The stretch of the Esplanade between North Cove Marina and Brookfield Place went from velodrome to mellowdrome last weekend, as the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) instituted a dismount zone for cyclists at what has become a chokepoint, where pedestrians and pedalers have competed for space.
The Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) has erected signs and posted AlliedBarton security guards to instruct bicycle riders to stop and walk their wheels for approximately 500 feet, roughly between Liberty and Vesey Streets. Although this measure is not without precedent (it has been temporarily implemented on multiple occasions in the past, when special events at Brookfield Place drew large crowds), this is the first time such a mandate has been enforced as (apparently) a permanent measure, and in the absence of a temporary crowding condition.
Requiring cyclists to dismount for this portion of the Esplanade is made possible, at least in part, by the opening last winter of the bike lane on the eastern side of Brookfield Place, which was closed for more than a decade, during the reconstruction that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It also appears to have been motivated by the massive influx of tourists who jam both the Esplanade and the bike lane for many hours each day, especially during warm weather.
This may be the first step in a larger initiative to reevaluate whether bicycling is still tenable on the Esplanade anywhere in Battery Park City. The 1.3 mile promenade is widely regarded as the community’s signature amenity for local residents and a civic jewel by visitors, but has become a magnet for parents with small children, elderly people seeking fresh air, dog walkers, skateboarders, roller skaters, and (above all) the tens of thousands of weekly visitors to New York for whom Lower Manhattan has become an indispensable part of the itinerary. All of these constituencies compete for increasingly scarce space on the Esplanade with bicyclists who are sometimes moving at very high speed.
While the BPCA decided unilaterally to institute the dismount zone between Brookfield Place and North Cove Marina, it appears to be taking a different approach to the larger question of cycling on the Esplanade as a whole.
On June 30, the Authority announced the formation of a Community Working Group to advise it on this issue. This panel will include members of Community Board 1 (CB1), and appears to resurrect an approach the Authority last embraced almost a decade ago, when it invited community leaders to help make decisions about the future of the ball fields, and the proposed community center that eventually became Asphalt Green. This collaborative methodology was widely praised at the time, but in the years since, the BPCA appeared to abandon it in favor of more magisterial approach that emphasized making decisions behind closed doors and then presenting them to the community as a fait accompli. A series of these decisions were deeply unpopular and controversial, and inspired widespread criticism of the Authority from residents, community leaders, and elected officials. If the decision to impanel a Working Group to consider the issue of bicycle safety signals a change in this approach, it appears likely to garner a positive response.
“The Battery Park City Esplanade is a breathtaking, vibrant public treasure for residents and visitors from across the city,” said Authority president and chief operating officer Shari Hyman. “With our partners at Community Board 1 and across Battery Park City we look forward to engaging the community to review bicycle usage on the Esplanade, and developing recommendations for the most balanced, effective use of this incredible public space.”
“The Esplanade is a magnificent public asset that is shared with many users,” noted Anthony Notaro, the incoming chair of CB1. “But in New York City, space is always limited and we must find a balance so that residents, workers and visitors can enjoy it. Safety must be a priority, no matter if it’s our young children learning to ride a bike, families enjoying the fantastic harbor views, or visitors touring lower Manhattan. CB1 and its Battery Park City Committee have long advocated for a thoughtful review of the area and then execution of a clear plan to address the issues of safety and sustainability.”
“Residents have requested that an analytical look be made to find ways to accommodate the growth in pedestrian and bicycle traffic, observed Ninfa Segarra, chair of CB1’s Battery Park City Committee. “A discussion that weighs the interest of the varied users of the esplanade is timely. We look forward to participating in the community working group and looking at the matter in a more global manner.”
Because CB1 is currently transitioning through a change in its elected leadership, and because it does not meet in August, no decisions have yet been made about issues such as how many members the Working Group will have, who they will be, what their mission statement will be, whether their deliberations will be public, and for how long they will continue to work.
BPCA spokesman Nick Sbordone says, “for now, we look forward to working with the new Community Board leadership on establishing the working group and beginning to gather feedback. We are committed to engaging and gathering broad-based public input to help inform the decisions we make about bicycles on the BPC Esplanade.”