Dear Ms. Suditu,

Regional Plan Association (RPA) is a 103-year-old civic, non-profit organization, focused on supporting the health, equity, sustainability and prosperity of the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut region. Throughout our history, we have seen both the intended and unintended consequences of well-meaning plans, the generational impact of permanent infrastructure, and the imprint it leaves on public health.

RPA has a long history of advocating for direct and sustainable investments in the tri-state area’s transportation infrastructure. More often than not, the communities in our region that have been overburdened by this infrastructure are predominantly communities of color and or lower income. As one of these communities forced to endure the consequences of past decisions, the South Bronx has some of the highest rates of asthma in the United States due to its proximity to highways and concentration of other harmful land uses. This was an intentional result of Robert Moses-era transportation planning. In addition to being a neighborhood home to critical freight and mobility infrastructure, such as the Cross Bronx Expressway, the volume of traffic throughout this community also contributes to higher rates of traffic related pedestrian fatalities.

Therefore, RPA cannot support any projects that expand the capacity of major roadways or threaten to build more permanent, impermeable infrastructure in communities fighting for environmental justice. To this end, we cannot support the current proposal for the Cross Bronx Bridges Project in its entirety.

While we understand the urgent need for upgrade and replacement of bridges as a measure of NYSDOTs responsibility in maintaining a state of good repair, we cannot support Options 1A, 1B,1C or 1D as presented. These options call for the creation of a traffic diversion structure with the option of conversion to a multimodal community connector upon completion of the project. None of these options are realistic for the surrounding community– as they will impact decades of intentional investment and advocacy in reviving and protecting the Bronx River and leave behind large scale, impermeable structures that threaten to lessen the quality of life for local residents.

We urge NYSDOT to focus on Option 2. In the long term, this option mitigates disruption to the community by making necessary repairs without perpetuating the legacy of Robert Moses or imposing additional environmental harm to Bronx communities. While construction staging for Option 2 may likely call for an extended timeline and threaten to increase congestion on local streets, RPA is confident that more creative solutions to mitigating construction impacts can be developed by NYSDOT in partnership with other agencies and community stakeholders.
The Cross Bronx Expressway has long separated communities from each other, accessing green space and the Bronx River. Therefore, we cannot support outdated approaches as solutions to these challenges, with the breadth of information and technology available to transportation engineers, public health experts, and elected officials today.

Thank you.