A so-called bus bulb is currently under construction below the #4 Woodlawn elevated subway station on Jerome Avenue. While it’s viewed as an added safety measure for riders, it also means the elimination of an unofficial taxi stand.

The bus bulb– a method that extends a sidewalk to a bus stop– is being built at the corner of Jerome and Bainbridge avenues directly below the elevated #4 subway line. Crews have begun elongating the sidewalk towards the existing BxM4, Bx16, and Westchester County’s Bee Line stops, eliminating side lanes.

The new sidewalk design is part of a long-term campaign to eliminate safety hazards that endanger riders, a goal of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s citywide initiative, Vision Zero. As it stands at most bus stops below elevated train lines, commuters have to wait by a steel pillar to catch a bus, creating a precarious situation.

Reconstruction has also relocated the unofficial taxi stand for cabbies waiting on passengers coming out of the Woodlawn station. The cabs have moved their waiting stand to Bainbridge Avenue.

“Because of where the taxis are waiting, it makes it kind of difficult for the 16 and the 34 bus to get through sometimes, as well as other traffic coming down Bainbridge,” said Lowell Greene, Transportation Committee Chair for Community Board 7 (CB7).

Jerry, a cab driver who picks up passengers near the #4 Woodlawn train station, noted that the pending bus bulb eliminates space on the side lanes, creating congestion as cars are forced to wait for a bus to load/unload passengers instead of going around them.

But Greene believes that when the construction stops, the traffic problem should diminish. “That will probably get resolved, but the way the sidewalk is being built out, it will take some readjustment of where the taxi drivers will wait,” he said.

Shavone Williams, a spokesperson for the New York City Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the agency overseeing the reconstruction, said the project will only ensure the safety of commuters. “We have completed all of the water main upgrades in this specific location and are preparing for the sidewalk extensions. DDC is committed to Mayor de Blasio’s vision for a healthy and sustainable city and to building well-designed, safe environments that enhance our communities and contribute to the city’s growth” said Williams.

For now, CB7 has spread word on the short-term traffic congestion of the project.

A similar project is also under way at the intersection of Jerome Avenue and Kingsbridge Road, with plans for other bus bulbs across the Bronx.

“We’re looking at everything under the 4 train, pretty much the length of Jerome [Avenue]. That program has been pretty successful. What we’ve done is made it safer for drivers and for people who are waiting on the bus,” said Department of Transportation’s Deputy Bronx Commissioner, Nivardo Lopez.

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.