has received more than
325 signatures, as of press
time, said that it’s the responsibility
of the MTA’s Triborough
Bridge and Tunnel Authority
(TBTA) — the transit
authority that operates the
Throgs Neck Bridge — to alleviate
traffi c concerns that
they caused on the bridge by
reopening the Harding Avenue
entrance.
Palma said that traffi c issues
on the road, including
incidences of road rage, have
increased over the years
without involvement from
the TBTA or elected offi cials.
“The TBTA has opened
the fl ood gates,” Palma said
to the Bronx Times. “It is
their responsibility to honestly
assess this horrifi c situation
through the lives of the
people that live just a stone’s
throw from TBTA property;
its bridge, roadway and entrance
and exit ramps are
TBTA’s responsibility.”
Palma proposes a threeyear
closure of the Harding
Avenue entrance to alleviate
congestion from ongoing
bridge or permanent closure
of the entrance. The distance
from the Harding Avenue entrance
is approximately a
mile from the Throgs Neck
Bridge.
TBTA offi cials could not
be reached for comment as
of press time. In a statement,
Democratic state Assemblyman
Michael Benedetto,
whose legislative district includes
Locust Point, is also
pushing for the closure of the
Harding Avenue exit.
Benedetto’s spokesperson
Matthew McKay told the
Bronx Times that Con Edison
road repairs from Harding
Avenue to Lawton Avenue are
also creating one-lane congestion.
Benedetto was scheduled
to hold a press conference
at the Harding Avenue
entrance on July 29.
The Throgs Neck Bridge
is a six-lane bridge that connects
25%OFF
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 10 ULY 30-AUG. 5, 2021 BTR
the Throggs Neck section
of the Bronx to the Terrace
section of Queens and
averages roughly 5,000-6,000
vehicles daily during 3 p.m.
to 8 p.m. peak weekday hours,
according to the state’s transportation
stats.
Palma said that the volume
of cars and the added access
for vehicles through the
Harding Avenue entrance
has drivers trying to access
the exit road into Locust
Point “hostage” in standstill
traffi c.
“I am in agreement that
because the horrendous traffi
c is no longer specifi c to
peak hours or weekends that
permanent closure is Locust
Point’s best solution to the
fact that this ‘crossroad’ is
unfortunately built right on
the only access road,” she
said. “The Locust Point
neighborhood is at its wits’
end.”
The Harding Avenue entrance
is an onramp to the
Throgs Neck Expressway’s
toll plaza, which had been
closed on weekends since
2000 after concerns of vehicles
using a service road to
bypass tolls.
In 2010, Community Board
10 voted to reopen the Harding
Avenue entrance to the
Throgs Neck Expressway for
four hours during weekend
evenings hours in order to
aid the Marina del Rey catering
hall, which is located
on Marina Drive. The MTA
approved the decision on a
six-month trial basis, before
making the opening permanent.
But in August 2019, Community
Board 10 sent a letter
to the MTA requesting
that the entrance be closed
whenever the Queens-bound
roadway gets backed up. The
bridge backups were, according
to the board, caused by
daytime road closures, lane
shifts and the occasional
traffi c accident.
The letter said that GPS
navigation apps like Google
and Waze also create congestion,
as the turn-by-turn navigation
systems offer routes that
favor local streets to access the
Harding Avenue entrance in
light of the expressway roads.
“But for people who need
to get home to Locust Point,
we can’t continue to deal with
hour-long traffi c to go 100 feet
and being unable to access
our exits,” she said.
Lengthy traffi c backups during peak hours have become the norm along
Harding Avenue due to an access ramp in close proximity to the Throgs
Neck Bridge.
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