| Community action played an important role in the development of several grade separations. The BPC respectfully listened to citizens who wished to speak at its meetings and pledged to consider their concerns. In 1922, citizens in the Yonkers’ neighborhood of Crestwood approached the BPC and urged it to consider building a grade separation at Thompson Street. They pointed out the dangers of an at-grade crossing, especially for area children. Village of Tuckahoe trustees also supported the bridge, since they wanted residents living east of the Crestwood Station to be able to reach the parkway safely and easily. The trustees urged the BPC to consider both issues at once: the construction of a grade-separation structure and the provision of access to the parkway. Downer presented the BPC with a preliminary plan showing how the grade separation could be built by raising the grade of Thompson Street and lowering the grade of the parkway drive. He estimated that a bridge with a 24'-wide roadway and two 6'-wide sidewalks would cost $40,000.(226) The BPC considered the matter of the Thompson Street grade separation several months after the initial request. Downer reported that Yonkers was offering to pay part of the cost of the structure but had asked that the BPC assume the expense of grading and excavation. He estimated that approximately 10,000 additional cubic yards of fill would be necessary for the project. The BPC approved this agreement and offered to contribute $10,000 towards the cost of the bridge. This contribution reflected the embankment’s cost, $8,000, and the excavation of a cut through Thompson Street, which was estimated at $2,000. The next month the BPC executed a contract with Yonkers to build the bridge. In late 1922, the BPC approved Stoughton’s plans for the structure.(227) In connection with the Thompson Street undercrossing, the city of Yonkers reconstructed its bridge over the Bronx River. The Yonkers engineer asked the BPC to review his plans so that the reconstructed bridge would harmonize with the new bridge and other parkway structures in the area. He wanted the BPC to furnish plans, supervise construction, and pay for any changes that might be required to meet the commission’s standards. The BPC hired Stoughton for the project and asked its engineer to estimate how much changes to Yonkers’ plans would cost. Stoughton’s plans for the reconstructed Thompson Street Bridge over the Bronx River were approved the following month. His "slight changes" to the Yonkers’ plan called for rebuilding a small portion of the easterly wing walls and changing the stairs on the bridge. This would add only $500 to the cost of the bridge.(228) This type of cooperation with adjacent communities for bridges and structures adjacent to or within the parkway was common throughout the parkway’s construction. When Yonkers planned to build a new bridge over the Bronx River near Crestwood Lake in 1921, the city consulted the BPC for suggestions on "proper architecture" in the early stages of planning.(229) Concurrent with the Crestwood Improvement Association’s request for a grade separation, residents of Yonkers’ Colonial Heights neighborhood sought the BPC’s cooperation in the construction of a viaduct to separate the parkway drive from Park Avenue. Neighborhood residents believed that a "particularly dangerous" crossing would exist after the park road was built and stated that they would be willing to assume an additional tax assessment to help pay for the cost of a grade separation. Local citizens proposed to pay one-third of the structure’s cost if the City of Yonkers would assume one-third of the expense and the BPC covered the remainder. They estimated that the viaduct would cost $40,000, which would mean that the BPC would be obligated for no more than $15,000. The citizens presented a plan prepared by the Bowdoin and Webster architectural firm in consultation with Downer. The commissioners viewed the plan as "generally satisfactory" and told the citizens they would further investigate the matter. The BPC instructed Downer to follow up with Yonkers’ officials. At a subsequent BPC meeting, the commission’s counsel advised that the BPC had no authority to enter into agreements for the cost of this grade separation. The commission referred the Park Avenue matter to Niles for further report. |
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Parkway Commission, Minutes, June 6, 1922, 96-101. |
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