Bronx River Parkway Path to be Extended Between Scarsdale and Hartsdale
- Thursday, 13 April 2017 12:42
- Last Updated: Thursday, 13 April 2017 12:42
- Published: Thursday, 13 April 2017 12:42
- Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 10463
Good news for bikers and joggers: You will no longer have to leave the Bronx River bike path to traverse Scarsdale. The Westchester County Parks Department is planning to extend the path through the gap by adding a 1.6 mile stretch between Scarsdale and Hartsdale.
The county had originally proposed to build the path on the east side of the parkway in 2008 but met objections from Fox Meadow residents who did not want the path abutting their yards. The Parks Department went back to the drawing board and some nine years later have come up with a new plan to build the path on the west side of the Bronx River Parkway, running parallel to the pipeline.
David DeLucia, Director of Parks Facilities for Westchester County was invited to a meeting at Scarsdale Village Hall on April 12 to explain the scope of the work. The $6.7 million project calls for an eight-foot wide path that traverses the Bronx River Parkway underneath the Crane Road Bridge. Once across, walkers, joggers and bikers will travel 1.6 miles on what DeLucia called a "pleasant and natural route."
In Hartsdale, the path will pass underneath the Fenimore Road Bridge and continue to the Greenacres Avenue Bridge where a ramp will take users up to the top of the bridge. The new ten-foot wide sidewalk on the top of the bridge will become part of the path – which will then extend the path over the bridge and onto the existing path opposite Hitchcock Church. From there the path continues past the County Tennis Courts and into White Plains.
Stone retaining walls will line any steep portions of the ride and these walls will be finished with a material that can easily be washed if graffiti artists strike. It will require the removal of 208 trees along the pathway and hopefully many will be replaced.
The County is now soliciting proposals for the work and plans to have it completed in 18 months. For those who are wondering where their county taxes go, this new path will be one tangible benefit of those payments.
