BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY October 27, 2019 6
Judge dismisses road diet suit; DOT quickly jumps to the task
The fate of the Morris Park Avenue
road diet legal challenge was
learned late Friday, October 18,
several hours before the start of a
beautiful fall weekend.
In a blow to the thriving business
community, a judge dismissed
the road diet action, noting that
the merchants were not aggrieved
enought.
On Monday, October 21 at 8 a.m.
NYC Department of Transportation
moved at breakspeed to restart
the re-marking of the roadway
for the new lane design. By
the end of Wednesday the street
was prepared for the new lines
from Adams Street to Bronxdale
Avenue.
Earlier efforts by DOT to intiate
the unpopular reduction of travel
lanes on the heavily-traffi cked
thoroughfare were thwarted at the
last moment by an temporary restraining
order in late spring, as
the road lines were being removed.
DOT had to restore the old markings
while the injunction continued.
The defendants have launched
an appeal but are not sure they
can delay the road diet’s progress
as the action moves through the
court.
John Parker, a City Islandbased
The busy Morris Park Avenue business corridor is under asault. File Photo
attorney, is representing the
merchants. The appeal is based on
errors of law and errors of fact.
In Judge Lucindo Suarez’ decision
he praised Bronx DOT
commissioner Nivardo Lopez for
reaching out to the Morris Park
merchants and obtaining their
support for the plan.
Parker has not been able to locate
the merchants Lopez allegedly
spoke to about the road diet.
They count on you,
Adams Street to Newport Place, a
distance of 1.7 miles.
Road diets are being implimented
throughout the city to slow
down traffi c in an effort to save
lives. Parker doesn’t agree that the
safety statistics support what the
city is doing.
Morris Park Avenue is the primary
access road for emergency
vehicles heading to Montefi ore’s
Einstein Hospital and NYC Health
and Hospital’s Jacobi Hospital and
the road diet may actually lead to
a slower emergency response time,
putting patients’ lives in danger.
The many ‘mom & pop’ stores
that line the avenue are already
struggling for survival. Between
e-commerce and the non-stop ticketing
of their customers by NYC
traffi c agents, the don’t need another
challenge.
Already the businesses are
wondering how will they get their
deliveries if the trucks have nowhere
to double park.
The Morris Park Association
and Community Board 11 have opposed
the plan since Day 1. They believe
that traffi c will spill onto the
residential side streets if traffi c becomes
bottlenecked on Morris Park
Avenue.
The side streets are not prepared
to handle the overfl ow traffi c
and the Morris Park community’s
young and old residents alike will
be in jeopardy by the increased
traffi c volume on their streets.
Councilman Mark Gjonaj has
supported the community in its efforts
to derail the city’s plan.
“I will continue to support the
community’s wishes. When they
proceed with an appeal, I will help
in any way I can,” Gjonaj said.
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TTY/TDD 800-662-1220
According to the city’s road diet
plan, Morris Park Avenue, which
currently has four travel lanes, two
in each direction, would have only
one thru-traffi c lane in each direction,
dedicated left-turn bays and
a bicycle lane on each side of the
street, under the plan. Some street
parking would be eliminated to accommodate
a loading zone.
The plan encompasses the
length of Morris Park Avene from
So count on us to
keep you going.
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