To: Governor Andrew Cuomo
Governor Cuomo: Rework the Terminus of the New TZ Bridge’s Shared Use Path
The Shared Use Path (SUP) makes the new TZ bridge a destination—one with the potential to draw hundreds of bicyclists, joggers, and pedestrians. The current plan is to end the path on a residential street in the Village of South Nyack—without space for an adequately-sized parking lot or restrooms.
Why is this important?
The new Tappan Zee Bridge is more than simply a replacement structure for vehicles. The pedestrian/cycling path with its scenic overlooks is like a pedestrian park that will attract large numbers of visitors to Westchester and Rockland counties.
To accommodate the swell of visitors, the state plans to build a café, restrooms and parking for 135 cars on Thruway Authority property in Tarrytown.
On the Rockland side of the bridge, however, there is no adequate plan to accommodate the large numbers of visitors. The path will abruptly dump users onto a dangerous intersection at a Thruway entrance ramp in the Village of South Nyack.
In an attempt to mitigate this problem, local authorities proposed demolishing South Nyack's village hall and replacing it with a 20+ space parking lot. This plan was soundly rejected by most who saw it as unsafe and grossly inadequate. Since then, village leaders have backed away from that plan.
This is the largest highway and bridge project in North America today. We urge you and the TZ team to expand the parameters of the project to provide safe and well-designed accommodations that work for visitors and for the Village of South Nyack.
To accommodate the swell of visitors, the state plans to build a café, restrooms and parking for 135 cars on Thruway Authority property in Tarrytown.
On the Rockland side of the bridge, however, there is no adequate plan to accommodate the large numbers of visitors. The path will abruptly dump users onto a dangerous intersection at a Thruway entrance ramp in the Village of South Nyack.
In an attempt to mitigate this problem, local authorities proposed demolishing South Nyack's village hall and replacing it with a 20+ space parking lot. This plan was soundly rejected by most who saw it as unsafe and grossly inadequate. Since then, village leaders have backed away from that plan.
This is the largest highway and bridge project in North America today. We urge you and the TZ team to expand the parameters of the project to provide safe and well-designed accommodations that work for visitors and for the Village of South Nyack.