Sheridan Expressway...Again

[The Ghostbuster]

Once the Expressway-to-Boulevard conversion to the Sheridan Expressway occurs, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to ban trucks from using the roadway. That might be a benefit for pedestrian safety.

[vdeane]

The residents of Hunts Point would LOVE that, seeing as they're opposed to the state's plan to make NY 895 a primary access to the market with direct ramps that go near (and, in one case, in) a couple rather new parks (they're also complaining about air quality, which is odd because the street the state's plan would put the trucks on goes through an otherwise industrial area, while the current route goes through a residential/commercial area).

[Duke87]

The thing is, trucks need to get from the market to the George Washington Bridge. I-/NY 895 is and will remain the most direct means of accomplishing this. Banning trucks from it would make them spend more time on local streets, spewing more pollution through The Bronx.

Meanwhile we've already committed to making pedestrian safety in the area worse by letting pedestrians cross the road at grade rather than forcing them to use an overpass.

[vdeane]

Meanwhile, the people upset with the trucks in the area have no problem with them taking a longer alternate route through even more residential areas... because the route is in a neighborhood that isn't their's.

[cl94]

Once the Expressway-to-Boulevard conversion to the Sheridan Expressway occurs, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to ban trucks from using the roadway. That might be a benefit for pedestrian safety.

Are you insane? Seriously? Hunts Point Market (at the south end of that thing) is the busiest food distribution center in the world. NY 895 has a ridiculously high truck percentage for that reason.

The thing is, trucks need to get from the market to the George Washington Bridge. I-/NY 895 is and will remain the most direct means of accomplishing this. Banning trucks from it would make them spend more time on local streets, spewing more pollution through The Bronx.

This. Trucks need to get to Hunts Point somehow. NY 895 is the fastest way for them to do that while impacting the fewest residential areas. The other option is closing Hunts Point. But if that happens, say goodbye to cheap fresh produce, meat, and seafood in the Northeast. Most of that comes in through Hunts Point and, yes, goes out to the rest of the region on trucks.

[froggie]

But if that happens, say goodbye to cheap fresh produce, meat, and seafood in the Northeast NYC area. Most of that comes in through Hunts Point and, yes, goes out to the rest of the region on trucks.

FTFY.  Most of Northern New England's is either local, comes down from Canada, or in the case of seafood comes over from the Coast (and NOT via NYC).

[The Ghostbuster]

Maybe I was insane to suggest banning trucks on the Sheridan. I merely suggested it because of the Sheridan's conversion to a boulevard. I would think that trucks are better off using the expressways than using a boulevard like the future Sheridan Boulevard to ship goods. I'm not an advocate of freeways-to-boulevards conversions, and I would have left the Sheridan as is, as I expect congestion at the future intersections to increase travel time. As for Hunts Point Market, surely Interstate 278 and Interstate 87 could still be used as truck routes for goods coming and going from the market.

[Mergingtraffic]

NYC is anti-truck as it is...they should make some roads friendlier for trucks as they did for I-278 in Queens with the lowering of the roadway and getting rid of "TRUCK" I-278.

[Alps]

But if that happens, say goodbye to cheap fresh produce, meat, and seafood in the Northeast NYC area. Most of that comes in through Hunts Point and, yes, goes out to the rest of the region on trucks.

FTFY.  Most of Northern New England's is either local, comes down from Canada, or in the case of seafood comes over from the Coast (and NOT via NYC).

Northern New England is not all of the northeast...

[cl94]

But if that happens, say goodbye to cheap fresh produce, meat, and seafood in the Northeast NYC area. Most of that comes in through Hunts Point and, yes, goes out to the rest of the region on trucks.

FTFY.  Most of Northern New England's is either local, comes down from Canada, or in the case of seafood comes over from the Coast (and NOT via NYC).

Northern New England is not all of the northeast...

I also have data that backs my assertion up. I regret that I cannot share numbers, as this is private data. Let's just say that a disturbing amount of this country's food comes through that place.

[seicer]

The Sheridan Expressway's de-freeway project is moving forward:

"Fed approval has been received to de-designate the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx as an interstate, paving the way for a $75 million project to convert the busy road into a boulevard. The project will reconnect residents to the waterfront, improve air quality, & enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists."

[The Ghostbuster]

So it's finally going to happen. R.I.P. Sheridan Expressway. By the way, I'd make the entire length of the boulevard three lanes in each direction, but is there sufficient right-of-way to make that a reality?

[seicer]

I'm not sure it would be needed with the auxiliary roads.

[silverback1065]

why do they want to do this again?

[froggie]

A ) the roadway needed reconstruction anyway so this was an opportunity to right-size the roadway to the traffic volume.  While a daily volume in the 30Ks may seem like a lot in most of the country, it's really not that much in NYC.  The freeway as it currently exists really is overbuilt.

B ) improve access to properties and parkland along the river from the neighborhood west of the Sheridan.

C ) improve vehicular access.  This may seem odd to those of you who are freeway-friendly given that they're "downgrading" the roadway, but the plans would actually improve access to the southbound Sheridan by allowing access from Edgewater (the east-side frontage road).  Conversely, traffic on Winchester would then be able to use Edgewater and "U-turn" onto the southbound Sheridan in order to access the inbound Bruckner.

[sparker]

why do they want to do this again?

A ) the roadway needed reconstruction anyway so this was an opportunity to right-size the roadway to the traffic volume.  While a daily volume in the 30Ks may seem like a lot in most of the country, it's really not that much in NYC.  The freeway as it currently exists really is overbuilt.
B ) improve access to properties and parkland along the river from the neighborhood west of the Sheridan.
C ) improve vehicular access.  This may seem odd to those of you who are freeway-friendly given that they're "downgrading" the roadway, but the plans would actually improve access to the southbound Sheridan by allowing access from Edgewater (the east-side frontage road).  Conversely, traffic on Winchester would then be able to use Edgewater and "U-turn" onto the southbound Sheridan in order to access the inbound Bruckner.

The truth of the matter is that the I-895 Sheridan "stub" shouldn't have been built in the first place; it was simply the southernmost section of the long-cancelled I-278 route paralleling Boston Road/US 1 up to I-95 south of Pelham -- and built simply to provide a connector from the rerouted 278 to SB I-95 and from NB I-95.  I-87, even with its convoluted interchange with I-95, fulfilled that function; all I-895 did was to dump more traffic onto I-95 in the middle of the Cross-Bronx segment -- which it certainly could have done without. 

Noticed that the 2019 McNally atlas omits the I-895 shield from the Sheridan, although still showing it as a full freeway complete with the Westchester Ave. interchange.  Maybe next years' edition will correct the situation. 

[Duke87]

"Fed approval has been received to de-designate the Sheridan Expressway in the Bronx as an interstate, paving the way for a $75 million project to convert the busy road into a boulevard. The project will reconnect residents to the waterfront, improve air quality, & enhance safety for pedestrians and bicyclists."

Where is this quote coming from? I am not finding it anywhere at the link you provided.

Said link does contain this guffaw-worthy morsel though:

The original proposal would have routed the Expressway through the Bronx Zoo, which faced significant community opposition. In response, only approximately one mile of the roadway was built and designated as a limited-access Expressway.

Which is a fun bit of revisionist history. While the alignment could have been subject to change, planning maps generally showed it following the subway tracks around the southeast side of Bronx Park, meaning little to no impact on the zoo.

The community opposition was from residents of Morris Park and Baychester, who were able to stop it from being built through their neighborhoods because they were middle class and therefore had some political influence. The poorer folks in the South Bronx were not able to stop their portion from being built because they lacked the connections.

I'm surprised the authors of that page missed this opportunity to harp on the imbalance of environmental justice.

[Roadrunner75]

The drivers in the southbound right turn lane are a bit flummoxed about how to weave around the planters without killing a pedestrian in order to complete the turn....

[Roadsguy]

The drivers in the southbound right turn lane are a bit flummoxed about how to weave around the planters without killing a pedestrian in order to complete the turn....

I'm not sure why it's not just solid curb across that connection (emergency access maybe?), but it seems the turning lanes approaching the light are for the apparent option lane split immediately south of it.

[Duke87]

I love how in the rendering you see a bunch of vehicles stopped at the red light and a bunch of pedestrians in the crosswalk but also vehicles in the roadway immediately downstream of the intersection.

That white car in the southbound center lane would had to have come pretty close to running over that orange-shirt pedestrian.

With northbound traffic too... there is no way you would have pedestrians that far into the crosswalk with four vehicles already stopped at the light in the left lane when the next vehicle in the left lane is only just past the intersection.

[vdeane]

The drivers in the southbound right turn lane are a bit flummoxed about how to weave around the planters without killing a pedestrian in order to complete the turn....

I'm not sure why it's not just solid curb across that connection (emergency access maybe?), but it seems the turning lanes approaching the light are for the apparent option lane split immediately south of it.

It's for the service road.  Turns will be allowed from the service roads on each side, but not from NY 895 itself.

[Roadsguy]

The drivers in the southbound right turn lane are a bit flummoxed about how to weave around the planters without killing a pedestrian in order to complete the turn....

I'm not sure why it's not just solid curb across that connection (emergency access maybe?), but it seems the turning lanes approaching the light are for the apparent option lane split immediately south of it.

It's for the service road.  Turns will be allowed from the service roads on each side, but not from NY 895 itself.

Oh, so you can turn left from Edgewater Road to Jennings Street? Or can you get from Jennings Street to NY 895?

[vdeane]

Edgewater to Jennings is depicted on the map... Jennings to NY 895 is a more interesting question.

[D-Dey65]

God DAMN this whole process!

Look at what one idiot is saying here;

acerttr250 - a year ago
Whatever it takes to push cars into minority areas.....

Oh, right. Like minorities don't have cars.

New York City and New York State has become so anti-car that they've neglected the need to maintain Southern Boulevard in the Bronx! The paved over cowpath I used to live on when I lived on Long Island was in better condition than this!

Then you've got this bozo here:

Vooch
deck the highways ?
disagree. I'll argue nearly all urban highways in the US should be removed and the pre-existing street grid restored.
These atrocities should have never been built and the best solution is removal & restoration.

So typical of the "New Urbanism" collective delusions.

    

[seicer]

Wow. You could have made your points without insulting others - including people who support this project, such as myself.