by Joel Meyer
Three mighty expressways form a triangle that points due east in the South Bronx. The Major Deegan forms the north-south base of the triangle, while the Cross Bronx and the Bruckner slope towards each other, forming an arrowhead point. The lonely Sheridan Expressway darts across this point for just over a mile, providing a redundant link that is better served by the nearby Bronx River Parkway. The Sheridan was supposed to cut through Bronx Park to connect with the New England Thruway, but opposition blocked the project in 1962. Since then, the Sheridan has been used by trucks bound for meat and produce markets in the Hunts Point Peninsula. Resa Dimino of the Bronx River Alliance says truckers prefer the Sheridan because of tricky merge from the George Washington Bridge onto the Major Deegan.
TAPE DIMINO (:13): SO BECAUSE IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO MANUEVER THAT, THEY TAKE THE SHERIDAN INSTEAD. SO IT'S A LOGICAL QUESTION TO SAY WELL WHY DON'T WE FIX THE ROADWAY INSTEAD OF HAVING TWO ROADWAYS?
The state Department of Transportation is studying the congested and accident-prone interchange where the Sheridan and the Bruckner meet. Community groups involved with the study want the Sheridan eliminated, or de-mapped. Kate Van Tassel works at Sustainable South Bronx. She says the Sheridan could be developed into much-needed riverfront parks, bicycle paths, and affordable housing.
TAPE VAN TASSEL (:13): IT WOULD JUST BE A GREAT THING FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD. PEOPLE TALK A LOT OF THE TIME ABOUT ROBERT MOSES AND HOW HE SPLIT UP NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES. AND IT'S DEFINITELY TRUE. YOU CAN SEE IT. THE SHERIDAN IS ONE OF THOSE EXAMPLES OF HOW IT DIVIDES COMMUNITIES KIND OF FROM ONE ANOTHER.
But the future of the South Bronx is mortgaged on the major commercial area in Hunts Point. The wholesale meat and produce markets there are some of the largest in the world. It's also the future home of the soon-to-be relocated Fulton Fish Market. Josephine Infante of the Hunts Point Economic Development Corporation says the Sheridan is vital to the 15,000 vehicles that travel through Hunts Point every day.
TAPE INFANTE (:15): THERE IS A DIRECT LINE TO THE CROSS BRONX, THEN TO THE SHERIDAN, AND THEN ACROSS TO THE MARKETS OR TO THE INDUSTRIAL PARK. THAT'S THE BEST SCENARIO. IF YOU CLOSE IT DOWN, THEY'LL USE THE STREETS.
Infante favors a D-O-T proposal to extend the Sheridan into Hunts Point along Edgewater Road, which runs along the Bronx River. The proposal would improve truck access, but the plan would complicate community plans for a greenway and bicycle path. Infante says parks must justify their use, something Hunts Point truckers did a long time ago.
TAPE INFANTE (:14): FOR ME THE MORE ENTRANCES AND EXITS TO THE INDUSTRIAL PARK, THE BETTER. IN AND OUT, IN AND OUT. MOST OF THE TRUCKS DON'T WANT TO BE THERE, THEY DON'T WANT TO BE LATE. THEY HAVE A DELIVERY TO MAKE AND THEY WANT TO PICK UP SOMETHING AND THEY WANT TO GET RIGHT OUT.
The D-O-T study and construction is expected to last ten years or more. Along with Josephine Infante, Resa Dimino of Bronx River Alliance is part of a group the D-O-T has solicited for input on the long list of alternatives for the Sheridan-Bruckner interchange.
TAPE DIMINO (:10): NOW IS WHEN KIND OF THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD ON THE STAKEHOLDER COMMITTEE BECAUSE WE NOW HAVE TO SEE IF WE CAN NARROW DOWN ALL OF THESE OPTIONS TO A COUPLE.
The community group has no formal decisionmaking power. Ultimately, the DOT may opt to de-map the Sheridan, or it may opt to develop it further. For those with a stake in the future of the South Bronx, the only unacceptable alternative is doing nothing at all. For Columbia Radio News, I'm Joel Meyer.
###