Construction To Alleviate 96th Street Traffic Woes

If you're in a car and you're in New York, chances are you're stuck in traffic.

If you're on West 96th Street, gridlock is almost a certainty.
But prompted by safety concerns from motorists, pedestrians, and public transportation riders, the Department of Transportation, in conjunction with Community Board 7, is trying to change that. The city is embarking on a series of construction projects that will attempt to regulate traffic patterns around 96th Street.

An extensive study begun last year by the consulting firm Sam Schwartz LLC examined the congestion on 96th Street and pinpointed a number of problem areas. Now, CB7 is working with Guy Margalith, a DOT official, to assess the study and how local residents and commuters will be affected.

"The DOT would like Community Board 7 to submit budget priorities for the 96th Street corridor to [the city] based on the Schwartz study," said Margalith, who is based in the Manhattan Borough Commissioner's office.

Once CB7 draws up priorities for renovations, Margalith said, the DOT will proceed with implementation according to community need.

According to the Schwartz study, three primary problems exist in the vicinity of West 96th Street. The first and most pressing problem concerns access to the West Side Highway from the 95th and 96th Street onramps, which for several years have posed problems for pedestrians wishing to enter Riverside Park as well as for motorists on Riverside Drive.

"The 95th/96th Street interchange of the Henry Hudson Parkway is an anachronism, presenting safety problems for vehicles and pedestrians and gross inefficiencies for traffic," the study reads.

"These effects multiply on surrounding local streets. We recommend a redesign of the interchange."

For several years, the issue of access from the onramps has been controversial. CB7 hopes to hold a public hearing headed by members of the board's committees to allow for maximum community input on the issue before formulating a concrete plan to alter traffic patterns one way or another.

Both DOT representatives and the Riverside Park Administrator have agreed that the city must implement a redesign plan in some form.

The second problem identified by the Schwartz study is that drivers at the intersection of Broadway and 96th Street do not have the option of making a left turn onto 96th Street from either side of Broadway between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. This restriction, while reducing congestion at that particular intersection, creates overflow on other streets in the immediate area.

At its January meeting, the transportation committee agreed that permitting left turns at the intersection would be a viable solution if appropriate changes to the traffic light could be implemented.
The final change proposed by the Schwartz study is the addition of Interborough Rapid Transit subway access on the north side of 96th Street.

CB7 has noted that a new apartment complex in the area will increase subway demand. According to the board's official budget priorities statement for the 2003 fiscal year, "the 300-apartment Symphony Space at Broadway and 94th Street will bring many new riders to this station."

While viewed by the community as a useful improvement, addition of subway access points on the north side of the street raises logistical problems stemming from the station's design and the presence of utility lines beneath the street. CB7 public member Steve Straus mentioned several major utilities that run directly underneath the proposed access areas and said that reconfiguration of these areas could pose major technical problems.

In addition to those three major problems, CB7 and the Schwartz company have several other transportation priorities.

At last month's meeting of the transportation committee, CB7 members emphasized the importance of installing signs on Broadway malls requesting motorists to wait for green signals before turning.

Their prioritizing of the issue came after the board had billed it as low-priority during budgeting.

Andrew Albert, the transportation committee's co-chair, addressed the issue with the budget committee co-chair, Helen Rosenthal.
"The request is being moved back up in the priorities," he said.

Alternate routes are also being considered for the crosstown bus that runs at 96th Street. The bus currently must make two consecutive turns but could avoid doing so either by using the ramps for the Henry Hudson Parkway to turn around or by extending service to Riverside Drive. The board is considering both options.

Other issues addressed by the Schwartz study include changes in traffic signaling on Amsterdam Avenue to relieve congestion at West 96th and 97th Streets and minor delays caused by the current configuration of bus routes, which the study suggests could be altered without any construction or changes in traffic-light timing.

Implementation of any measures recommended by the Schwartz study will be contingent on joint approval of plans by the DOT and CB7, or in the case of the subway, CB7 and the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

"The DOT is not likely to take action on its own, even for the relatively simple and inexpensive measures recommended in the Schwartz study," Margalith said, "but will proceed in response to the board's communication of priorities."