Crucial Greenway Bridge Reopens

Streetsblog gets action!

The Parks Department has reopened the Fort Washington Park bike and pedestrian path — a crucial span connecting upper Manhattan to the rest of the West Side Greenway — ahead of schedule after a months-long campaign by Streetsblog and local cyclists.

The bridge reopened Tuesday — though the Parks Department had originally told Streetsblog’s David Meyer that it had no timeline for reconstruction. At that time, it appeared the bridge would be closed for a year or more. After that story came out, the Parks Department committed to fixing the problem on a tighter timeframe.

Of course, the reopening was not without some controversy, as some cyclists objected to a sign demanding riders dismount.

“What’s this about?” asked TransAlt’s Joe Cutrufo.

A Parks Department official tweeted back that the dismount rule is necessary as “a safety measure” because “the width of the bridge has been reduced” as repairs continue.

“So it’s no longer a bike path then,” sniped cyclist BrianVan.

The dismount rule is frustrating, but the restored link is crucial to hundreds of cyclists who need the bridge on their commutes from upper Manhattan to lower sections of the continent’s busiest greenway. Without the bridge, cyclists were given a convoluted and hilly detour.