The Hudson River Greenway bike path between 59th and 72nd street now has lights at night, an amenity that bicyclists have been asking for for years. But police are also apparently ticketing people who bike on the Greenway after the park closes at 1 a.m., according to a reader who sent a tip to transportation blog Streetsblog.
A Streetsblog reader who gave her name as Ellen says she was commuting home at around 1:30 a.m. early this morning when she saw a police cruiser blocking the path near 72nd Street. She had heard that officers were ticketing cyclists for using the greenway after 1:00 a.m., so the encounter wasn’t entirely unexpected.
“He didn’t ticket me, but gave me a warning,” Ellen writes. However, she says the officer’s partner gave tickets to other riders that passed by during that time. The officer told Ellen that riders are putting themselves at risk of attack by riding in the park after 1:00 a.m. ”I told him we are commuting home on the safest route possible,” Ellen said. “I said I would rather take my chances in the park than on the street with the drunk drivers.”
Community Board 7 members expressed concern that the Greenway was essentially closed late at night, when some people may be commuting home from late jobs. The park, including the Greenway, is officially closed at 1 a.m.
Photo by Ed Yourdon.
If it wasn’t officially closed it would be occupied by derelicts, addicts and fornicators who would leave a mess. I support the 1 am closing.
have been receiving the west side rag for a few weeks and really appreciate all of the hard work all of you are doing
really enjoy finding out what is going on here on the UWS
thanks so much
if i can contribute something in the future i will
tomorrow, tuesday is the Cooperator Fair, for coop and condo board members to attend, to meet vendors
http://www.coopexpo.com
too late for this year, but you might want to publish for next year
larry
All parks and parkland areas are usually closed late at night. I agree with Naro there are just too many unsavory characters and not enough park rangers or police to really keep every one safe in that type of area.
Good idea though for use in the daytime. Keeps riders off the streets and out of traffic.
People who work in the entertainment and service industries often have jobs that end at 1, or 3, or 5 in the morning. I’m a waiter in a midtown restaurant that caters to the after-theater crowd. I want to ride my bike home from work and the safest way for me to do it, by far, by far is through Riverside Park.
If the park must be closed, the bike paths could be left open for cyclists. Think: the west side highway essentially cuts through the park north of 96th St, but no one suggests that it should close after 1 am. Why? Because people still need to get to and from where they are going in this city that never sleeps.