A year after the city abruptly shut the northbound ramp from the Henry Hudson Parkway to West 125th Street for urgent repairs, Uptown neighbors are rallying to keep the strip car-free for good. What was once a little used highway exit has quietly turned into an unofficial walking and biking route that gives people a much easier way into the northern end of Riverside Park.
DOT Starts Fixes, But No One Knows When Cars Return
The Department of Transportation has now kicked off work on the roughly half mile off ramp. The agency has posted flyers saying the exit "will remain closed until further notice," and crews have put up fencing and dropped wooden beams across the roadway, according to Streetsblog New York City.
Neighbors Say They Do Not Miss The Traffic
Local advocates and Community Board members say the closure has effectively created new parkland and, more importantly, a flatter, more accessible way into Riverside Park for people using strollers, wheelchairs and bikes. "Everybody loves it," one organizer told neighborhood media, while other residents have described losing the exit as only "a minor inconvenience for cars" but a major win for people on foot and on two wheels, as reported by West Side Rag.
Advocates Note The City Already Owns The Ramp
Unlike many obsolete highway scraps, Exit 12N sits on land that already belongs to the Parks Department. Advocates say that detail could make it far easier to convert the off ramp into permanent park space. Supporters also point to the city’s history of turning retired roadway into public greenway, from the post collapse West Side Highway to newer greenway extensions, as a precedent for keeping this ramp free of cars, according to Streetsblog New York City.
Fixing The Structure Means Working With Amtrak
DOT has told neighborhood groups that the repair work involves the under deck that carries the 1930s era parkway above Amtrak tracks, and that agency engineers are coordinating the design with the railroad. That extra layer of complexity means there is still no firm schedule for reopening, according to local reports. West Side Rag reported that DOT is still finalizing a repair plan with Amtrak.
For now, neighbors say they plan to keep pressing DOT and Community Board 9 to seriously study a permanent pedestrian focused design once engineers finish the structural work. Whether the ramp eventually reopens to traffic or stays a quiet slice of riverside open space, residents see a rare chance to expand parkland without the city having to buy a single extra parcel.
