In what looks like a dramatic retreat to the period when highway engineering priorities were permitted to trump all other considerations, the New York City DOT is planning a new elevated highway structure in East Harlem stretching from 126^th to 131^st Streets, to connect the Harlem River Drive and Third Avenue Bridge.

In return for fostering an easier car commute into Manhattan, a policy the city should distance itself from in any case, the elevated road project will:

· Increase exposure to vehicle emissions for many residents living near the proposed ramp structure. This community suffers from one of the highest asthma rates in the nation.

· Visually blight the waterfront and create the sort of physical barrier between neighborhood and river that many cities seek to eliminate, in a community that needs more park space and environmental and quality of life improvements.

· Create shadow and noise impacts and reduce the width of Harlem River Park and surround Each One Teach One Park with imposing elevated road infrastructure.

· Divert $78 million in scarce city capital dollars and federal bridge repair funds that are badly needed elsewhere. More than half (55.5%) of the city’s 2,097 bridges (including highway overpasses) are in deficient condition, compared to a statewide average of 35.9%. Looking not just at the count of bridges, but at their size as well, almost 70% of NYC’s "bridge area" is rated deficient according to NY State standards. State records show that only eight of NYC’s 1,164 deficient bridges are now being replaced or rehabilitated (MTR #474).

Where more holistic urban planning has taken hold, cities such as Milwaukee, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Akron and Boston are removing elevated roads to reconnect neighborhoods and downtown districts to waterfronts.

In New York City in 2005, battles over blighting waterfront highway projects should be discussed by planning students assigned to read The Power Broker, not unleashed by city government.

MTR #500 portable document format (PDF) file version
(requires Adobe Acrobat).

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