Morris Park Avenue is under consideration for a DOT Vision Zero road diet. File Photo
position.
“Each area is different,
Morris Park is not
downtown Brooklyn and it
shouldn’t be analyzed like
it is,” he continued.
The injunction that
D’Angelo and other community
members fought
to have authorized came
as result of a lawsuit from
Gjonaj, D’Angelo and small
business owners on Morris
Park Avenue to Mayor
de Blasio and high-ranking
members of the DOT, which
was fi led at the beginning
of the month, in sequence
with when the DOT planned
to re-do the roadway.
“This gives the mayor
and the city an opportunity
to re-visit the issue of Morris
Park Avenue,” Gjonaj
said.
“Now (paying attention)
to the long-given input of
the community and reaching
something we can all
agree on,” he continued.
If the road diet is imlemented,
the current fourlane
roadway will forfeit
one lane in each direction,
have dedicated turn bays
and bicycle lanes on the
bustling business corridor
from Newport Avenue on
the east to Adams Street on
the western side, while also
implementing a truck loading
zones between Colden
and Paulding avenues, according
to DOT.
Earlier details of the
plan had scrapped the addition
of bicycle lanes, but
they were later re-implemented.
“It is not a question of
safety to us. We live, here
our kids cross these streets,
so we are all for safety on
our roadways,” D’Angelo
said noting other, cost free
alternatives that he and
Gjonaj had proposed to the
city and DOT.
“We asked them to try
staggering the traffi c lights
so that cars cannot speed
down the road. They won’t
even try that, but will spend
money to redo what isn’t a
guaranteed improvement,”
$10.7M renovation completed
for W. 229th St. Step Street
standards.
Prior to its renovation,
the large fl ight of stairs
hadn’t been touched (aside
from pedestrian use) during
its 90-year existence.
It was in 2017 that the
dilapidated, crooked and
dangerous stairwell became
a repair priority by
elected offi cials Councilman
Fernando Cabrera
and Assemblyman Jeffery
Dinowitz.
“I fi rst brought these
particular step streets to
the NYC Department of
Transportation’s attention
because I was so appalled
at their terrible
condition,” Dinowitz said
at the time the repair was
announced. “I believe that
this newly rebuilt step
street will demonstrate
how much communities
can benefi t from well
maintained, well-lit pedestrian
routes,” he continued.
Fast forward to 2019,
he joined Cabrera, Bronx
DOT Commissioner Nivardo
Lopez, and NYC Department
of Design and
Construction members to
celebrate the escalation to
the neighborhood.
“Step streets are a common
feature of the west
Bronx landscape and add
a visual attractiveness to
the area,” Cabrera said,
noting that he attended
the groundbreaking in
2017, witnessing what bad
shape the steps were in.
“I’m very happy today
to see the reconstruction
of the West 229th Street
Step Street completed,
enhancing walkability,
access to public transit,
safety and restoring an
easy and familiar pedestrian
route,” the councilman
continued.
While the popular
route was out of commission
for almost two years,
most local residents had to
take a ten-minute detour
to Kingsbridge Terrace
from Heath Avenue.
DDC commissioner
Lorraine Grillo also made
note that the step street
serves as an important
connector for bus routes
as well as provides easy
access to P.S. 360 and the
Kingsbridge Community
Center, both of which are
on Kingsbridge Terrace.
Overall, the Bronx
boasts 64 step streets, the
most of any borough.
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Carlos uses the bike groove on the newly renovated West 229th Street Step Street. Photo by Edward Watkins
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