LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Broadway is really good

Posted

To the editor:

(re: “Merchants give bus bulbs Bronx Cheer,” Oct. 11; “Broadway must be fixed … now,” Oct. 18)

I’m writing in response to The Riverdale Press story about concerns on bus bulbs on West 242nd Street, and to Laura and Rob Spalter’s letter criticizing the DOT’s changes to Broadway as a whole.

The feedback I’m getting from drivers, walkers and bikers is that the changes to Broadway are working extremely well. Traffic is slower and crosswalks are tremendously improved. The hard stop coming off the Henry Hudson Parkway is exactly what was needed to prevent speeding cars from mowing down walkers, runners and bikers.

Conditions are better for pedestrians and more hostile to speeding traffic.

As for lost parking spaces — there is no sane comparison of the loss of less than 5 percent of parking spaces in exchange for safer conditions for thousands of residents to walk, shop locally, and utilize Van Cortlandt Park.

I now make it a point to drive on Broadway on my way to the highway, and am impressed with the way it looks and works. And I did something recently that I never done before — walked my kids across Broadway to a lovely new park entrance at West 261st Street.

If there are problem locations that need adjustment, DOT should absolutely address those spots with the help of traffic safety data and engineering expertise.

But enough already with the ad-hoc and knee-jerk reactions to traffic safety.

Christopher Rizzo

Christopher Rizzo,

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