By Marie Holmes
A detailed reconstruction plan for the waterfront path in Riverside Park between 99th Street and St. Clair Place known as Cherry Walk, was presented by Dan Sullivan, a landscape architect with the NYC Parks Department, at the Community Board 7 Parks & Environment Committee meeting on Monday, March 21.
The mile-and-a-half stretch, popular with both cyclists and pedestrians, has sustained bumps and cracks over time caused by the growth of tree roots and other damage. The reconstruction plan involves repairing the asphalt and re-doing the striping and symbols to make the path “safer and smoother for all users.”
Work would not begin until next year, but is forecasted to be brief, lasting only three to four months. Sullivan said that the Parks department will coordinate with Riverside Park to ensure that signs marking the detour are clear. Several committee members noted that the detour signage for work done last year could have been better. Sullivan said the Parks department would be happy to work with “anyone interested” to make sure that signage is “crystal clear.”
An arborist on site will help ensure that repair work does not damage the Cherry Walk’s trees. Sullivan mentioned that careful excavation and filling around roots is one strategy workers may use to protect trees.
The striping currently visible throughout the Cherry Walk divides the path into four sections, with north and southbound lanes further divided into separate lanes for pedestrians and bicycles. New striping will instead divide the whole path into two lanes, north and southbound, to be shared by both pedestrians and cyclists.
Several committee members expressed doubts about this change, citing concerns about conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians. “I’m afraid nobody is going to know where they’re supposed to be,” said committee member Ken Coughlin, adding, “it’s a mile and a half straightaway for cyclists, they build up a lot of speed.”
In response to these concerns, Margaret C. Bracken, a landscape architect for the park, explained that the striping currently visible is more than 20 years old. The decision to scale down to two lanes was made based on the available width, which was viewed as too narrow to accommodate so many lanes. In addition, the dual north/south lanes are standard on other paths throughout the city.
When asked about the potential for flood damage, Sullivan explained that “asphalt allows water to move through it upwards and downwards” and is thereby resistant to flood damage. He said, “I foresee it lasting at least two decades.”
In other news, the multi-use courts at 105th street will be getting a new surface, to be applied directly on top of the pavement. There are no plans to charge a fee for using the courts or otherwise exclude anyone from using them.
Several members also reported that the increased ticketing of dog owners who allow their pets to roam the Theodore Roosevelt Park lawns off-leash has been highly effective at keeping the pooches in line.
Is there a mechanism for Parks to receive suggestions from users of this path? For instance, I strongly second the voices concerned about the cyclists and pedestrians sharing a lane. On average, the cyclists (and e-cyclists and e-scooter riders) appear to be going 10-15 mph faster than the average pedestrian/jogger (the fastest cycles are going >20 mph; the fastest runner is never more than 10 mph). It would be a complete deterrent for pedestrians. With a dedicated Ped and another Cycling lane, north- and southbound goers can figure it out.
Moreover, I wonder if there’s been any thought to blocking the highway at all, with, say, a 4′ barrier/more plantings. The walk would be so much more enjoyable without such a din from the cars.
very thoughtful response. i never quite understood where there are so few bushes and trees along that strip.
I also agree that having even a ‘shoulder’ for runners would be helpful. To be honest, my primal anger emerges when cyclist fly past me, with their handlebars literally 12 inches from my elbows.
Currently, most of that path is supposed to be pedestrians (joggers/walkers) on the west side of the green line and cyclists on the east side. When I am riding that path at 20+ MPH and a jogger on the wrong side forces me into oncoming bike traffic, I swerve out just enough so that I am minimizing chances of a head on collision with a cyclist in the opposite direction. Frankly, if I am going to end up in a collision, I would rather it be with the jogger who is in the wrong (not because s/he is in the wrong) than another cyclist who is coming at me in the opposite direction. The best idea here for redoing the path is to widen it and keep cyclists and pedestrians separate. Let the pedestrians have the nicer portion next to the water and give cyclists a clear, pedestrian free portion closer to the road. It is a straight shot where pedestrian traffic greatly decreases versus areas further south, making in a prime area for cyclists to ride faster. And as for now, Mr. Humor, if you stay on the west side of the green line, and make sure you check for safety when crossing over it (to go around another jogger, for instance), you shouldn’t have to fear cyclists as much.
This the laziest response from the Parks Department that I have heard yet!
“New striping will instead divide the whole path into two lanes, north and southbound, to be shared by both pedestrians and cyclists.
Several committee members expressed doubts about this change, citing concerns about conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians. “I’m afraid nobody is going to know where they’re supposed to be,” said committee member Ken Coughlin, adding, “it’s a mile and a half straightaway for cyclists, they build up a lot of speed.”
HERE’S OUR (???) PARKS DEPARTMENT:
“In response to these concerns, Margaret C. Bracken, a landscape architect for the park, explained that the striping currently visible is more than 20 years old. The decision to scale down to two lanes was made based on the available width, which was viewed as too narrow to accommodate so many lanes. In addition, the dual north/south lanes are standard on other paths throughout the city.”
In plain English this says that (1) the Perks Department has ignored the repainting for 20 years, so just forget the original attempts at safety.
(2) The available width, which was wide enough for 4 lanes before, is now too narrow to provide safety.
(3) This is the new standard, so the Park’s Dept just uses it even though it is unsafe.
Is there a link to the “detailed plan”? I hope there’s more to it than just repair and new striping. The whole path is a mess, degraded and barren of plantings that could provide a buffer from traffic.
And what the heck does this mean: “asphalt allows water to move through it upwards and downwards”
Sure is nice to know all that money was just spent on a temporary fix.
That statement about asphalt being “resistant to flood damage” and that ““asphalt allows water to move through it upwards and downwards” shows this person’s complete inexperience or ignorance about asphalt – and about flooding! If he is speaking on behalf of NYC Parks, he should be fired. CB7 should flat out reject this proposal
The cyclists including the motorized scooters are very fast and often aggressive.Combining these with pedestrians might sound like a logical idea but is not based on reality. (Come down and see for yourself!)
I don’t think the motorized vehicles are supposed to be on Cherry Walk in the first place. I hope this plan includes some ideas for deterring and fining them. I’m not a cyclist but I’ve run on this path many times. Usually I have no problem with the cyclists aside from a few who aren’t paying attention (staring at phones) and veer into the running lane. But the motorcycles (yes, motorcycles) on Cherry Walk are terrifying and really shouldn’t be there.
As a cyclist, I find the motorcycles on the path just as terrifying, if not more so, than I would imagine you runners would.
The cyclists on the Cherry Tree path ARE DEFINITELY a hazard to pedestrians. One foot too far to the left and you can be mowed down from behind without any warning. Keep the lanes marked!
“…in Riverside Park between 99th Street and St. Clair Place…”
Okay, I’ll bite: so where’s that? 99th I have an idea about but St. Clair? Is it north or south of 99th?
Or might it be found in Weehawken or West New York?
That way, said ped/bike path would go across the Hudson… which would actually be really cool and a little sodden.
St Clair is about W 125th Street. West Harlem Piers Park.
St Clair Place is the western end of 129th Street.
St. Clair Place cuts through a few low-rise blocks between the Henry Hudson Parkway and West 125th Street.
Slightly off topic, but does anyone have any news about when the promenade pavement between 100th and 120th will be repaired so all those barriers can be removed? Seems like it’s been at least a year or two since they put them up.
Does anyone know who I could contact to get more info / register frustration / push for resolution on the stalled promenade repair? Parks Department, Community Board 7, Danny O’Donell, etc? I want to take some action but I’m clueless about the process. Thanks in advance for any informed direction.
This has been driving me crazy to the point where I almost want to buy some quick concrete mix and a bucket and just fill it in myself. How does it take years and years to fix a crack in the concrete? The whole plaza is blocked off with ugly fencing and it doesn’t make any sense.
In addition, there are lots and lots of lights out in the park. With the recent focus on safety in the neighborhood, this should be the first priority and lowest hanging fruit to make people feel safer. I counted 20+ lights out on the part of the greenway that is on a pier next to the highway.
Finally to the people saying it should be four lanes instead of two – drawing more lanes doesn’t make more space any more than cutting a pizza into more slices makes more pizza. If you want more separation between biked and pedestrians we need more space. The logical place to get it from is the highway – get rid of the useless median strip and shift everything inland or take away a lane of traffic.
nearly 2 years. i recall jogging around them during the height of the pandemic.
Seems to me the LAST thing we should do is make the path smoother so bicyclists will go even faster. I understand the desire to fix certain things but the uneven pavement acts as natural speed bumps and slows down the cyclists who think they are on a racetrack. Any plans should include ways to temper their speed on the path.
I both walked and biked on those lanes. It is dangerous as it is, for pedestrians in particular, even if bicyclists don’t go fast, but in a lot of cases they do. It is also a problem for bicyclists – if you have 2 pedestrians walking in front of you and other bikes coming fast from behind, you are in danger as well as braking will make the bicyclists behind slam into you.
Sharing the lane is a complete disaster and beyond dangerous.
Let’s hope they use some common sense and not schedule the work during the summer. Any place other than NYC? The job gets done in a month, tops.
The current lane for pedestrians is too narrow for two-way foot traffic. If you have to pass someone coming the other direction, one of you has to step onto the grass or into the bike lane. If the latter, you risk getting run over by a speeding bike coming upon you from behind or causing the biker to wipe out trying to avoid you. On another occasion, as I was jogging once several years ago I stepped onto the soggy grass to let a fellow jogger pass, and this cause me to lose my balance, fall, and break my shoulder.
In addition, the painted signage on the pavement that should explain who is supposed to be in what lane is simply terrible. For instance, I’ve had two out-of-town visitors tell me they thought the icon for a pedestrian was actually a skater–and skaters belong in the bike lane.
Put these two problems together, and I wonder if having pedestrians and bikers share two equal lanes, one northbound, the other southbound, might not be a compromise that, imperfect thought it may be, is a lot better than what we currently have. And then enforce rules about bikers watching their speed and always yielding to pedestrians, even if they’re in the wrong lane.
I run most days on the dirt path on this stretch.
There is room for only one person on the dirt path, so if runners meet going different directions, one has to step onto the pavement. Regulars have learned to check behind them for bikes; casual users would not know this and get hit, hard, from behind. The bikes and scooters go very fast, and usually are silent.
Plus – a lot of runners and walkers don’t use the dirt path, but are on the pavement.
This is an incredibly dangerous plan. As another commenter suggested, at least if the cracks are left they serve as speed bumps.
I noted with interest the final sentence
“Several members also reported that the increased ticketing of dog owners who allow their pets to roam the Theodore Roosevelt Park lawns off-leash has been highly effective at keeping the pooches in line.”
I have been driven to running on the Cherry Path because it is impossible to run along that stretch of upper Riverside Park without having unleashed dogs interrupt your run.
Few dogs are walked on Cherry Walk, and all are leashed to prevent them from running into the traffic on Henry Hudson. Please do not deprive runners of our only safe place to run.
To the people commenting about the cracked promenade: it’s not just a surface problem. It’s a hugely expensive infrastructure problem. The park is built on a structure (the Overbuild) over railroad tracks, and it has begun to fail. WSR has written about it recently.
In addition to issues discussed –
As the bicycling infrastructure has expanded, Riverside and the West Side perimeter are also increasing as destinations for NJ bicyclists. NJ bicyclists drive in, park – and bike..
The entire Riverside Park from 99 to 135 needs to be redone. All the paths need to be replaced, more lighting, barriers removed, and many more plantings, trees, and bushes. I don’t see one cherry tree.
Do you know how to tell a cherry tree from another type of tree?
“an arborist on site”!! Riverside Park and those accountable and responsible for its management have failed miserably in protecting and maintaining the living forest that makes the highway like strip of land a park. Hardscape does not a park make. There is simply no excuse for Riverside Park to not have a complete inventory of the trees and other ecology within its borders and have a strategic plan to nurture those living things.
I’m a daily biker, of course pedestrian and a Manhattan UWS car owner. Simple. Confiscate motorized bikes motorcycles and scooters in all parks and paths. End of the majority of the problem. Oh right, the city doesn’t give a s**t.
As only a couple of commenters have noted, the “two” current ped lanes are actually ONE lane on the west side of the path. With a handful of barely legible arrows pointing in opposite directions. So technically a northbound runner has to jog ON THE LEFT, with southbound bikers bearing down IN YOUR (nearly invisible) LANE. I finally gave up and now jog north on the right. Haven’t been yelled at by a biker since, and no longer jog-while-angry. PS Add 3 feet of that water-thru asphalt to the width while you’re at it.