URBANWATERS
FEDERAL PARTNERSHIP
Restoring Urban Waters, Revitalizing Communities
Bronx River Greenway and Pedestrian Bridges
Bronx and Harlem River Watersheds (New York, NY); 2015-Present
Summary
Bronx residents have long been cut off from green spaces due to a lack
of safe, continuous pedestrian walkways. Looking forward, the Bronx
River Pedestrian Bridges will provide the necessary links to safely
connect South Bronx residents to the Bronx River and the Bronx River
Greenway, which runs for 23 miles. With the completion of the
bridges, Bronx residents will no longer be cut off from the river and
nearby new parks.
Federal Agency Partners include:
Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of the Interior (DOI),
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Starlight Park Bridge on the Bronx River (Photo credit: TrailLink)
Non-Federal Partners include:
Bronx River Alliance, New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), City of New York, New York City
Department of Parks and Recreation, the Altman Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Amtrak, New York
State Senator Jose M Serrano, the Office of the Bronx Borough President
Goals
Often described as the "missing piece of the puzzle," a new pedestrian bridge over Amtrak lines in the South Bronx will
provide area residents with access to nine acres of restored parks and New York City's only freshwater river, the Bronx
River. A second pedestrian bridge wili link Starlight & Concrete Plant Parks through the Bronx River Greenway. Through a
partnership between the Bronx River Alliance and state and federal departments of transportation, these Bronx River
pedestrian bridges aim to:
•	Connect roughly 400,000 Bronx residents to parks and other amenities along the Bronx River,
•	Improve safety of existing infrastructure to provide commuters, pedestrians, and cyclists with access to all 23
miles of the Bronx Greenway,
•	Promote economic redevelopment and job growth in the Bronx by attracting investments, and
•	Reduce the burden of chronic diseases, such as asthma and diabetes, in Bronx communities by improving access
to open spaces and recreation opportunities.
Major Actions to Date
Bronx River Alliance in collaboration with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation secured a $10 million
award for bridge construction through the Department of Transportation's competitive Transportation Investment
Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. While leveraging this grant, the Bronx River Alliance has successfully:
•	Broken ground on Phase 2 of the Bronx River Greenway,
•	Received an additional $7 million in funding from NYSDOT for a third pedestrian bridge to connect Bronx
residents to Starlight Park, and
•	Secured a total of $58 million in support of the project.
Once complete, the Bronx River Greenway pedestrian bridge will safely link Bronx residents to trails and parks in their
borough that were previously inaccessible due to highways and rail lines. The pedestrian bridge wili improve river and
park access to roughly 400,000 South Bronx residents—and 30,000 residents in the immediate vicinity.

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