A new vision for North Broadway

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Kudos to Councilman Andrew Cohen for organizing a unique opportunity for residents to work directly with Department of Transportation planners to determine conditions along one of the community’s most vital arteries — Broadway north of West 242nd Street.

The event, which took place in November, brought together DOT representatives, state and local legislators, members of Community Board 8, community leaders like Gary Wartels of the North Riverdale Merchants Association and, most importantly, residents and small business owners who have a direct stake in the future of the thoroughfare. All told, more than 100 people filled the New Space at Riverdale Neighborhood House.

The DOT presented analyses of vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns, safety records and parking from a detailed study done by its planners before placing long, narrow maps on a series of tables where randomly arranged groups used colored markers to point out problem areas and suggested solutions.

Representatives from each table presented their own findings as DOT personnel jotted down notes. Productive suggestions included rearranging the exit ramp pattern at the Henry Hudson Parkway to protect pedestrians from oncoming cars, providing more frequent crosswalks and dealing with double- and triple-parked buses along Van Cortlandt Park on game and race days.

No solution was offered for a significant problem on the street: the northbound bottleneck where buses coagulate next to the park comfort station, waiting for commuters streaming down the steps from the No. 1 line terminus. But clearly, some participants at the meeting were thinking about ways to improve the “end of the line.”

North Broadway, Andrew Cohen, Department of Transportation
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