Making Schenectady Bike Friendly
Author: ecolocal | 
As a Parks and Trails survey released several weeks ago showed, the Mohawk Hudson bike trail is heavily used. And Schenectady officials hope their new greenway, connecting Central Park to downtown via Bradley Street, Brandywine Avenue and Vale Park, will be too once it is completed in November.
There’s no reason why not; this is going to be a pleasant, safe trail — through two picturesque parks, separated from cars all the way — that can be used for both recreation and transportation by residents and visitors alike.
Back in 2003, city and county planners developed a good bike plan for the city. It called for improving connections between the bike path and downtown to get cyclists passing by the city to get off the trail and come through, perhaps visiting Little Italy or Jay Street downtown, or doing a designated loop through Union College, the GE Plot, Upper Union and Central Park.
Some of those connections have now been made. Using the existing bike path, commuters from Niskayuna can easily get to the new Golub headquarters or the community college. Recreational cyclists can do that loop, sharing the road with cars but on routes chosen and signed for safety. Visitors downtown can lock up their bikes at racks watched by attendants at Metroplex’s parking lots. The Erie Boulevard redesign will feature a bike path. And linking it all up, the greenway, which can be used by all types of riders, kids as well as adults.
Schenectady merchants should start encouraging people to come by bicycle, as some do in Saratoga Springs, by offering discounts. The city should have fun, bike-oriented activities, like bike rodeos for kids or races, or close certain roads to cars on occasion for a bike afternoon or night.
There could be big benefits for Schenectady if it becomes known as a bike-friendly city, and it is on its way.
Last Updated (Friday, 05 February 2010 23:58)
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