Greenway For Bikes To Soon Encircle Fresh Kills Site
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Long before the former Fresh Kills landfill is transformed into a park, the Parks Department will complete in the near future a greenway on the perimeter of the Staten Island area that will make getting around on bike or foot much easier. Borough reporter Amanda Farinacci filed the following report. It takes a lot of heart to be a cyclist on Staten Island, where most families own more than one car, there are lots of highways and residential streets are always clogged by traffic. For the dedicated few cyclists, the rising number of bike lanes and cyclist friendly areas brings hope that that could one day change.
"Definitely, if it's there, they will use it," said cyclist David Waxman.
The news that the Parks Department is planning a nearly 3.5-mile greenway around the perimeter of the former Fresh Kills landfill should come as good news. The plan calls for creating off-road north and south access around the 2,200-acre space that is roughly three times the size of Central Park.
It will connect to existing pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths to promote alternative transportation options for commuting on Staten Island.
"There's room to do it on the western edge of Richmond Avenue, and so it's going to be all off-road," said Fresh Kills Administrator Eloise Hirsh. "There will not only be a paved path but a green strip in between that paved path and that roadway."
Meredith Sladek, an avid bicyclist from the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said the project sounds good, but she had some questions about connectivity.
"Does it connect to the [Staten Island] Mall? Does it run enough along Richmond Avenue, to allow those cyclists who maybe did a ride in the park and want a Gatorade to stop by the store on the way? A chance to patronize local businesses and drum up the local economy?" said Sladek. "I think that's an essential part of having a good, practical cycling network."
The Parks Department said it believes that is exactly what it will do, that by building the greenway it will encourage further construction of facilities for walking and cycling.
A $10 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration will pay for the project, which the Parks Department says will reduce reliance on cars and improve air quality. Construction on the greenway is set to begin early next year and should be complete by 2013.