Some folks are floating the idea that the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge's path should have separate times for walking and biking. This doesn't hold water.
The bridge is a transportation facility. People need to get where they're going when they have to get there. Closing the path to cycling would eliminate the ability to travel in this responsible, affordable manner.
Limiting hours would also mean pedestrians couldn't take full advantage of the path. It takes 80 minutes to walk across the bridge and another 80 to walk back.
And the extensive walk off time means people walking and cycling would overlap anyway. During those overlaps, any cyclists who are addled by testosterone could feel entitled to be aggressive because it's "bike time."
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Throngs of people using the path indicates that people want MORE. So, we need to push the Governor to give the people what they want.
Properly trained engineers would have built a much wider path in the first place. But there's no time like the present. The path can be expanded by building another jersey barrier wall on the existing roadway deck. Use that new space for fast cycling. Leave the existing path for walking and slow cycling.
As you can imagine, the Thruway Authority will dismiss calls to give up any of their precious road space. But it IS doable. Heck, there's 79 feet of space on the road deck! It can be allocated in many ways. The drawing on the right is one way it all fits:
When you go riding on the TZB's path, please, keep the peace.
The path is only 12' wide. The walls effectively make it even narrower.
Loads of people are using it.
When clusters of people walking come together, it is reasonable for them to spread out into the bike lane to get past each other.
And you'll encounter people walking in the path for no apparent reason.
Plus there are kids, and other inexperienced people, cycling on the path. They're not going to be holding their line.
Slow down. Stop if you have to. Take a deep breath. Let folks clear up. Then proceed.
If you can't handle this, please express your testosterone elsewhere.
Our Director will be discussing this, and related topics, as a guest on Paul Feiner's radio show. Friday morning, July 3, from 10 am to 11 am on WVOX, 1460 AM.
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