Let's meet halfway on Putnam Trail

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To the editor,

I agree with recent letters noting that Councilman Andrew Cohen’s stand may be playing “both sides” regarding the improvement of the Putnam Trail, but in this case it is not a negative. The Putnam Trail is a nearly 50-mile railroad right-of-way that was abandoned over 30 years ago, and the vast majority of its length was successfully narrowly paved in Westchester and Putnam Counties 10 to 20 years ago — while preserving a dramatic shaded tree canopy. Mr. Cohen appears to want to serve the needs of all ages and abilities alike — walkers, hikers, runners, cyclists, skaters, wheelchairs, and strollers, by adhering to the Parks’ and CB 8’s  requirement for a permeable surface.  Even Audubon New York has acknowledged that permeable asphalt will not have a significant impact on the wildlife of Van Cortlandt Park.  

Such a surface will serve the needs of all. And that is the objective of wheeled users: access to the Putnam Trail for all users to share, alongside all other interested users, not claiming it only for itself. To that end, I would note that Van Cortlandt Park has over 31 miles of trails amid its 1,100 acres, and the proposed paving area is only fifteen feet wide for a length of a mile and a half — less than two acres, while the right of way is 60 to 80 feet wide throughout. I encourage doubters to go about a mile north of the city line to see for themselves that while the invasives were thinned, how well the mature trees were preserved and have thrived over the quiet, cool pavement below.

David Gellman

Andrew Cohen, Putnam Trail, Audubon, New York, Van Cortlandt Park, David Gellman

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