Saturday, November 12, 2016

Bye, bye Bayside pedestrian bridge


From the Times Ledger:

Representatives from the Queens DOT commissioner’s office announced at Community Board 11’s meeting Monday night that the 216th Street pedestrian bridge in Bayside will be dismantled with no plans for a replacement. The decision comes after the concrete foundations underneath the two sides supporting the structure was found to be in decline in 2006.

The rickety structure of twisting, rusted steel and cracked concrete connects the north and south ends of Bayside, cut in half by the LIRR’s Port Washington Line.

Transportation Planner from DOT Richard Gippetti said plans for a new, ADA-accessible overpass were shot down by the community board on the basis that the winding ramp for wheelchair-bound users did not fit the aesthetic desired. DOT said the bridge’s deterioration has reached the level where it must be demolished as a public safety measure which cannot be avoided with repairs.

Gipetti told the crowd assembled in the MS 158 auditorium that because the handicap-accessible bridge was not approved by the community, no bridge at all will be permitted to take its place.

The pedestrian bridge is expected to be closed as early as the end of November, Giapetti said.


Can't speak on behalf of Bayside, but there really isn't all that much at the end of either end of that bridge. So what if the bridge is ugly? You need to cross the tracks...

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bell Blvd is just 4 blocks away so they can just walk there.

Kevin Walsh said...

The pedestrian crossover at Little Neck has been gone since the summer (after the steps were replaced a year ago), and who knows when that will be rebuilt.

Anonymous said...

"You need to cross the tracks"
No Riff Raff, kids and whores from the hotel and points south use that bridge.
The neighborhood is changing rapidly.

To make things worse the MTA refuses to maintain its property's, In Little Neck brat kids hang out drink and do drugs all summer long. They sit on the steps with beer and and get into fights with passengers. It out of city police jurisdiction and the MTA only has 2 cops for the whole Port Washington line.

Anonymous said...

4 blocks from Bell and 4 blocks back ferom bell that is a considerable distance.

If the Bridge in Little Neck is located in NYC the NYPD still can should enforce whatever Quality of Life laws the lunatic City Administration and lunatic City Council have left on the books.

If the Dot, LIRR & MTA had properly maintained this bridge it would not have to be torn down.

JQ LLC said...

That bridge could use some vibrancy. Let's make it a park like the highline.

Anonymous said...

It out of city police jurisdiction and the MTA only has 2 cops for the whole Port Washington line.
Thanks for the tip =)

Anonymous said...

Its 2 either cops or 2 cars for that line.
I forgot exactly what the conductor said but do remember him saying the MTA was bunch of thugs who don't give a shit about riders from the suburbs. Especially the Port Washington line.

Anonymous said...

Once again, the ADA makes the perfect the enemy of the good.

Congress needs to amend it already.