South Nyack Seeking Transit Link and Shared Use Path Changes

NYACK, NY — An advocacy group of South Nyack residents plans to attend Tuesday's Village Board meeting en masse to continue expressing concern about how two projects — the Shared Use Path for the New NY Bridge and the Lower Hudson Transit Link — will affect them.

Specifically, they are concerned about:

• The development of the Esposito trail to connect to the Shared Use Path on the new bridge
• Widening South Franklin Street to add a bike lane that extends beyond the Esposito Trail
• Two large scale commuter bus stops at the corners of South Franklin Street and Clinton Avenue

South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian said in an email to the village Dec. 7 that she has asked the state transportation department to explore an alternate location for the proposed Clinton Avenue bus stop, one that's away from a residential area.

"That study is ongoing and I hope to have some good news to share on this front soon," she said.

She said she has also talked to representatives from the New NY Bridge to discuss potential refinements to the Shared Use Path design.

"While most residents had very favorable views of the renderings presented on November 15th at Living Christ Church, a number of residents near the trailhead at Clinton Avenue objected to some of the architectural elements," she said. "I've asked that the design be refined to better reflect the unique character of the Esposito Trail, while still honoring our commitments to the plan (Alternative F) we fought so hard to get."

Preserve South Nyack held a public meeting at the Nyack Library Thursday to raise awareness about the plans "to permanently alter the face of South Nyack," spokeswoman Jessica Hans-Smolin said.

The group believes they were not properly informed when they supported village officials' choice for Plan F 11 months ago; and, many now feel that the concerns that the village had about Cornelison Avenue were mitigated while other problems were dumped on residents in the Franklin Street and Clinton Avenue neighborhood, she said.

Now the group encourages all residents in the village and its surrounding areas to attend the Village Board meeting, which starts at 7:15 p.m. and asks those interested in attending to RSVP to preservesouthnyack@gmail.com, Hans-Smolin said.

Here are some of the details about Plan F from the state's Shared-use Path Facilities and Bicycle/Pedestrian Connections Environmental Assessment of February 2016:

under Alternative F, the shared-use path would continue from the
Replacement Bridge along the northeastern side of Interstate 87/287 within NYSTA
right-of-way and pass through a new pedestrian underpass under the South Broadway
bridge. However, under Alternative F, the shared-use path would then continue to the
parking area adjacent to the existing local access ramp to Interstate 87/287
southbound/eastbound from South Broadway (which is closed to vehicular traffic).
Access to Interchange 10 for the Interstate 87/287 southbound/eastbound on-ramp
would be maintained from Route 9W North.
Alternative F would also include a pedestrian and bicycle ‘spur path’ from the shared use
path that would extend across the closed local access ramp to Interstate 87/287
southbound/eastbound, then behind South Nyack Village Hall and, like Alternative E,
would cross the Esposito Trail and continue as a paved side path on the west side and
adjacent to the Esposito Trail to Clinton Avenue to facilitate local pedestrian and bicycle
access to the shared-use path.
Alternative F would include several roadway modifications in and around Interchange
10 to handle traffic diverted from the closed local access ramp from South Broadway to
the retained access point from Route 9W North. The intersection of Hillside Avenue
(Route 9W) and Shadyside Avenue would be reconfigured and new traffic signals would
be installed, as shown on Figure 3-3. Traffic signals would also be installed at the South Franklin Street/Clinton Avenue intersection and the Franklin Street Extension/Route 9W (Hillside Avenue) intersection.

SEE ALSO

• State Picks Shared-Use Path Plan for the New Bridge
• South Nyack Board to Vote on Shared-Use Path Plan
• Thruway Agrees to Relocate New Bridge's Shared-Use Path
• A Call to Action on the Bike Path Terminus from the Mayor