The new Tappan Zee Bridge (officially the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) has a fantastic "Shared Use Path" for people walking, biking, etc.
Unfortunately, the State has bungled the implementation in key ways:
The Thruway Authority closes the path from 10 pm to 6 am each day. In addition, the gates are locked during "bad weather" (which happend on 11% of days in Jan - Sep 2021)
This is a national transportation facility. The path needs to be open 24/7/365, just like the bridges New York City owns.
Safety on Route 9 around the Tarrytown end of Shared Use Path has been ignored. Fortunately, it's easy to make a safe crossing of Broadway.
The path has "cyclists dismount" signs in South Nyack and Tarrytown. These are an ADA violation because there are folks riding bikes/trikes who either can't walk or can't do so easily.
Dismount requirements also lead to arbitrary and racist enforcement.
The chicane barriers in South Nyack aren't cane detectble by visually impared people.
The bollard at Clinton Ave in South Nyack leaves little room for people using wide cycles. Wheels for Wellbeing recommends 5 feet of clearance.
Together, we got the State to change "stop" indicators at the 6 overlooks to say "slow." But there is a "stop" painted at the Tarrytown end. Stopping there won't increase safety. Painting "slow" and a yield to pedestrians symbol would better expresses the goal at hand. And doing so would eliminate unnecessary police interactions.
There are several dangerous drain grates in the area. The DOT is flatly refusing to fix them.
Twelve feet isn't enough to handle peak crowds. Adding a new row of jersey barriers solves this problem.
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