Roosevelt Island Sidewalk Construction Advisory For Riverwalk and Rivercross Areas

Riverwalk Sidewalk To Be Replaced

RIOC has issued the following advisories regarding sidewalk construction on the Manhattan side of Southtown and sidewalk replacement by the Rivercross Building to Meditation Steps.

Sidewalk Construction Advisory

Please be advised construction of the new sidewalk on the west side of Southtown Buildings 4, 5 and 6 will take place on Tuesday, September 1st through Wednesday, September 3rd (weather permitting). The west side drive from the tram to the subway connecting to Main Street will be a one way north bound traffic lane only. Pedestrians walking from the tram to the subway or vise versa on the West Drive will not be able to use the existing sidewalk, but one lane will be used as a pedestrian walk for those two days.

A temporary bus stop for buses heading South for the Subway will be on the Main Street sidewalk of Building 4 (425 Main) (Riverwalk Bar & Grill Express). Signs will be posted.

MTA Buses dropping off at the tram and then heading to Goldwater Hospital will let passengers out after the traffic circle next to the tram trailers. RIOC buses dropping off or picking up at the tram heading back or to the Subway will let passengers off at the corner of the Tram Rd. & West Drive Southwest corner of Building 6, 405 Main opposite side of the Tram. Signs will be posted.

And:

Please be advised the River Cross sidewalk will be under construction on Thursday, September 3, 2009 and Friday, September 18, 2009 as RIOC's contractor will be removing the existing flagstones and pouring concrete to create a new walkway. This will be done in stages allowing pedestrians to utilize the sidewalk. There may be one day that the walk will be closed for a few hours, where pedestrians will need to use the opposite side of the street. Signs will be posted. The construction will be from the Main Street curb in front of 503 to the existing concrete sidewalk and west towards the mediation steps. The professional offices of 501 Main Street will not be closed, but will be redirected to allow access to their offices during the construction.

Rivercross Sidewalk That Will Be Replaced

At least one person is not happy with the Rivercross sidewalk replacement and writes:

If we've got the money let's spend whether it makes sense or not --
that's the mentality of the tram and now it's spilling over into other things. I've heard they're going to rip up the concrete slabs east and west of the meditation lawn and replace them with standard sidewalk cement. The reasoning is that some of the existing slabs are cracked.

A quick count shows only about 10%. Why are we replacing the entire number when only 10% require replacement. Also, when the existing slabs leave they'll take with them another unique personality element of the island. Isn't anybody watching out for this stuff?

Here is the Rivercross Concrete Sidewalk Request For Proposal and subsequent addendums.