Overstated objections leave bicyclists with nothing

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To the editor:

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) and planning director Jerry Bogacz spent several years and the allotment of funding to develop a plan that would create a continuous link through Riverdale connecting the Hudson River Valley Greenway between Dyckman Street in Manhattan and the waterfront in Yonkers only to have Community Board 8 fail to pass a resolution in support of NYMTC’s proposed plan. 

Your article reported that some of the objections were the removal of trees, losing traffic and parking lanes and the use of Riverdale Park as a thoroughfare for the greenway. Without proper traffic engineering studies these objections cannot be forgone conclusions.

It is sad that cyclists end up with no amenities in Riverdale. I ride my car when I need to, I drive my bicycle when I can and often walk when it is feasible. I occasionally use mass transit as well. As a user of all modes of transportation, I feel that as a bicyclist I am of pushed to the fringes both by other users of the road or overstated community objections and cyclists are left with nothing. 

John Benfatti

New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, Jerry Bogacz, Hudson River Greenway, John Benfatti

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