A heavily-used section of Riverside Park will be closed for weeks starting this coming Monday to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy, according to the Parks Department.
Cherry Walk will be closed from 100th to 125th Street starting on Sept. 28, the Parks Department said in a statement.
“To accommodate pedestrians and cyclists, Parks will post signs at related path entrances, south and north of the greenway, notifying them of the detour path. Visitors will be directed to exit the greenway at 100th St. to access alternative paths and local streets. Cyclists may re-enter the greenway at West 153rd Street and Riverside Drive via the Herman “Denny” Farrell Pedestrian Bridge. Pedestrians may re-enter via steps at Tiemann Place that connect Riverside Drive to St. Clair Place.
The Cherry Walk is slated for necessary safety and infrastructure work as part of a $1.5 million FEMA-funded reconstruction to address damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in Riverside and Fort Washington parks. The project will restore the vulnerable shoreline and repave the path, providing a safer and smoother biking experience.”
Streetsblog reports that the closure is expected to last about three weeks. The site notes that the detours may leave cyclists on streets that have no protected bike lanes.
Many times I have biked along that section of the Greenway, somehow I keep thinking that a repaving project that did NOT have to close the whole thing down might be more appropriate. AND they say 3 weeks, but similar “three week” projects on the Greenway seem to always have a way to become 3 YEAR projects.
Ugh. Riverside park north of 96th is about to become an ebike motorcycle highway. Couldn’t they have waited until the lovely weather was over.
I do hope that they end up repaving and ideally widening the whole closed segment.
I know you are a biker 😉 but as a runner i agree 100%. There is just not enough safe room at “prime time” for bikers, joggers, and people out for a leisurely stroll.
Agreed. As a (mostly) biker, the stretch from 96th Street to the (closed) Harlem Fairway is too narrow — especially for runners/walkers on the Hudson side who frequently walk/run on the bike path — especially northbound — rather than on the dedicated pedestrian path.
This Walk is used by so many and provides a wonderful and healthy way for us to live with all the stresses of our current times. Surely they do a partial closing as Paul suggests
Yay! I have been using RSD to avoid the dangerous bumps in this section. It will be nice to have a smooth path again.
I hate to tell you this, but I was told on StreetsBlog.org that this work is only on the actual river front and is NOT going to be repairs to the bike path alongside. Those repairs will come at some point in the future.
Per the Parks Dept statement above:
“The project will restore the vulnerable shoreline and repave the path, providing a safer and smoother biking experience”
One person on that blog said that and you believe it? People just make things up.
“KeNYC2030 RB Kelly • a day ago
Incredibly, the path is being closed not to address the root upheavals but to fix shoreline conditions resulting from Hurricane Sandy. The washboard conditions should be addressed in a separate construction project, likely a year or more from now, which will require another total shutdown. Why not do both projects together? Apparently, separate pots of money — one federal, the other city — arriving at different times.”
Sad for the closure and concerned about how long it will actually be not accessible. The path would be better if widened. It’s nothing compared to the six-lane width generously offered to cars on the WSH.
Good point!
Old people and young need to bike in daily from
Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Eastchester, and Katonah! All aboard!
And while you’re ripping up the lanes of the West Side Highway, rip out all those train tracks too!
All hail Bicycles, the new god of our idolatry!
The road over there is the Henry Hudson Parkway. The West Side Highway starts at 72nd Street and continues south.
If you’re going to correct a picayune mistake that’s often made, at least do it right. The HHP starts at 57th St.
True dat Boris:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Side_Highway#Joe_DiMaggio_Highway
“Officially” it’s called the Joe DiMaggio Highway and it starts at w72nd going south.
Maybe not
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hudson_Parkway
I liked it better when it was a dirt path. It wasn’t called “Yuppie Cherry Walk” even though the cherry blossoms were beautiful in season. It was for the rugged and the intrepid, people like George Carlin, who swam daily in the Hudson river to up his immune system, it is said. Now those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end.
Yes! My friends and I used to hike that wooded path and we would sit out on the rock piers, rarely seeing another soul. It was like a hidden gem.
Oh great another project slated for “ 3 weeks”. Why don’t they finish projects before starting new ones ? When is the park on riverside and 67th street opening ??
Another one that makes me laugh (or cry) is the sign at the stairs inside the 101st St Soccer Field. Says construction on the 102 steps will be completed in 2018.
Yet they sit like the Coliseum, in ruins.
This is very good news! That section of the bike path has been terrible for years! I look forward to a smooth ride without the ball-busting root ridges and face-planting potholes!
I hope it’s only 3 weeks. I use this path to get to work and have almost been killed on the road/traffic streets around Harlem. I’m scared for my life! The Greenway is so important to so many people! Also, e-bikes should be illegal on the Greenway. They go much too fast and are obnoxious and dangerous.
As of 12:30 on Saturday Sept 26, I’ve heard from a high placed Parks official that its not being closed.
Update please
Where is the map of the detour route? I’ve checked every conceivable site: nothing. If anyone knows what this detour around 100th to 125th Streets looks like, please share?
There is no. detour. I have heard a rumor about a temporary barge shuttle that will carry bikists and peds along the river back and forth. It should be very scenic and pleasant. Perhaps this is just a rumor though
Slight sound barriers on both sides of the highway would be welcome.
what is the update on this closure? Coming south on Tuesday morning this week I saw signs about closure around the old Fairway. Tonite coming north there were NO signs in the Cherry Walk entry area at around 103 and the signs that WERE around Fairway were down. Anyone?