Draft Design Report Bruckner-Hutch Environmental Assessment Mobility Improvement Project November 2020 Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation PIN X731.27 CHAPTER 2 - PROJECT CONTEXT: HISTORY, TRANSPORTATION PLANS, CONDITIONS AND NEEDS This chapter addresses the history and existing context of the Project site, including the existing conditions, deficiencies, and needs for the Interstate Route 95 (I-95) corridor between Wilkinson Avenue and the Hutchinson River Parkway. 2-1 Exhibit 2.1-1 Ramp Nomenclature 2-2 Draft Design Report Bruckner-Hutch Environmental Assessment Mobility Improvement Project November 2020 Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation PIN X731.27 2.1 Project History The Project Area consists of three highway or parkways: the Hutchinson River Parkway, Pelham Parkway (Bronx and Pelham Parkway)/Shore Road, and I-95 (Bruckner Expressway/New England Thruway). The Hutchinson River Parkway was designed in 1924 as an alternative to Boston Post Road (US 1), which had become congested with automobile and truck traffic. Designed as a parkway, the Hutchinson River Parkway provided a scenic alternative to automobiles traveling north from New York City into Westchester County and Connecticut. The full extent of the Hutchinson River Parkway was completed as a limited- access parkway in 1937 terminating at the New York-Connecticut border. By 1940, the Merritt Parkway (CT 15) was constructed in Connecticut, extending the Hutchinson River Parkway. Although truck traffic was not allowed on the Hutchinson River Parkway, automobile traffic grew rapidly, leading to numerous calls to reconstruct the parkway to accommodate higher volumes of traffic. The interchange of the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Bruckner Expressway, and the Hutchinson River Parkway south of the Project Area was reconstructed in 2002 to address the growth in traffic volumes at this key connection point. The Pelham Parkway is a landscaped boulevard extending from Bronx Park at the Bronx River Parkway to Pelham Bay Park at the I-95/Pelham Parkway Interchange, where Pelham Parkway becomes Shore Road. Pelham Parkway was completed in 1937 and designed as a limited-access parkway in the 1960s to limit commercial vehicle traffic using the parkway. Pelham Parkway and Shore Road provide access throughout Pelham Bay Park both on the west and east sides of the Hutchinson River. The New England Thruway section of I-95 extends north from the Pelham Parkway Interchange in the Bronx to the Connecticut border, where it becomes the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike. The New England Thruway was completed in 1958 to ease automobile congestion on the Hutchinson River Parkway and automobile and truck congestion on Boston Post Road (US 1). At that point, US 1 was the only highway capable of facilitating truck traffic between New York City and the rest of New England through Connecticut. The Bruckner Expressway extends for seven miles from the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Bridge to the Pelham Parkway Interchange where it becomes the New England Thruway. This section is designated as Interstate 278 (I-278) and becomes I-95 at the interchange of the Bruckner Expressway, Cross Bronx Expressway, and the Hutchinson River Parkway in the Bronx. The Bruckner Expressway was built alongside Bruckner Boulevard to accommodate the growing amount of traffic traveling from New York City through Westchester County and Connecticut. With the completion of the Bruckner Expressway in 1973, a continuous highway corridor was created from New York City through Westchester County and Connecticut. The history of the Project is described below: • An Initial Project Proposal (IPP) was approved in 2006 for this Project. The preliminary project objective as per the IPP was to implement a fourth lane on the northbound I-95 between Pelham Parkway and East Gun Hill Road • Preliminary Design was authorized in November 2008. • A Traffic Study was initiated in 2009 by the NYSDOT and completed in 2012 to identify the congestion issues within a broad Study Area around the Project Area. The Traffic Study was updated in 2020 to reflect current traffic data within the limits of this project. This study was titled Bruckner Expressway/New England Thruway Traffic Study (Appendix X4). The traffic study also identified the need to reconfigure the existing I-95/Pelham Parkway Interchange and construct an exit ramp from the Hutchinson River Parkway in the northbound direction to improve access 2-3 Draft Design Report Bruckner-Hutch Environmental Assessment Mobility Improvement Project November 2020 Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation PIN X731.27 between the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Co-op City neighborhood. The 2020 updates to the traffic study and appendices are the basis of this Project and are referred to throughout this document. • A Project Change Notification (PCN) was prepared and approved in September 2014 to modify the Project scope, cost and schedule to cover solutions identified in the 2012 Traffic Study. 2.2 Transportation Plans and Land Use See Section 4.2.1 Land Use for a detailed discussion of the land uses within the Study Area, which accounts for the areas within Co-op City, Baychester, Pelham Gardens, and Pelham Bay that could be affected due to changes in traffic patterns from the Project. The Study Area is consistent with the General Study Area defined in Section 1.2.2 General Study Area. The land uses in the Study Area consist of residential, commercial, industrial, recreational, and public facilities. The land uses adjacent to the Project’s highway segments are summarized below. • I-95 between Wilkinson Avenue and Pelham Parkway is a mix of residential, commercial and public facilities to the west, with open space and recreational area to the east. A pedestrian bridge (Bridge Identification Number (BIN) 1066620) over I-95 connects the Pelham Bay Park Station at the end of the MTA Subway 6-line along Westchester Avenue on the west side of I-95 to pedestrian paths in Pelham Bay Park. The Bronx Victory Memorial monument is approximately 1,375 feet northeast of the Pelham Bay Park Station via the pedestrian bridge and paved paths through Pelham Bay Park. The Westchester Avenue bridge (BIN 1066630) over I-95 provides an additional pedestrian connection between Pelham Bay to the west of I-95 and Pelham Bay Park to the east of I-95. Multiple shared-use paths crisscross the Study Area in the vicinity of I-95 and Pelham Parkway/Shore Road, which are part of a broader greenway network connecting neighborhoods to the west of I-95 to Pelham Bay Park and Co-op City. These shared-use paths are used for both recreation and transportation for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel between Co-op City and the neighborhoods and Pelham Bay Park MTA subway station west of I-95. A detailed discussion of Pelham Bay Park and the shared-use paths is provided in Section 4.4.12 Parks and Recreational Resources. • I-95 between the Pelham Parkway and overpass over the Amtrak railroad tracks, consists of open space and recreational area to the east and west. Shared-use paths within the interchange roadside area are located generally parallel with the northbound and southbound lanes of I-95 and eastbound and westbound lanes of Pelham Parkway/Shore Road. Separate pedestrian bridges, immediately east of I-95, carry shared-use paths over Pelham Parkway/Shore Road and Amtrak railroad tracks. The following are the pedestrian bridges carrying shared use paths: • BIN 5524040: Pedestrian bridge over Pelham Parkway/Shore Road • BIN 5524050: Pedestrian bridge over Amtrak railroad tracks • The Hutchinson River Parkway between I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway Bridge (BIN 2075859) is a mix of residential, commercial and public facilities to the west, open space and residential area to the east. There is a shared-use path (Hutchinson River Greenway) for pedestrians and bicyclists used for recreation and transportation throughout Co-op City and Pelham Bay Park. The shared-use path is located within the roadside area of the northbound exit from I-95 to northbound Hutchinson River Parkway connecting the pedestrian bridge over the Pelham Parkway/Shore Road (BIN 5524040) adjacent to northbound I-95 to the roadside area to the east of the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway (see Section 4.4.12 Parks and Recreational 2-4 Draft Design Report Bruckner-Hutch Environmental Assessment Mobility Improvement Project November 2020 Draft Section 4(f) Evaluation PIN X731.27 Resources for a discussion of shared-use paths). 2.2.1 Local Plans for the Project Area 2.2.1.1 Local Comprehensive Plans (“Master Plan”) Local comprehensive plans were reviewed for the Study Area and the City of New York. These include: • PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York • One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City (OneNYC) • New York State Complete Streets Report • NYC DOT Sustainable Streets • Bronx Pedestrian Safety Action Plan-Vision Zero • Hutchinson River Parkway Transportation Corridor Study • Plan 2045: Maintaining the Vision for a Sustainable Region See Section 4.2.1 Land Use for a discussion of local comprehensive plans. 2.2.1.2 Local Private Development Plans There are no approved developments planned within the Study Area that will impact traffic operations. 2.2.2 Transportation Corridor 2.2.2.1 Importance of the Project Route Segment 2.2.2.1.1 I-95 (Bruckner Expressway and New England Thruway) I-95 is an interstate highway and part of the National Highway System. It carries approximately 135,000 vehicles per day. I-95 is an important route that facilitates commerce, industry, and residents in the New York tri-state area. It also provides connection to many of the other major highways in New York City, namely I-87, I-278, I-295, I-678, I- 695, NY-895 and the Bronx River Parkway, allowing motorists from New York City and Long Island to travel north towards Connecticut.