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NY state looking at making Tappan Zee Bridge into a walkway?


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"State officials indicated today that they are exploring whether to turn the Tappan Zee Bridge into a greenway or pedestrian walkway when the new bridge is built.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and aides said it would cost $150 million just to take down the 3-mile-long bridge. Perhaps it could be saved and turned into a pedestrian walkway, Cuomo said.

 

 

“Could you leave it up and what are the economics and the practicalities of that?” Cuomo said during a cabinet meeting at the Capitol. “It’s an exciting option.”

 

 

In recent years, the state turned an old railroad bridge across the Hudson River into a successful pedestrian walkway in Poughkeepsie. It has been a draw for tourists since in opened in 2009.

 

 

Thomas Madison, the state Thruway Authority’s executive director, said it may be more practical to make the Tappan Zee Bridge a walkway rather than to simply tear it down."

 

 

 

State looking at making Tappan Zee Bridge into a walkway | The Poughkeepsie Journal | poughkeepsiejournal.com

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It only takes one large hole for a person to fall thru and the family suing for $100 mil. They should just demolish the old bridge when the new one is built.

 

Concourse being fair the "WALKWAY" here in the Hudson River Valley(connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland)has very high fencing. Thus if done correctly, i agree with Keystone a walkway on the soon to be 'old' Tappan Zee Bridge could work. Right now the existing TZX does not have a walkway.

 

With that said, walkways on bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and dozens more has and will always have a handful of people who will attempt sucide or do 'stupid' things that could lead to a tragic fall.

 

The "walkway" not far from my house has been so succesful, some local HV political leaders believe it's a factor in the population increase for towns near the Hudson River crossing mainly Hyde Park, Highland and of course Poughkeepsie.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pudkz6uRMs8&feature=related

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Concourse being fair the "WALKWAY" here in the Hudson River Valley(connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland)has very high fencing. Thus if done correctly, i agree with Keystone a walkway on the soon to be 'old' Tappan Zee Bridge could work. Right now the existing TZX does not have a walkway.

 

With that said, walkways on bridges such as the Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and dozens more has and will always have a handful of people who will attempt sucide or do 'stupid' things that could lead to a tragic fall.

 

I wasn't talking about people that would jump off the bridge, I mean wouldn't they need to refurbish the road to make sure nothing falls apart leading to holes opening up? To me I think it would be safe to just blow up the old bridge and not worry about potential safety hazards. The bridge as is now would not be safe for pedestrians and would need money spent to make it safe.

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Guest lance25

This won't fly for the following reasons:

 

1) It's too flipping long. I just plotted this thing on GMaps and it's about three miles long. Who in their right mind is gonna walk or bike across that distance?

 

2) The bridge is still decrepit. Even if it was a short bridge, the DOT would still have to throw money into repairs and upkeep. And that's without the toll income it's getting now as that would go to the new bridge.

 

Sure, it's nice to reuse some things and convert others into something useful instead of just tearing it down, but this just won't work. Not everything can or should be the next High Line.

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This won't fly for the following reasons:

 

1) It's too flipping long. I just plotted this thing on GMaps and it's about three miles long. Who in their right mind is gonna walk or bike across that distance?

 

 

 

3 miles is from about Lower Manhattan to 34th Street... crazy!

 

I never knew the Bridge was that long, I walked from LM to Midtown several times in the past, in you walk it on Husdon River Park you'd see all kinds of joggers and bikers, the Bridge would be good for those types of activities but I agree its too long for a causal walk..

 

Not to mention on the western side of the Hudson there's little to no transit there, so you would have to walk back on the other side.

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3 miles is from about Lower Manhattan to 34th Street... crazy!

 

I never knew the Bridge was that long, I walked from LM to Midtown several times in the past, in you walk it on Husdon River Park you'd see all kinds of joggers and bikers, the Bridge would be good for those types of activities but I agree its too long for a causal walk..

 

Not to mention on the western side of the Hudson there's little to no transit there, so you would have to walk back on the other side.

 

 

Trainfan there couple of Rockland (know as TOR Buses)local buses in Nyack and of course the Tappan Zee Express between Palasides Center Mall and White Plains. However the TZX does not run on Sundays and major holidays.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 4 months later...
Guest Lance

Well, in an update to the original story, it turns out that the proposed Tappan Zee Greenway is pretty much dead.

 

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Dreams of a park like the Walkway Over The Hudson on the current Tappan Zee Bridge appear to be dead.

 

Supporters pictured cafes, concerts, sculpture gardens, and long pedestrian pathways, but New York State has three proposals filling 70 boxes from companies that are bidding on a project long-described as including the demolition of the 56-year-old original span.

 

The Journal News reported that Thomas Madison, the executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority, told a public meeting on the bridge project that demolition is the intention.

 

“It would have provided tourists and residents with a world-class destination. I think it could have generated some revenue,” Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane, who was among those in support of a greenway.

 

He said he hopes the decision isn’t etched in stone.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that the idea of a park on the original span would be an exciting opportunity.

Courtesy: WCBS New York

 

And for once, I've gotta agree with the folks in the comments section. If the bridge is structurally sound enough to hold a park, they wouldn't be building a new one to run cars across.

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Well, in an update to the original story, it turns out that the proposed Tappan Zee Greenway is pretty much dead.

 

And for once, I've gotta agree with the folks in the comments section. If the bridge is structurally sound enough to hold a park, they wouldn't be building a new one to run cars across.

 

 

As much as I want a park and greenway, indeed the structurally unsound Tappan Zee Bridge has to go, but I'm still all for a small strip of walkable and bikable paths on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, perhaps also small strips of grass to make it look like a park in some senses.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've lived in Tarrytown for 12 years. I know a lot about the TZ. First of all the Bridge was supposed to last 55 years. It's been longer. They finally put better gaurdrails up so t's not just one swerve and your car is falling in the water. I'd leave the old bridge up and see how long it takes for it to rust and rot. Abandon it! It's the cheapest alternitive. They were thinking of putting a railway underneath all of that stuff. I'm glad to see NO PARK.

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