By Julie Shapiro
To protect cyclists from speeding cars on Chambers St., the city Department of Transportation wants to create a new bike path that would cut through City Hall Park.
The path would run west to east along Warren St., connecting the Hudson River Greenway to the Brooklyn Bridge. The final stretch of the path would cross the north side of City Hall Park behind the City Hall building.
The Friends of City Hall Park just got the north side of the park reopened last year, so they don’t want to lose the quiet green space, which is currently closed to bikers.
“We don’t want further alienation of the north side of City Hall Park,” said Sanford Wurmfeld, interim president of the Friends. “It’s one of a few escapes for people in the whole area.”
Community Board 1’s Seaport/Civic Center Committee shared the Friends’ concerns but decided to approve the bike path 4 to 1 after asking the D.O.T. for more signage.
Ryan Russo, who runs the D.O.T.’s pedestrian and bike programs, said the D.O.T. picked Warren St. because it is wide, with only one lane of traffic. Cutting through City Hall Park makes sense, he said, because the path aligns perfectly with the Brooklyn Bridge.
The D.O.T. estimates that pedestrians will far outnumber cyclists in the park, even during the most crowded times of day.
The peak for cyclists will be during the evening rush hour, as Lower Manhattan workers ride back to Brooklyn. The D.O.T. expects to see 95 cyclists an hour cutting through City Hall Park, while about 950 pedestrians use the park at the same time. At other times, the D.O.T. expects between 10 and 30 bikes an hour and between 200 and 1,000 pedestrians.
In the park, the D.O.T. would not separate cyclists from pedestrians with a dedicated bike lane, but would instead post signs advising the park’s patrons to watch out for each other.
The D.O.T. may move several benches from a narrow section of the path, but Russo promised the community that they would not lose any benches permanently.
Andrea Katz, a Water St. resident, spoke in favor of the bike path. Chambers St., just north of the park, is one of the most treacherous places to ride, she said, particularly at the intersection with Centre St. She thinks bikes and pedestrians will be able to share City Hall Park.
“Any bike path I’ve been on is imperfect,” Katz said. “But there is room [in City Hall Park].”
But Paul Viggiano, a Board 1 member, thought the D.O.T. should rethink the route. Bikers can be dangerous, Viggiano said, using himself as an example. He described ignoring signs and racing down the Brooklyn Bridge as fast as he could.
Una Perkins, another board member, suggested that cyclists dismount and walk the bikes through City Hall Park, as they do in other small city parks.
However, Russo, of D.O.T., was worried that if cyclists had to dismount to go through the park, they would just decide to continue riding on Chambers St. instead.
“The more attractive it is, I think, the safer — it will reduce crashes,” Russo said.
Rick Landman, a Friends of City Hall Park member, doesn’t think Chambers St. is so dangerous. He has never been hit in 29 years of riding around Lower Manhattan.
“The whole atmosphere is going to change,” he said of allowing bikes into the park. “Even the squirrels would be against it.”
Julie@DowntownExpress.com
Saturday greenway
On Monday the city released a map to its new Summer Streets plan to ban cars from six miles of streets on three Saturday mornings in August, connecting the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park. The plan, first reported in Downtown Express last week, has been criticized by residents and businesses, but is supported by Transportation Alternatives, a cycling advocacy group. Two cycling celebrities — one famous in a different field — Lance Armstrong and David Byrne, joined Mayor Bloomberg at the Monday announcement.
Parts of Centre St., Lafayette St., Fourth Ave., Park Ave. and E. 72nd St. will be a pedestrian and cycling thoroughfare on Aug. 9, 16 and 23 from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Cars will be permitted to cross the route on major streets including Chambers, Worth, Canal, Broome and E. Houston Sts.
