Update - March 2005

In May 2003, The New York City Environmental Fund awarded a grant to the Preservancy's Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway Task Force to study the feasibility of a bicycle and pedestrian route along the parkway. The study considered issues such as signage, pavement width, parking needs, potentials for motorized/nonmotorized conflicts, and curb cut placement.  The route has not yet been finalized. 

In a complementary study over the summer of 2004, a student from the Harvard School of Design, working through the New Yorkers for Parks Community Design Internship program, considered ways to transform the discontinuous sidewalks along the parkway service roads into a safe and green haven for pedestrians.  Developed with extensive input of neighborhood residents, her report identifies technical improvements that are necessary for safety, ways to incorporate elements of the parkway's historic design, and ways to bring green to the greenway, including places for pocket parks and a planting plan.  The report's recommendations were displayed at Wave Hill in January 2005. 

Still in progress is a bicycle/pedestrian trail map of the parkway, funded by the City Parks Foundation. 

Background

The Bronx Advisory Committee to the Hudson River Valley Greenway (HRVG) Report of 1998 identifies a possible on-street bicycle trail along Riverdale Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway Service Road, connecting with Yonkers via Riverdale Avenue and with Manhattan via either the Henry Hudson or Broadway Bridges. The report notes that this route offers a direct route between Manhattan and Yonkers.

Fast forward six years, and the Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway Task Force receives two grants to study design issues for a Greenway along the Parkway.  The final reports will be incorporated into the work of the advisory committee creating the Scenic Byway corridor management plan.  To learn more about the Scenic Byway Task Force and the corridor management plan, visit our Henry Hudson Parkway Scenic Byway page 

Of course, bicyclists use the service lanes of the parkway--and other on-street routes through Riverdale--everyday.  The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) includes the service lanes on its Bike Route Map as a “recommended route”, having sufficient width and/or light traffic. 

However, a signed route has several advantages over simply finding one's way through the streets (despite the loss of a certain sense of adventure).  Bicycle route signs and other markings help a bicycle rider who is unfamiliar with the area find and stay on the route.  A signed route is also likely to have been studied for hazards and to have had those hazards addressed.  In the case of a Greenway, additional attention will have been paid to aesthetics and environmental issues.