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MTA Metro-North Railroad Penn Station Access - The new station locations and track maps/diagrams

Posted by GojiMet86 on Thu May 20 22:31:10 2021

The Hunts Point station area has more challenges for station construction and operation than the other proposed station locations. The station would be near Hunts Point Avenue and south of the Bruckner Expressway within a cut, well below street level. This area of the right-of-way has five overhead road bridges, with abutments that constrain the width of the right-of-way and the position of the tracks below. Within the right-of-way, the Oak Point freight rail yard is near this location to the south of the proposed passenger tracks, further limiting the position of the platform. To fit a station platform in this area, along with the passenger tracks and the freight tracks, the platform would have to taper at either end. Hunts Point Avenue is the spine of the adjacent neighborhood, connecting the residential community on the peninsula to the commercial core of Southern Boulevard to the north. While other roadways connect here as well, Hunts Point Avenue has the advantage of connecting pedestrians to the No. 6 Line subway in Monsignor Raul Del Valle Square (an express stop station). To the east, the right of-way threads its way under the Bruckner Expressway and curves to the Bronx River Bridge. The ramping system of the Bruckner Expressway, Sheridan Expressway, and Bruckner Boulevard to the east of Faile Street creates a large barrier to the north for pedestrians, and would greatly diminish the value of a station if moved in that direction.

The proposed access to the below-grade station platform would be from the northwest corner of Hunts Point and Garrison Avenues (Figure 2-2). Passengers would use newly constructed stairwells and/or an ADA compliant elevator to reach the platform. While a former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad rail station still stands on the east side of Hunts Point Avenue, its condition is extremely poor and does not align with the proposed project track alignment. Further, a third party leases the station building as a small business incubator, which would not be able to accommodate station access in addition to business opportunities. While the constraints of the area are difficult, as mentioned the station is within two blocks of the No. 6 Line subway. The Hunts Point Peninsula—also home to the Fulton Fish Market—has taken on a larger role of handling food distribution within the city along with its associated jobs and commuting workers who could utilize the proposed station.

This station would be within the railroad right-of-way east of Unionport Road and north of Tremont Avenue East on the site of the former New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad station. The station would be adjacent to the Van Nest Substation (which powers the HGL) and the Con Edison facility to the north and the Parkchester Apartment Complex to the south.

As shown in Figure 2-3, the tracks heading west from this location rapidly change into a curve in order to fit the four tracks between the bridge abutments of White Plains and Unionport Roads above the tracks. The platform cannot be located farther west because of the track curvature and the limited space available under those roads. Access to the at-grade station would be from the north side of Tremont Avenue East, using the former railroad service building lot. Stairwells and an elevator would be constructed to provide passenger access between the platform and street level. MTACD and the New York City Department of Transportation have discussed potentially creating a connection from the station platform to the Unionport Bridge to better serve the Van Nest neighborhood farther north. Similarly, a private developer that owns a site adjacent to the station area has suggested a connection to the north side of the site. However, given the uncertainty of these plans, for the purposes of this EA, MTA analyzed the entrance developed as part of the 30 percent design (to be included in the design-build contract) as part of the Proposed Project. Any impacts from changes to the design would be assessed by MTA and the design-builder through a supplemental NEPA evaluation.

This station would be in the railroad right-of-way east of Eastchester Road and north of Basset Road in the Morris Park community, which is surrounded by multiple medical centers to the north (Jacobi, Montefiore, and Calvary Hospitals, and Yeshiva Medical School) and a burgeoning redevelopment site to the south (the former Bronx Psychiatric Center) (Figure 2-4). The overpass connecting to the station platform would provide an important connection between the distinct portions of the neighborhood (the medical campus and the redevelopment area). Two factors prevent the platform from moving farther west:

• The Eastchester Road bridge immediately to the west of this location comprises multiple bridge spans that the tracks have to follow, which limits the length of straight section where a platform could be located.

• Just past the bridge is the start of a large curve in the tracks.

In addition, the platform could not be located farther east because an active distribution center exists to the southeast, and no available corridor exists to create a linkage between the medical centers and the redevelopment area. Lastly, the tracks begin to curve just past the distribution center in order to slot between the large concrete piers that support Pelham Parkway overhead. As mentioned, access to the at-grade station would be from both sides of the right-of-way to serve the array of facilities on either side of the tracks. Morris Park Avenue is the best location for a connection over the right-of-way because of its central location leading into the heart of the community, which is flanked by the various medical facilities. Stairwells and elevators would be constructed to provide passenger access between the platform, overpass, and each end at street level. The north entrance would be next to the tracks near Morris Park Avenue. The south entrance would be across the street from the tracks, next to an existing 9/11 memorial. Although private owners of sites adjacent to the station have suggested a potentially larger station that would serve as a gateway between the two neighborhoods, given the uncertainty of these plans, for the purposes of this EA, MTA analyzed the layout developed as part of the 30 percent design (to be included in the design-build contract) as part of the Proposed Project. Any impacts from changes to the design would be assessed by MTA and the design builder through a supplemental NEPA evaluation.

The proposed station would be within the railroad right-of-way south of Erskine Place and west of DeReimer Avenue, in Section 5 of Co-op City see Figure 2-5). As the easternmost station, at the end of the new fourtrack section of the HGL, the station platform would be located sufficiently west to allow the four tracks to merge into two to then cross the existing Pelham Bay Bridge. The bridge is at the end of a curve, meaning the switches for merging the tracks cannot be directly adjacent to the bridge, but rather more inland. The station platform cannot be located next to those switches so that trains not stopping at the station could continue unimpeded. These technical requirements constrain the eastern limit of the station location. Further, the proposed station location was established to avoid precluding Amtrak’s future replacement of the Pelham Bay Bridge, which is expected to be higher than the existing bridge to minimize the number of required openings. (Figure 2-5 represents a potential new bridge.) The New England Thruway (I-95) overhead constrains the western limit of the station location, because the New England Thruway ramps and Hutchinson River Parkway effectively block access to the local street network in that area. To remain accessible, the platform must extend slightly eastward past the overhead New England Thruway bridge to be able to connect to the local street network on Erskine Place at DeReimer Avenue. Access at this location would be via a newly constructed overpass above the railroad right-of-way using stairwells and an elevator—the latter being required for ADA compliance. An expansion of the sidewalk network westward along the edge of the right-of-way and the Erskine Place Ramp to the New England Thruway could be developed and lead to an additional entrance to the west end of the platform. Layovers for New York City buses occur near the station, and this station would leverage those stops to serve the greater Co-op City community. Chapter 12, “Transportation” further discusses traffic circulation.