Tappan Zee Bridge Bike and Pedestrian Path Sparks Controversy

Joseph Berger reports on the ongoing controversy over a proposed bike and pedestrian path over the Hudson River on the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

Residents of South Nyack, at the western end of the bridge, are concerned about the amount of traffic the path would bring to their town: “residents said the path would invite scores of cars with bike racks scrambling for parking to their tidy streets lined with Victorian houses, would draw food trucks and would unsettle a quiet family neighborhood.”

“Residents also raised eyebrows at a plan by the state and its Thruway Authority to create two dozen public parking spaces by tearing down the 19th-century village hall or ‘repurposing’ the hall as public bathrooms.” 

The new bike path would be part of the second phase of construction for the twin-spanned bridge project; construction has already begun on the first span of the bridge: “The first 96-foot-wide span would be finished by December 2016 just north of the current bridge, and would temporarily provide four lanes of traffic in each direction. The current bridge would then be torn down and a second parallel westward-bound four-lane span would open by the summer of 2018.” Then comes the offensive possibilities: “Then the first span would be turned into a four-lane eastward road with shoulders and a shared-use path for cyclists, joggers and strollers, and six scenic viewing areas.”