Activists concerned with the nighttime safety of a pathway in Riverside Park are pushing for new lighting—but park officials say it would cost too much and that there’s enough light now.
Cherry Walk, a section of the Hudson River Greenway that stretches from 102nd to 125th streets, is a narrow, tree-lined bike and pedestrian path located between the Hudson River and the Henry Hudson Parkway. It currently has no electric lighting, which some say makes it dangerous to travel at night.
The parks committee of Community Board 7, which represents the Upper West Side, has been pushing the Riverside Park administration for better lighting along the greenway, according to Lisa Sladkus, community organizer with the pro-biking group Transportation Alternatives. Now that daylight savings time has passed, and more commuters are biking to and from work in the dark, Sladkus said residents have asked for more lighting.
“The parks committee has spoken repeatedly with the leadership in Riverside Park and asked for safer conditions,” Sladkus said. “We’ve had a number of members email us and email the Riverside Park leadership to request for better lighting.”
Riverside Park officials said that adding lighting to Cherry Walk would cost too much and that light from the Henry Hudson Parkway, which borders the path, makes it fairly safe at night.
“There currently are not funds in the budget to install additional lighting in this area of the park,” New York City Department of Parks and Recreation spokesperson Phil Abramson said in an email. “I’m advised that there is light from the nearby highway, though.”
But Ken Coughlin, a member of Transportation Alternatives and CB7’s transportation and parks committees, said that bikers are unable to see their surroundings at night.
“I’ve ridden there,” Coughlin said. “I almost hit a tree.”
CB7 parks committee co-chair Klari Neuwelt agreed that lack of lighting is an issue.
“People commute to work and commute home from work at hours when it’s dark,” Neuwelt said. “Having a securely lit path is quite important.”
Pedestrians using the path last week were split on whether more lighting was needed. Jose Pujls, who lives on 97th Street and jogs along Cherry Walk every morning, said “it’d be dangerous” at night. He added, “They should have lighting, yes, at all times.”
But Helen Ellis, who lives on 72nd street, said the southern part of Cherry Walk is not dangerous, even at night. According to Ellis, the light from the moon makes the path relatively safe.
“I’ve never had a problem with traffic glare,” Ellis said. “For the most part, I feel safe.”
She added, however, that “bikers go pretty fast” and that she could “see how someone could potentially be hit.”
Another section of the Greenway, from 59th to 72nd streets, will get new lighting around spring 2013, according to Coughlin. That section, more heavily trafficked than Cherry Walk, will also have the bike path widened.
“There’s virtually no lighting there. It’s very dangerous, it gets a lot more traffic than the Cherry Walk, and I actually know somebody who didn’t see a piece of wood on the path, and hit it, fell, and then an ambulance had to be called,” Coughlin said. “Our parks committee has been begging the Riverside Park administration to install light there.”
Activists are hoping the same attention paid to the southern section will be given to Cherry Walk. Coughlin said he continues to see “a lot of concerns raised” about Cherry Walk, and Sladkus agreed that locals have made it clear they want the issue fixed.
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