MTR 132, Highway Ramp Could be Bike/Ped Boon

Mobilizing the Region
Issue 132 June 27, 1997

Highway Ramp Could be Bike/Ped Boon

Manhattan residents and the New York AAA chapter are challenging NYS DOT designs for the 48th Street ramp project on the FDR Drive, calling the current alignment unsafe and a hindrance to East River Waterfront access. Closed for nearly a decade, the northbound FDR entrance is scheduled for reconstruction early next year. But the DOT's design violates current design standards and would severely hamper construction of the East River Esplanade, designed by the NYC Economic Development Corporation.

Manhattan Community Board #6 voted to urge DOT to change the design "to provide space adjacent to the waterfront for pedestrian/bicycle accessibility" and to assure the safety of the ramp. The Esplanade Plan would add a bike- and footway to a ramp that crosses the FDR. But DOT engineers intend to reconstruct the ramp as is -- descending into the median of the highway, with a left-lane entrance for cars.

In a letter to the NYC DOT, the Automobile Club of New York expressed concern about the left-side entry. The motorists group also called for the ramp to "incorporate, or at least lay the groundwork," for the bike/pedestrian esplanade. The Manhattan Borough President, City DOT and Dept. of City Planning criticized the the undermining of EDC's esplanade plan.

But EDC is missing from the debate. The agency paid a consultant top dollar to design the Esplanade and a compatible ramp but has failed to champion the project. The City should not let NYS DOT destroy plans for an East River Esplanade.