Van Nest residents tell News 12 they were surprised by the start of a construction project that would pave over an area of Bronx Park behind their building.

"It was curiosity and annoyance," says Miguel Dyer, who lives in the building at the corner of Sagamore Street and Unionport Road, and first noticed the sticks and pink flags in the ground last Thursday, while he was walking his dog. "My great fear is I'll wake up tomorrow morning with a cement truck outside."

Following a tip from a friend, Dyer found out what it was for on the 45th page of the State's Bronx River Parkway Bridge replacement plan, which has a design for a driveway into an NYPD Highway Patrol Unit parking lot.

Walking through the area, Dyer showed how the driveway will be right next to his apartment window.

Captions on the diagram show that adding the driveway was actually a revision to the original plan.

"I figured I'd hear something about it," Dyer said, "because they're going to be removing trees that have been here for 25 years, that give my courtyard the shade."

Instead, people in the area say the change was made after the plans had been presented to the local Community Board.

"It's so against the usual procedure," said Diana Finch, the chair of the Bronx Park East Community Association

"Generally speaking, if it has to do with parks, or putting up new roads, the community gets some input," Dyer said.

Both say they were surprised there was no open meeting - giving neighbors a chance to at least ask questions and voice concerns.

Dyer says among those concerns is his worry that the driveway could be a safety hazard, since he says groups of kids like to hang around the corner where the driveway will go, and are there every morning to catch the bus.

"(Police officers) already have access from two different spots to that parking lot, on Birchall (Avenue), they fly back and forth, so I'm concerned that will move from there to over here," Dyer told News 12.

News 12 reached out to the New York State Department of Transportation to ask about both the reasoning, and the timing behind the driveway plans. So far, it has not responded.

Meanwhile Dyer has started an online petition to stop the driveway from being built, and says he also plans to put up flyers to try to let as many people know about the plans as possible.

People from the building also say they will be heading to the 49th Precinct's community meeting on Tuesday, so they can voice their concerns.

The Department of Transportation released the following statement:

"The Bronx River Parkway project will be addressing connectivity along the Greenway by adding a new branch carrying cyclists and pedestrians past the NYC Parks facility and providing an option for users to continue south over the Bronx River Parkway viaduct to Noble Playground, instead of East 180th Street – linking the Greenway to neighborhoods south of the Amtrak rail corridor.

By prioritizing the safety of the cyclists and pedestrians on the Bronx River Greenway along the enhanced section, the project is converting and consolidating the three vehicular ramps, including one off-ramp, currently along the northbound Bronx River Parkway into one shared on-ramp to the parkway, enhancing safety by minimizing Greenway users’ exposure to vehicular traffic.

As requested by NYPD, the sole entrance to the NYPD facility would be relocated to the local street, at the proposed Sagamore Street entrance."