Eyes on the Street: Cyclists Ride New Hudson Greenway Ramp in Inwood

Cyclists and wheelchair users will soon have improved access to the Hudson River Greenway in Inwood, when the Parks Department officially opens a new ramp connecting the greenway to Dyckman Street.

The ADA-compliant ramp, at the northern terminus of the greenway, was supposed to open a year ago. Until now users had to enter and exit the greenway via a set of stairs on a segment of Riverside Drive that serves as a Henry Hudson Parkway onramp. The new ramp rises from the street in a series of switchbacks.

Though Parks told us the project isn’t quite finished, photos of people using the ramp are popping up on Facebook and Twitter.

With the completion of this project, it’s even more urgent to make Dyckman Street — which connects the east and west side greenways — a safer place to bike and walk. As of July, dozens of people had been injured in crashes on Dyckman this year, according to DOT’s Vision Zero View.

Community Board 12 asked DOT to study a citizen-generated proposal to add a protected bike lane to Dyckman, but the agency hasn’t acted on the plan in the seven years since it first surfaced.