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As someone who lives in Westchester County and uses the bicycle network daily for transportation, I have mixed feelings about this. It would clearly have been a really beautiful path. However, as a means of transportation it would have suffered a number of problems: (1) the Old Cronton Aqueduct is in terrible condition, and barely bikeable. Until/unless that path is upgraded, a Hudson River alignment would be a path to not much more than downtown Yonkers. (2) For access to the rest of Westchester County, this alignment is less than ideal. To head east from Yonkers, there are currently NO marked bicycle routes, and the hills are intense. It is not a "bike friendly" area.

The plan to use the Henry Hudson Bridge and connect through Van Cortlandt Park has many positives. It connects directly with the Old Putnam Trail / South County Trailway, which is hands down the best bike trail in the region; it makes sense to funnel more traffic to this facility. South County Trailway is the best way to access all the river towns north of Yonkers. It also offers a good connection to the Bronx River Parkway path at Palmer Rd, providing safe and pleasant bicycle routes to central Westchester communities all the way to White Plains and Valhalla. The planned routing through Van Cortlandt Park should spur action to remedy the deplorable condition of the Putnam Trail, whether with asphalt or crushed stone.

From Dykman St at the Greenway, I currently access the Putnam Trail in one of two ways: (a) Bailey Ave from 225 St (usually), or (b) along the route currently suggested, via the Henry Hudson Bridge and Riverdale. The view from the bridge is breathtaking and the ride through Riverdale quite pleasant; and far more relaxing than the grind along Seaman Ave, the Broadway Bridge and then Bailey Ave. That route is marred only by some terrible stairs over the railroad tracks, steps on the Riverdale side of the HH bridge, and an excessively narrow bike lane on the HH bridge (next to a wide-open, unused automobile shoulder). Official designation of this route could lead eventually to all of these problems being fixed.

A third alternative would be to extend the Putnam Trail south of Van Cortlandt Park to 225 St, and combine that with a protected bike lane across the Broadway Bridge. This would not be as pretty as either the Hudson River or HH Bridge alignments; but if executed right, it would be a safe and efficient way to move bicycles from Dykman St. to Van Cortlandt Park and beyond.

From: Advocates blindsided by plan to move Greenway

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