Broadway for Everybody

Broadway the Rivertowns (Sleepy Hollow through Hastings-on-Hudson) is set up for one thing: cars. Now's the time to change it. We need a Broadway everybody can use.

Collage of people saying they're too scared to bike on Broadway. People who bike aren't a fixed number of constituents to be placated. We are an untapped resource to be cultivated.
 
Text: Plan for the traffic you want, not the traffic you have.  Daily travel choices are flexible.  Left photo: Potterstraat, Utrecht, 2022. Photo of the same street. From left to right... Can't really see the sidewalk, but there are a some folks on it. 14 people cycling toward us on a wide separated bike lane. 2 people walking toward us on a wide bus stop island. 3 buses driving on a 2 lane wide roadbed. Only a sliver of the right and bus stop island, bike lane and sidewalk are visible.  Right photo: Potterstraat, Utrecht, 1968. Photo of a downtown street. From left to right... 7 people are walking on the left sidewalk. 2 people are riding motor scooters in the separated bike lane. Many people standing on a narrow bus stop island. A 4 lane wide roadbed, filled with folks driving 20 cars and vans, plus one bus. A few people waiting on a narrow bus island. 5 people cycling in a separated bike lane. Can't see much of the sidewalk.

(Click thumbnails to get full sized flyers)

Residents Want It

Bike Tarrytown was founded because we kept meeting people who said they want to ride bikes for local errands, but are too scared. So in three months we photographed 100 people seeking safe streets.

The lack of safe bike infrastructure forces them to drive places -- using parking spaces when they get there, while creating congestion, pollution and crashes along the way.

Guess what were the #2 and #4 things people most requested during Tarrytown's Comprehensive Plan outreach process? "Deploy Complete Streets... starting with Routes 9 & 119" and "Bike Infrastructure."

Sleepy Hollow's Comprehensive Plan received similar public input. Improving biking and walking infrastructure was the most frequent desire at the first workshop and 30 people came to a Trustee meeting in support safer streets, plus 50 emails and 10 postcards were written.


Merchant holding sign saying they want the bike lane on Broadway

Merchants Want It

Many merchants we've spoken with are in favor of a protected lane being built on Broadway for human scale mobility devices, because more people means more profit. There's wide spread agreement that improving parking management is an important part of the process.

The Route 9 Project

To this end, we are organizing public support for the Route 9 Active Transportation Project.

Here's our two page primer on the topic (PDF):

Front page of our Broadway for Everybody flyer Back page of our Broadway for Everybody flyer

Bike to School Lane for Sleepy Hollow

The Journal News created a nice article and video about the campaign.

Our op-ed in the Hudson Independent, paired with the Chamber of Commerce's positive take on the matter: web, PDF.

Here's how the Hudson Independent covered the study's Final Report. We wrote a Letter to the Editor to clarify that "we continually meet people tired of being forced to drive" due to our infrastructure not welcoming walking, cycling and transit.

Our Director wrote the report of Sleepy Hollow's recommendations to the Route 9 study. He gave a presentation about it to the Board of Trustees (video, slides), joined by 10 residents in the audience -- a record for a Work Session? :). Here are responses to the various concerns Mayor Wray and the Trustees raised.

Tappan Zee Bridge Connections

We're working tirelessly to ensure Broadway is safe for accessing the Tappan Zee Bridge's biking/walking path (opening ~mid-2019). Our two most recent letters on the topic are about getting a crosswalk where the TZB path reaches Broadway and a properly wide, safe connection to the OCA at Lyndhurst. Further efforts are linked to from those pages.


Inspiration

People shop by bike everywhere. It's convenient, fast and free. Winter cycling. It's no problem with good infrastructure & maintenance. Safe infrastructure means mobility for all. Stylish cyclists get to salons and shops swiftly.

(Click thumbnails to get full sized flyers)


Other Matters

Our letter requesting NYS DOT implement snow removal policies for protected bike lanes.

History of how Sleepy Hollow's prior Mayor blocked the Route 9 project.


Thank You

If clicked a link that took you to this section of the page, thank you for taking the time to look up this action alert. It was posted in September, 2024, and is no longer active. Head to the top of this page to read about the overall campaign.


biketarrytown.org | info@biketarrytown.org | B: @biketarrytown.bsky.social | F: @BikeTarrytn