Broken Path Along Hudson Is Connected For Bicyclists
The New York Times
By Barbara Stewart

[ Return to T.A. Quotes in the Media | Read the latest news on this subject ]

The idea of bicycling along the Hudson River in Manhattan has always been alluring. But until now, the ride has generally proved to be frustrating.

A cyclist who started just north of Battery Park could ride several miles but then had to dismount and steer into Riverside Drive for three-quarters of a mile. From there on, a pattern emerged: Ride, dismount, detour. Ride, dismount, detour.

But on Tuesday, a final piece of the Hudson River greenway will open, including a temporary path for cyclists and pedestrians between 59th and 72nd Streets, which had been the main disruption in the route.

''This is by far the biggest car-free bicycle and pedestrian path New York has ever seen,'' said John Kaehny, director of Transportation Alternatives, a cycling advocacy organization. ''It connects the densest residential section on the Upper West Side with the densest business and entertainment district in Midtown.''

Some of the bike route between Battery Park and the Little Red Lighthouse just beneath the George Washington Bridge has been cobbled together and includes parts of the esplanade in Riverside Park. Still, on a day without dense crowds, it is possible to ride the entire length -- 11 1/2 miles -- without dismounting.

The city said it planned to replace temporarily paved parts of the route with a permanent, wider greenway by the river and extend the path an additional two and a half miles through the Bronx to the Yonkers border.

''People have been expressing hope for this route for years,'' said the parks commissioner, Henry J. Stern.

''No one agency owns the waterfront,'' he said, ''so it's taken the City Planning Commission, the City Economic Development Corporation, the State Department of Transportation and the State Department of Environmental Conservation to get it done.''

Eventually, he said, the city hopes to persuade upstate counties to extend the greenway to Troy, more than 150 miles north of the city.

Mr. Kaehny said that as many as 800 bicyclists had been using the Hudson River greenway on spring and fall weekends. The opening of the inaccessible section, he said, ''will itself substantially increase the total level of cycling in New York City.''

[ Return to T.A. Quotes in the Media | Read the latest news on this subject ]