As plans develop to tear down the Bronx’s Sheridan Expressway, many residents and local politicians look forward to the possibility of a safer roadway, lower pollution rates and more riverfront access. In an article this week in the NYTimes, Patrick McGeehan describes some of the issues with the existing expressway:
“The Sheridan Expressway was Robert Moses at his worst,” said Mitchell Moss, director of the New York University’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.
Large trucks still use the expressway to get to and from the produce market at Hunts Point. But those trucks exit the Sheridan and rumble through local streets to reach the market.
David R. Shuffler, a community activist, lives on one of those streets and said he feared for the safety of his 1-year-old son. “I hear trucks barreling through my street every single night and all day long,” said Mr. Shuffler, who is the executive director of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice.
But Murphy Institute Adjunct Professor Elena Conte cautions about too much excitement for the plan while details remain hazy:
“It’s an encouraging start, and a lot of very important details need to be worked out,” Ms. Conte said.
“To the extent that the proposal the governor is investing in seeks to address the legacy of Robert Moses’ top-down planning, it is a visionary step forward,” Ms. Conte said. ”If Governor Cuomo wants credit for undoing the legacy of Robert Moses in the South Bronx, he will do that not just by making physical changes but also by listening to a community that Moses pointedly ignored.”
