Plans for the bus bulb at Westchester and St. Peter’s Courtesy of NYC DOT
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR JULY 31-AUGUST 6, 2020 3
BY JASON COHEN
At the request of Community
Board 10, a special
meeting was held Wednesday
night, where the Department
of Transportation
(DOT) presented its plans to
construct road diets and bus
bulbs in Throggs Neck.
Residents and the board
were angry and the majority
opposed these plans; however
it did not matter, as the
DOT said it is going ahead
with the work in a few weeks.
The proposals come after a
man was injured in 2019 at
East Tremont and Milton
Avenues and a woman was
killed in 2018 on East Tremont
Avenue.
The ones that were in favor
read a statement thanking
the DOT and the board
thanking them for addressing
the concerns on East
Tremont Ave.
Bronx Borough DOT Commissioner
Nivardo Lopez listened
to their concerns but
stressed that the agency
would be going forward with
the projects. He said that
these features are used in
other locations and usually
benefit the community.
“This is not controversial,”
Lopez said. “Road diets
are okay. We have data that
shows this was needed.”
Bus Bulb
Currently, the bus stops
under the EL at Westchester
Avenue and St. Peters Avenue.
Bus bulbs, according
to DOT, will help passengers
safely board the bus
under the subway tracks at
Westchester Avenue. The issue
with bus stops under the
EL is that the stop is located
in the roadway, creating vehicle
and bus rider conflicts,
accessibility issues for bus
riders and poor accessibility
to the sidewalk.
According to DOT, the
bus bulb will address unsafe
waiting conditions, allow for
level boarding for those with
mobility impairments, will
provide painted protected
pedestrian space and better
organizes traffic and creates
more predictability for vehicles,
pedestrians and transit
riders.
Board members Hannah
Acampora and Irene Guanill
objected to the bus bulb.
Acampora said with numerous
businesses, cabs and
nearby apartment buildings,
losing 10 parking spots is not
ideal.
“Were there any conversations
about changing the
laws, for example no passing
buses in motion on the
right?” Guanill said. “If so,
would that be a less expensive
option and resolve the
same problem?”
Lopez said that he understood
no one wanted to lose
parking spots, but safety
must come first.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj,
who did not seem pleased
with DOT, asked if there
was a way the bus could
go around the columns or
maybe move the bus stop. He
felt that the plan would not
benefit the community.
“That bottleneck will create
traffic for the buses,”
Gjonaj said. “Will DOT contact
MTA for the option to
change the bus stop location
to avoid this major road
change and report back to
the CB?”
Road Diets
At the same meeting,
DOT also discussed their
impending plans to implement
road diets on multiple
streets in Throggs Neck.
The agency plans to put bike
lanes and road diets on East
Tremont Avenue from Cross
Bronx Expressway to Harding
Avenue and on Harding
Avenue from Emerson Avenue
to Pennyfield Avenue.
The plan is to remove the
low-volume travel lane, add
a flush center median to organize
traffic and reduce
speeding, install left turn
bays to organize traffic and
create safer left turns and
add a bicycle lane in each direction.
DOT said that this will
create narrower roadways to
discourage speeding, make
fewer lanes for pedestrians
to cross, create turn bays to
provide safer left turns and
overall improves safety for
all road users.
Not a single person at the
meeting felt that the road diets
are necessary. Acampora
and board members Angela
Torres and Maria Caruso
said that instead, they want
better lighting and speed
cameras in these areas.
“For Harding Avenue,
have you considered increasing
the number of light posts
and placing speed cameras
on that street, in lieu of a
road diet?” Torres said. “An
improvement in lighting and
the addition of speed cameras
may have the same results.”
Lopez said that a survey
for lighting can be done.
Board member Andrew
Chirico expressed his discontent
with the plan. He said
this type of road diet won’t
work and will impact double
parking and deliveries.
He questioned why the city
couldn’t have angle parking
on one side of the street.
“Both road diets will
make these major neighborhood
street into one lane
in each direction will only
cause more traffic and more
congestion on the Avenues
but also on the surrounding
blocks, it will not solve anything,”
Chirico said. “Traffic
needs to flow. This will
only cause more trouble for
ambulances and fire trucks
and police vehicles stopping
them from responding to
emergencies. People walking
have to learn to look before
crossing and wait for
the traffic lights to change
put down the cell phones and
other distractions. Making
an obstacle course of these
two main thoroughfares is
not the way to go. Adding
lines and other restrictions
will only bring new dangers
to the area. This has been
tried in other places. It does
not work and it will not work
here.”
One resident didn’t understand
why the meeting
was being held if these plans
were happening anyway.
“This conversation is
very frustrating,” the resident
said. “It seems that
you have already scheduled
this project for late summer.
Why can’t you work with
the community? We would
rather see other traffic calming
like ticketing and cameras
which have proven to be
effective. And yes funding is
an issue! It is our money you
are spending.”
Councilman Gjonaj was
quite angry about the project
and felt DOT was there just
for show. He read off a list of
concerns people emailed him
prior to the meeting.
“Why is this a priority for
East Tremont,” he said. “Why
during COVID-19? What is
the emergency that requires
East Tremont and Harding
Ave. and this road diet?”
CB 10 says ‘No’ to DOT PLANS
Plans for the proposed road diet. Courtesy of NYC DOT
Issues with the current bus stop Courtesy of NYC DOT