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Hi SJC. I'm not sure where you are getting your information from, but it is very different from what I understand to be the current status.

Where did you learn that the original proposal for the Putnam Trail was for a 3' wide earthen jogging path? That's pretty much the way it is today when it hasn't rained in a long time. Now here's a link to the Park Department's plan: http://www.nycgovparks.org/park-features/van-cortlandt-park/putnam-rail-trail. I don't believe there was ever any consideration for a purely dirt path.

I completely agree with you that cycling at 20-30 mph on the Putnam trail would not only be problematic, but downright reckless. Fortunately there are very few riders in NYC who can sustain those kinds of Tour-de-France speeds. The usual speed on trails like Putnam is 10-12mph, which is what I average along the rest of the Putnam trail up to Brewster.

The Putnam Trail is no different than similar trails in Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens greenways. There are a lot of dedicated multi-use trails I've ridden on in these three boroughs that have the same ambiance as the Putnam Trail, without the stench from motorized golf carts waifting across them.

Do you have any idea how many trees there are in Van Cortlandt Park? According to this article there are over 80,000: http://www.vcpark.org/support/32-tree-and-bench-dedications/73-tree-dedications.html. Where did you get the notion that 400 trees would have to be destroyed if the path was widened from 8' to 15'. I seriously doubt this many would have to be "destroyed". Did you include in your 400 count the trees and bushes that would be "destroyed" to accommodate those sections of the trail that would be widened to 8'?

The section of the Putnam Trail affected by the Park Department's re-surfacing plan is about 1.5 miles long. Assuming for argument's sake that the trail is completely covered by a non-porous surface to a width of 15' along its entire length. 1.5 miles X 15' is 0.0042613 square miles or 2.727232 acres. Van Cortlandt Park is 1146 acres (http://www.vcpark.org/). The improved Putnam Trail surface represents 0.238% of the Park's area. Do you really believe that a covered area just two tenths of one percent of Van Cortlandt's size would make much of a difference to the air quality of NYC? What about the 8' wide area covered with the gravel SPT wants? Trees and bushes won't grow there either, so it will not contribute to any shade or air purification. But there will be gravel dust.

For the record, I am not a reporter so I cannot "mis-report" anything. I obtain my facts from research on official websites, and I've included links to those websites for you to verify. Where do you get your information from?