Friday, October 20, 2023

The DOT wants your feedback on the future of East River Park waterfront access

The following invite is via the Department of Transportation about a public meeting this coming Monday evening...
We are writing to invite you to join us at East Village/Lower East Side Waterfront Access Study's upcoming Community Workshop #3. The study is evaluating opportunities for improvements in the FDR Drive corridor from Montgomery to 14th Street considering mobility, circulation, safety, accessibility, open space, environment, resilience, and stormwater management. 
The workshop will be held at the Lower Eastside Girls Club, Baker Hall, 402 E. Eighth St. near Avenue D, on Monday, Oct. 23, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. 
At the meeting, you'll have the opportunity to share your feedback on improvement concepts for Montgomery St., Jackson St., Delancey St., Houston St., and E. Sixth St. along the FDR Drive corridor.
You can register for the workshop here

East River Park is currently being gutted as part of the $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) project, estimated to be completed by the end of 2026.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suggest planting 1,000 trees to absorb the rain water. And the birds and other members of the ecosystem that were displaced will be very happy to have their homes back.

John Riley said...

Bury the FDR!

Anonymous said...

This meeting is to discuss the new entrances into East River Park. Residents really need to attend this meeting. Otherwise bicycle activists will be the only ones advocating for bicycle-friendly entrances and removing parking spaces.

Anonymous said...

Imagine if bike riding residents will attend the meeting! 20% of area residents own cars and enjoy the free car parking spots at the expense of everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Bike riders think they are so special and so privileged. Yet the majority of them can’t be bothered to respect the rules of the road. If we had better enforcement, these bikes riders would be deservedly humbled.

evccnyc said...

In my experience most cyclists do respect the rules of the road.
I'm on the older more cautious side when crossing, especially on 1st - 3rd Aves, so I do the same thing I do with drivers when uncertain -- I make direct eye contact -- which is remarkably effective.
This is not to say there aren't honest hard-working folks who are directed by delivery apps to go against the flow of traffic. This REALLY needs to be changed.

Anonymous said...

Worst nightmare realized. The pedestrians foot bridges at 10th & 6th streets have been reimagined as long, slopping, winding bike lanes.

DOT just never learns from their mistakes.

Pedestrians can’t be squeezed onto the same narrow walkways with bikes & e-vehicles.

Both bridges have been widen by about 3” which is not enough to create separate bike & pedestrian paths.

The bridges aren’t so steep so folks will have to access them mid-block. In addition the wrap-arounds are gone which had previously slowed bikes — and even runners. The longer, sloping ramps will only encourage runners, bikes & evehicles to go faster. Pedestrians beware.

Anonymous said...

Informative meeting. Disappointed in the low attendance of the residents. Learned that the ESCR (budget $1.5+ billion) does not include a new entrance for the 6th St entry point. NYCDOT will replace the 6th St entrance at its discretion; there is no capital project money allocation in the works.

The outdoor gym area inside East River Park at the 6th Street entry point is not included in the new ESCR design. So better get your work out in before the outdoor gym is demolished.

The main concept was to narrow the FDR service road and side streets to only allow emergency vehicles (fire trucks/engines). (Remove parking spots and access for vehicles to drop off or pick up. Plant trees and grass; not widen the sidewalks. No area for people to congregate.)

The designers had not taken into consideration that immediate residents' living experiences (such as a housing development's sanitation pick up point) nor why park goers enter at at a certain entrance to access park amenities, i.e. residents hosting barbecues, sports teams. The proposed entrance ramps were unnecessarily long. We asked for the proposed entrance to be widened. And reallocate the money from closing off the FDR service road and side streets to build additional pedestrian-only bridges. Residents wanted a separate entrance from the ebikes, escooters, mopeds and motorcycles who will use the greenway as a thoroughfare. The designers were surprised that micro-vehicles would use the park to go downtown or uptown.

Anonymous said...

I’m confused. The neighbor below states that the 6th st bridge is not changing.
And what? I thought all the amenities were staying in a previous version. Sad the gym won’t be there! People do use it before/after track workout.

Anonymous said...

The 6th street bridge was dropped from the ESCR budget as well as a few access points to the park. They are now being added by DOT as a separate project and that's what this presentation was about.

Unfortunately the new 6th street footbridge is essentially a BIKE RAMP where pedestrians and e-vehicles will be forced onto the same narrow path. The previously proposed new 10th street (included in the ESCR budget) is essentially the same narrow, shared ramp

Anonymous said...

@2:57, give me a break. If someone doesn't have a car I'm sure they have friends or family that do, vehicles are important, unless you never carry anything, leave the city, etc. Stop with the extremist shit please.