October 28: Spatial Equity NYC: A Look at the North Bronx
Last week, we launched Spatial Equity NYC, a project that maps and charts data on 15 different spatial equity indicators for all 51 New York City Council districts and all 59 Community Boards.
This week, we’re using this tool to focus on Council District 12 in the Bronx, a district that includes Wakefield, Eastchester, Williamsbridge, and Co-op City.
District 12 is bordered on three sides by high-speed roads — Bronx River Parkway to the west, Pelham Parkway to the south, and I-95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway cutting through the east side. Even with lower traffic volumes compared to the rest of the city, District 12 sits right at the citywide average for rates of traffic injuries with 207.3 per 10,000 residents, indicating even lower-speed roads throughout the district are not safe.
For example, Boston Road — which runs the length of District 12 — has seven lanes for cars on much of it. TA’s Bronx/Uptown Activist Committee developed a Safe Boston Road campaign because the roadway had 765 crashes, more than 1,000 injuries, and four fatalities over a four-year span.
But the dangerous conditions don’t show up only on Boston Road, or on its high-speed thoroughfares. As we look at other aspects of District 12 through the lens of spatial equity, we’ll show how car-centric urban planning has negatively impacted the lives of New Yorkers for generations, and what we can do change this.
EXPLORE SPATIAL EQUITY IN DISTRICT 12
THREE THINGS TO KNOW
1️⃣ Prioritizing cars costs transit riders. When an area like District 12 has multiple highways but zero dedicated bus lanes, it shows that the city is leaving transit riders behind. District 12 also has seven-and-a-half times fewer miles of protected bike lanes than the citywide average and ranks second-to-last citywide for available bike parking, even as 41 percent of households do not own cars and 52 percent walk, bike, or take public transit to work. Without access to better bus and bike infrastructure, it continues a pattern of putting cars ahead of people.
2️⃣ Pro-car infrastructure shapes the health and well-being of an area’s residents. Placing highways along the borders of District 12 makes parks more difficult to access. The area ranks second-to-last for park access, with only 57% of residents living within walking distance of a park — and to access parks in neighboring districts like Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park, you’d have to cross over or under a highway to get there. This lack of accessible green space has led to an asthma rate one-and-a-half times the city average — the eighth-highest of all districts.
3️⃣ In the news. Here are some recent stories on how more equitable streets have benefitted their neighborhoods:
The New York Times covers the effect of Open Streets on businesses and shows how car-free streets helped many restaurants survive the pandemic.
In Streetsblog, a story on the successes of the 34th Avenue Open Street in Queens, which has led to significantly fewer crashes, traffic injuries, and traffic fatalities over the last two years.
Construction on a new protected bike lane on Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay will fill a gap in the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, as Brooklyn Paper reports. The new lanes are another step forward toward a continuous route through Brooklyn, which will enable people to bike safely from Greenpoint to Jamaica Bay.
TWO THINGS TO DO
1️⃣ Sign our petition for a Safe Boston Road. Reversing the effects of spatial inequity can happen one street at a time. Support our effort to make Boston Road safer with shorter pedestrian crossings, protected bike lanes, and dedicated bus lanes.
2️⃣ Tell your council member to commit to ending spatial inequity. Call on your council member to publicly commit to converting car space into space for people. No matter which borough you live in, add your name today and help the city take a step toward positive change.
ONE ACTION TO TAKE NOW
Join TA’s Bronx/Uptown Activist Committee. If you’d like to get more involved in fighting spatial inequity, become a part of our Activist Committee for the Bronx and Uptown Manhattan and advocate for campaigns like Safe Boston Road and Complete the Concourse.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend,
Ted and the TA team