Letter To Mayor: NYC Needs Greenway Director
Via StreetsBlog, we find this information about the amazing Chicago bike plan, and via that, we learn of Chicago’s amazing Millennium Park bike station.
This only reinforces the urgency of this letter I faxed to Mayor Bloomberg yesterday:
Dear Mayor Bloomberg,
I have lived in New York City for six years now, and moved within the city four times in that period. When I first moved here, I heard about New York’s “Greenway” system, and was impressed at the plans in place.
I have finally settled in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, but in every place I’ve lived, I have been dismayed at the lack of real progress on the Greenway system. Everywhere I go, there is a lack of real, intelligent infrastructure for cycling as a mobility solution. It’s as if the city’s attitude is that “real people drive, and if they can’t they take the subway or, god forbid, ride a bus.”
This attitude needs to change. We all have many options for getting around, and each mobility solution needs to be given smart, modern infrastructure to support a healthy, vibrant city.
The Greenway network must be treated as full-fledged part of the transportation network, with coherent connections and coordinated citywide planning. It must be designed intelligently, and given equal standing with other mobility networks like the sidewalks, roads, subways and busses. It seems the main problem Greenways face is a lack of coordination between the dozens of city, state and federal agencies, and public and private organizations, who must be involved.
New York City needs a citywide Greenway Director to coordinate Greenway development and maintenance, and ensure community vision is given appropriate priority.
Sincerely,
Adam Piontek
etc.
