City’s transportation department unveils revised Van Cortlandt Park South & Bailey Avenue intersection plan

The city’s department of transportation revised its plans for the intersection at Van Cortlandt Park South and Bailey Avenue after negative community feedback.

Courtesy New York City Department of Transportation

The city’s transportation department is back with new plans for the proposed project at the intersection of Van Cortlandt Park South and Bailey Avenue. 

At the Sept. 19 Community Board 8 traffic and transportation committee meeting, department representative Daniel Wagner, alongside transportation Bronx Borough Commissioner Anthony Perez,  presented the agency’s plan, this time with upgrades based on community feedback. 

When the plan was presented to the board in February, a number of concerns were raised for the transportation department to consider, including the proposed off-ramp angle changes, as well as the closure of the slip for cars traveling from Van Cortlandt Park South onto Bailey Avenue. 

Taking into consideration the complaints from CB8, the department of transportation opted to maintain the slip-lane access for travelers turning onto Bailey Avenue. 

In Wagner’s recent presentation, he brought data depicting the vehicle counts at the intersection in the morning and the evening. In the vehicle count for cars using the slip lane, the tally came to 315 in the morning and 205 in the evening, and vehicles traveling straight numbered 325 for the morning and 285 at night.

With the original plan to close the slip lane, an average of 565 vehicles would be traveling through the right lane attempting to go straight through the intersection and make right turns. 

The current plan begins the first phase of construction next month, with phase 1 including the building of the pedestrian island on Bailey Avenue between the two lanes for people walking the nearly 160-foot distance across the four lanes.

The continuation of the first phase includes building out the east sidewalk along the roadside with the on-ramp to the Major Deegan for pedestrians walking in and out of Van Cortland Park.

The plan also includes a continuation of the east sidewalk next to the off-ramp traveling deeper into the park, but the plan specifies this strip would be included if time permitted and is not a guarantee for this phase. 

The second phase of the project would handle the changing of the off-ramp angles for vehicles traveling off the highway and onto the roadways, but the design of the off-ramps is still under review by the state transportation department. 

Earlier this year, when the board presented questions and concerns to the agency, it scrutinized the proposed angles of the new off-ramps and the feasibility of large trucks, tractor-trailers and buses to be able to safely turn off of the highway without blocking other lanes of traffic. 

The remainder of the second phase includes upgrades for pedestrian crossing signals for all of the crosswalks at the intersection. 

With department data showing as many as 63 people crossing the off-ramps during peak hours each day, implementing a crosswalk for the safe travel of pedestrians was a necessity. 

Currently, the two off-ramps have yield signs rather than stop signs, allowing for cars to travel directly onto the roadways with little interference. 

At the September meeting, Wagner said, although that portion of the project is still under review, neither the city nor state department have concerns about the angles of the ramps causing problems. Wagner specified part of the state’s review is looking into the speed at which vehicles will need to be traveling to ensure a proper stop at the new signs. 

A later portion of the project will include a bike lane for those traveling in and out of the park. The design places the bike lane on the side of the roadway with the off-ramp and with a new stop sign for those coming off the highway. The plan attempts to lessen biker and vehicle conflict. The bike lane is also designed to connect riders to the Empire State Trail inside Van Cortlandt Park. 

This project has been a long time coming, with the transportation department reporting complaints dating back to 2016 from Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz asking for improvements to the intersection on behalf of his constituents. Then, in 2023, Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez put in a request for the installation of a pedestrian island. 

Wagner stressed the project must be completed by fall 2025 because the long-awaited daylighting of Tibbetts Brook is set to begin after that, and the two construction projects cannot intersect with one another.

In the early winter months of next year, the department will return to the community board with another presentation on the final design so the second phase of construction can begin in the spring and complete on time. 

The transportation department’s goals with the final project are improving pedestrian infrastructure, slowing and stopping vehicles coming on and off the Major Deegan, and reducing the conflict between bikers and travelers while providing them a more direct route to the park and the Empire State Trail.