Introduction NYC Cycling 1. NYC Bike Policy 2. State of NYC Cycling 3. Cyclists & Streets “A Bike and a Prayer” Riding Infrastructure 4. Street Design 5. Bridges 6. Road Surfaces  Greenways
8. Parks 9. Bicycles and Transit 10. Reducing Traffic Security 11. Bicycle Theft 12. On-Street Parking 13. Indoor Parking On the Job Cycling 14. Bicycle Messengers “Fifth, Park & Madison” 15. Freight Cycles 16. Gov't Cycling Reducing Risks 17. Accidents “Three Who Died” 18. Air Pollution Bicycle Education 19. Schools 20. Public Education Appendices |
Chapter 7:
Greenways Urban Oases
b) Paths for People c) The Greenway Movement d) History e) New Opportunities f) A Model Greenway g) Making Greenways h) Greenway Corridors i) Chapter 7 Recommendations Figure7: Map of the Greenway System of New York City Urban Oases
The New York region is as densely urban as any in the country, but it also offers precious open spaces — parks, waterfronts, botanical gardens, reservoirs and forests. Park advocates, cyclists, walkers and other open-space lovers dream of linking these oases via networks of recreational spaces known as greenways. The term greenway can refer to a dozen different kinds of natural, adapted or newly formed routes — nature trails, tree-lined paths alongside highways, strip parks, lightly trafficked city streets, abandoned railroad rights-of-way and riverfront bulkheads. [1] Locally, an interagency city-state planning group set up to exploit ISTEA funds available for bicycle and pedestrian projects has mapped an ambitious 400-mile bikeway network across the five boroughs. The greenway plan, if realized, will install a genuine bicycling infrastructure in the outer boroughs and along Manhattan waterfronts. The greenway plan is the first attempt to plan for bicycles in New York City on a significant scale for decades, and deserves the support of elected officials at all levels of government. Making greenway networks a reality will require partnership between planners and advocates, on the one hand, and public officials controlling purse strings on the other. Local elected officials, particularly city council members and borough presidents, have to be reminded that greenways can multiply the value and variety of open space in the region at very low cost in public resources; under ISTEA, bike and pedestrian projects may be paid for using a 20/80 local/federal matching formula. What's more, by offering fresh air, recreation, quiet and sheer visual relief, this enhanced open space can increase property values for both residential and commercial uses along the route. Greenways also can save or generate money by reducing infrastructure and energy costs, improving air quality and public health, and boosting tourism. [2]
NOTES:1. In Greenways for America (Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 1990), Charles Little defines greenways as follows: 1. A linear open space established along either a natural corridor, such as a riverfront, stream valley, or ridgeline, or overland along a railroad right-of-way converted to recreational use, a canal, a scenic road, or other route. 2. Any natural or landscaped course for pedestrian or bicycle passage. 3. An open-space connector linking parks, nature reserves, cultural features, or historic sites with each other and with populated areas. 4. Locally, certain strip or linear parks designated as a parkway or greenbelt.2. See Tom Fox, Urban Open Space — An Investment That Pays, Neighborhood Open Space Coalition, New York, 1990, for a wide-ranging review of studies documenting the economic value of urban parks, greenbelts, waterfronts and other open spaces, from Olmsted's time to the present. Urban Oases
b) Paths for People c) The Greenway Movement d) History e) New Opportunities f) A Model Greenway g) Making Greenways h) Greenway Corridors i) Chapter 7 Recommendations Figure7: Map of the Greenway System of New York City |
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