Van Cortlandt Park bike path needs a facelift

To the editor:

The Riverdale Press, on the September 14 editorial page, intimates
that no one asked for the paving of the former Putnam line right-of-way in Van Cortlandt Park.
But one need only read through The Riverdale Press’ back issues to find out who asked for this project, namely Bronx Community Board 8, who selected the Putnam Line to be the regional bike path route for the Hudson River Greenway. And if you look a little more carefully in The Riverdale Press archives, you’ll find an editorial also complaining about the Putnam Line — but this time, The Riverdale Press was asking why the Putnam Line trail had not yet been built, while so many other parts of the Hudson River Greenway in the area were already open or under construction.

The September 14 editorial also misrepresented the trail’s condition. Some of the trail in the northern section might be considered an “idyllic woodland pathway,” but that’s only if you don’t look down — that part of the path is the former drainage trench of the rail line and is chronically muddy. And near Van Cortlandt Lake, the path is already 16 feet wide or even wider. In spite of the width, the trail is still surrounded by heavy tree cover and beautiful lake views. What would be wrong with the northern part of the Putnam Line trail also looking like that?