Posted on July 14, 2019 at 8:47 pm by West Sider

The bike detour in Riverside Park between 72nd and 83rd Streets has drawn praise for separating pedestrians and cyclists on what has been a dicey stretch.

But the new path also has its critics, including one community board member who says it is too hilly for many cyclists — discouraging younger and older people from pedaling through the park — and that it creates new dangers to pedestrians.

Bicylists and pedestrians used to both be allowed to use the promenade along the Hudson River between 72nd and 83rd. But complaints about collisions and congestion convinced city officials to separate the two users groups. With support from Council Member Helen Rosenthal, the city built a new path through Riverside Park that opened in June. Several people have told us the new path is helpful, but there’s been growing criticism too. Community Board 7’s Parks Committee plans to meet about the path and other issues at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 15 at 250 West 87th Street, the community board offices.

Richard Robbins, a member of Community Board 7 who has been an advocate for safer street design, wrote on Twitter and in an op-ed that the bypass is not a safe alternative.

Cyclists, for one thing, can easily coast down the hills on the new route at greater than 20 miles per hour, meaning that any pedestrian who happen to walk across the path could be surprised by a speeding cyclist, he wrote on Twitter. That leaves them at “FAR greater risk of serious injury or even death.” Younger and older cyclists struggle to get up and down the hills, while more competitive cyclists are likely to pick up speed whenever they can.

“The likely big reduction in casual cyclists could put pedestrians at even greater risk, as they won’t realize they’re walking in the bike lane until a less frequent cyclist speeds down one of the steep hills. (And cyclists are incented to speed down hills to gain momentum to get UP the next hill!),” he wrote.

The new path also does not have lights, making it especially dangerous at night, Robbins noted.

On Sunday, another cyclist pointed out similar dangers.

“Having spent a few weeks riding the new segregated riverside park path around the boat basin, I feel like they’ve actually made it more dangerous,” wrote Adam Fields on Twitter. “The route now covers three major hills instead of being almost completely flat, and putting bikes on a roller coaster and then re-merging their path with the pedestrian path is… not a way to make them go slower. As well, the bike route now crosses directly in front of the baseball fields, so these slingshot accelerated riders are not only still in the path with pedestrians (who still run/walk where the bikes go), but also a bunch of 5-10 year old kids playing little league.”

“I’ve seen some near misses,” he added. “Cyclist collisions are especially more likely, because some of them can easily get up those hills but many cannot, resulting in riders of wildly varying speeds going up the hills. And it makes cyclists even more likely to go faster on the interval downhills because they want to maintain momentum to get up the next hill, which is already challenging. Great for cardio workout, but this isn’t making anything more safe.

The Parks Department did not respond to a request for comment. Rosenthal’s spokeswoman Sarah Crean wrote in a statement that the staff “has been riding the path at all hours looking for safety issues. We are not observing people struggling with the hills. We are also working to ensure that safe riding along the bike path is enforced.”

“We will continue to closely observe this new path,” she adde. “And our office has spoken with the Parks Department about making the signage at 72nd Street more clear. Finally, we really want to encourage pedestrians to come back to the greenway along the River and enjoy it without worry.”

Photos by Michael McDowell.