Construction in Riverside Park has caused a new detour for bicyclists, forcing them to ride on the path right next to the Hudson River instead of going further into the park at 72nd Street.
The conservancy released the new route below this past week, showing how cyclists should divert into the riverside path before heading back into the park at 76th Street. Already, cyclists have been forced to change their travel patterns farther North because of the closure of a section above 100th called Cherry Walk.
Cyclists have been frustrated in recent weeks by the short notice of these changes on the heavily-traveled route.
Lots of luck with keeping cyclists off the waling paths about 76 street. Or the sidewalks, Or the wrong way on one way streets, Or disregarding traffic lights. Gives a bad name to law abiding cyclists and makes walking dangerous.
The diagram is not clear about the red section that is “closed” but not under construction. How do commuters entering at RSD and 72nd access the southbound path?
How do northbound and southbound traffic connect the 2 yellow pieces?
The blue section is already off limits to commuters.
The blue section is what’s been reopened to riders while the red section gets fixed.
Entering at 72 you ride north on the existing path to the first blue section, that takes you to the path along the River then head south.
That would all make sense except the red section is the Newest part of the whole length of the Hudson path.
In other words, at 76 st., you go back to the old, shared path along the River.
A short stretch is being repaved and that stretch is very much in need of repaving.
Just walked down to get a first hand look. A bike can still go from steep ramp to home base. They left an opening in the fense. Everyone else is squeezing through also. Unclear what is being worked on.
Biked down Cherry lane yesterday. It was not closed down as reported. I wonder if that’s just a delay in plan?
it was open today as well. unclear whether any work has been done. more transparency and clearer signage from the parks department is obviously too much to ask.
Hopefully they are figuring out how to improve the intersection at 72nd near the baseball field where everything converges – that is extremely dangerous and it isn’t clear what the best solution is other than potentially having bikers walk their bikes through there.
As it stands now, the southbound bikers coming down the hill that is now closing pick up a lot of speed and have to cross the pedestrian path.
I am fairly sure this is not possible, and even if it was, would be very expensive, but I think the ideal solution would be for the bike path to somehow go behind the baseball field, under the highway, so that it didn’t have to intersect with the pedestrian path near the river at that horrible intersection.
I know they were doing work back there not too long ago, but I don’t think you could make a smooth transition there.
That was the original plan when the detour was approved as part of Rosenthal’s Participatory Budgeting proposal. Also part of it was re-grading the new bicycle path so there were no short steep portions but rather a smooth ramp. Instead, they just pushed cyclists onto the inside path with none if the meaningful upgrades that were in the proposal. Now, cyclists and pedestrians alike are complaining the new route is not safe.
Here’s where a tiny bit of creativity might have helped…DON’T just announce these route changes in typical bureaucratic fashion! Instead find a way to make them sound more like FUN!
Thus, since you are going to inconvenience the “gedd-out-a-my-wayyy!” biker class, why not appeal to their self-importance.
Adapt the oh-so-prestigious “Le Tour de France”and call the re-routings ‘De Tour Le Riverside”.
The staircase at 72nd St is closed. Gotta walk down the ramp to get to the cinder track level. It’s crazy to walk with the bicyclists tearing by.
Is there anyway to get cyclists to obey traffic laws on the roads, and stop riding so fast on shared walkways?
There’s no way to fix it. The merge intersection at 72 is too dangerous. Just let bikists ride on through like they used to, and provide tomatoes to throw if they go too fast.
Cyclist should never be allowed on the walk
next to the river from 100 St. on down on the
Upper West Side.
It is dangerous for pedestrians.
Cyclists race, often, at top speed
where walkers stroll by the river.
FInd another path for bicyclists, please!!!
Yes, the bikists should have their own path, and the only choice is the Hudson River because the other paths have walkists on them, who hate bikits. Since you sweat a lot when you are a bikist, this should cool you off and be a great relief, and this will solve the problem for everyone.
For years I dealt with the ill mannered, inconsiderate, entitled, self important cyclists of NYC. I thought it was emblematic of the cycling community in general.
Now I know better. I live in the west where virtually every cyclist calls out, “on your left” when they pass a pedestrian. They stick to the cycle speed limit of 15mph. They don’t run red lights and they don’t ride the wrong way on streets.
NYC cyclists are a breed unto themselves. Their arrogance and rule flaunting is not universal. There are a lot of very nice cyclists. You won’t find many on the UWS.
If you don’t live here, why feel the need to be so hostile to NYC?
I wouldn’t use the word hostile, certainly not towards the city as a whole. I lived on the UWS for 30 years so it is important to me.
My point is simply that NYC cyclists go through extreme machinations to justify their bad behavior as necessity but other bike cultures give the lie to that. In other geographies cyclists are courteous, safe and friendly.
In other locations, so are the drivers and the pedestrians.
Especially the pedestrians who refuse to acknowledge that their erratic behavior creates dangerous situations.
Can’t figure out why my comment from this morning wasn’t published.
You’re missing the forest for the trees.
Or, a second cliche: You’re focused on the deck chairs and missing the iceberg.
Stay well!
Hopefully they widen that short red section. I ride a bike there occasionally but also walk there often and that short red section is super scary because of the closeness of pedestrians and bikes – especially due to the electric bike riders and the bike riders who think they are in some kind of race.
They also have the flexiposts there to “separate” cyclists and pedestrians on that small section which narrows it further for everyone, making it safe for no one.
We need to be talking about taking half of the lanes on the West Side Highway and converting them into use by cyclists and other park users.
Cherry Walk is a deadly accident waiting to happen. It has less to do with the width of the path than with the fact that one cannot tell the pedestrian lane from the cycling lane. The dividing line has completely faded and the road markings haven’t been visible for several years. Hence, runners often use the cycling lane and vice versa – not maliciously, but because of the Park Administration’s failure to provide proper signage. All that is needed is a few gallons of paint and a paint brush.
Another, fairly recent, problem is the growing presence of motorized vehicles — scooters, mopeds, electric bikes – that significantly endanger pedestrians and cyclists.
And why not install speedbumps to slow down cyclists (it is a minority) who use Cherry Walk as a training ground for the Tour de France?
Are they no longer going to work on Cherry Walk? I see all of the closure signs are gone.
I ride from 96 st to Battery Park frequently. I agree about the electric bikes and scooters; they are very dangerous. but also, there are many walkers and runners who go on the bike lane rather than the walking lane and they are just as dangerous in their own way. I can’t figure out why a person would push a baby in a carriage on the bike path.
Also, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s much easier to stop if you’re walking than if you’re riding a bike. Stopping short on a bike can lead to falls and injuries.
By the way, when will the path at the end of RSP be finished. That section of the bike path is very narrow and dangerous.
I only noticed runners and walkers in the bike paths when they started to emerge out of the pandemic.
Been ok that route for 25+ years and when the gyms closed and people wanted an alternative to Central Park, they took to Cherry Walk clue less about the rules. Many walk side by side or have dogs on long leashes or double strollers. They will all be gone as the weather gets cold, trust me.
Are pedestrians not meant to be on the ramp/paths on the hills by Riverside Park, and are these only for bikes? I’m confused at this point, because I normally walk on the ramps (very careful to stay to the side), as opposed to the stairs. I was told by a cyclist to get off the ramp and, ‘use the f’ing stairs,’ last week, and has now someone posted that the stairs are closed, lol.
I’m a runner, and unlike others, I see the problem on the Hudson waterfront path to be the walkers who walk two or three abreast, making the passing lane for runners and cyclists half of what it should be. Single file people….