Cyclists say they want improvements made to George Washington Bridge

<p>A reconstruction project on the George Washington Bridge is underway, but some cyclists say that the plans don't include a sufficient bike path.</p>

News 12 Staff

Apr 21, 2018, 1:04 AM

Updated 2,189 days ago

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A reconstruction project on the George Washington Bridge is underway, but some cyclists say that the plans don't include a sufficient bike path.
Bike advocates like Niele Weismann say that the bike path on the bridge should be made wider.
“You’ve got the two busiest roads in the country, 9W and Hudson Greenway…You’re connecting a firehose with a straw,” Weismann says.
Any changes to the reconstruction plans would need to happen soon, as the project is set for completion by 2025.
“The Port Authority says it’s going to cost $90 million to do this now. If they wait until 2050, which is a generation away, it’s going to cost more than four times that much. If they're not going to do this now, then it’s not getting to get done,” Weismann says.
The bridge currently has a mixed pedestrian-bike path that runs 10 feet across on either side of the bridge. The new plan calls for a 7-foot bike path, which some cyclists say will lead to overcrowding. 
The New York Department of Transportation estimates that there were about 3,700 bike trips a day across the bridge in 2015.
Weismann says that bicycle riding has really taken off, with many towns implementing bike-share programs and Bergen County putting together plans to link all the county parks with bike paths.
“The Port Authority has really missed what’s going on,” he says.
A spokesperson for the Port Authority pointed News 12 New Jersey to the agency’s current bike path plan. They noted that that the new plan separates pedestrians and cyclists for a better "user experience."
The spokesperson did not comment on whether the commissioners would consider widening the path.


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