Harlem River Greenway Implementation Plan

Image Courtesy of NYCDOT

Completes Portion of the Greenway Project With Redesign of Bailey Avenue in the Bronx

NYC DOT Harlem River Greenway Implementation Plan Outlines Long-Term Construction Strategy for Seven-Mile Greenway Between Van Cortlandt Park and Randall’s Island Park

The Bailey Avenue Project Improves Traffic Safety on a Street That Has Experienced Two Traffic Deaths and 18 Serious Injuries Since 2020

The release of the Harlem River Greenway Implementation Plan for the Bronx, and the completion of a street safety project on Bailey Avenue, an important segment of the larger greenway project was announced today. The Harlem River Greenway will run between Van Cortlandt Park and Randall’s Island Park, and the implementation plan outlines the long-term construction strategy for the seven-mile project. The completed redesign of Bailey Avenue, from Van Cortlandt Park South to West 225 Street, delivers 1.8 lane miles of two-way, parking protected bike lane, new pedestrian islands, bus boarding islands, and other intersection upgrades to improve safety on a street that has experienced two traffic deaths and 18 serious injuries since 2020. The project is one of several greenway segments recently completed or under construction.

The Bailey Avenue project is a ‘road diet,’ a type of redesign that right-sizes streets to provide room for things like safer pedestrian spaces and crosswalks, bike lanes, bus lanes, and parking. These projects help reduce speeding, cut down on crashes, and make streets work better for everyone. These projects have shown to reduce total traffic deaths and serious injuries by 30 percent, and pedestrian deaths and serious injuries by 32.7 percent. The Bailey Avenue North project responds to community requests to address dangerous speeding and cyclist safety on the corridor, enhancing safety on a truck route with 18 serious injuries and two fatalities between 2020 and 2024. The agency plans to return to the neighborhood next year to complete a southern phase of the project, which will extend the redesign from West 225 Street down to West Fordham Road.

The project is one of many that will ultimately form the Harlem River Greenway in the Bronx, and was informed by hundreds of community members who attended three rounds of community workshops or responded at NYC DOT tabling at over 30 community events. The implementation plan released Friday summarizes the outreach conducted to date and lays out a roadmap for how to turn the community-based vision from concepts to projects, with phases for short-term and long-term greenway construction.

NYC DOT last year also began a similar planning process in Queens to develop a Queens Waterfront Greenway, with intention to being building out that corridor using in-house resources in 2026.