River access revisited

Sadly, the recently proposed plan for a Hudson Valley Greenway link in Riverdale, taken as a whole, makes no sense. But perhaps a few of the parts can amount to more than the whole.

The planners retained by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) should have realized that their proposals for an indefinitely temporary, cantilevered bikeway attached to the Henry Hudson Bridge at great expense, for widening country lanes like Palisade Avenue at great expense, and for a waterfront path hanging over the rip-rap stone shoreline — yes, at great expense — would never find acceptance with residents along the route, much less with the agencies which would have to shell out more than $75 million to see them realized.

Despite the fact that Riverdalians’ desire for

public access to the shoreline is stronger than ever, it is no surprise that nearly 100 people showed up at a joint meeting of Community Board 8’s Traffic-and-transit and Parks Committees at the Riverdale Y on Feb. 25 to politely but firmly demand that the plans be scrapped or seriously altered.

But Jerry Bogacz, the Riverdalian who had the thankless task of presenting NYMTC’s vision, emphasized that what he was offering was “a series of options and possibilities the community can choose from.”

The community should study the proposals carefully and individually. Some do have great merit. What’s more, they can be accomplished with relatively little expense and without any interim steps.

Rita Freed, who spoke out at the meeting, made an important point.

“Privileging cyclists and continuity are not necessary for river access,” she said.

Scaled back plans could almost immediately improve the experience of residents and visitors alike.

Here are a couple of NYMTC’s recommendations that the community should adopt as a first stage in the Greenway process:

Palisade Avenue from West 232nd Street to Spaulding Land is arguably the most beautiful road in the entire city, but it is not safe for pedestrians.