Hudson River Greenway Barriers Are Temporary Fix, Officials Say

MANHATTAN, NY — City and state officials are trying to figure out the best way to protect the Hudson River Greenway from another terror attack after their first attempt drew the ire of cycling advocates.

The city and state transportation departments on Thursday began installing temporary barriers along the state-owned greenway at 57 intersections between 59th Street and the Battery, said Ben Sarle, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio. The state placed jersey barriers at 31 intersections where cars can access the path, while the city put concrete cubes at 26 pedestrian intersections, Sarle said.

That came after alleged terrorist Sayfullo Saipov drove a pickup truck down the bike path unimpeded on Tuesday, killing eight people and wounding 12 in the city's worst terror attack since 9/11.

Officials say the basic concrete obstacles aren't the final answer.

"These concrete barriers are a short-term solution that will better protect bikers, walkers, runners and all New Yorkers – and DOT is moving forward expeditiously to develop a permanent solution that will enhance security while allowing emergency vehicles to do their jobs," Cathy Calhoun, the state Department of Transportation's chief of staff, said in a statement.

But the 20-foot-long jersey barriers in many places jut into the path at an angle, bottlenecking bike traffic into one lane. That puts “north and southbound cyclists on a collision course” and discourages New Yorkers from using the greenway, Paul Steely White, executive director of the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives, said in a statement Thursday.

“The installation of dangerous concrete barriers across the Hudson River Greenway bike and pedestrian paths is an ill-advised and unacceptable solution to a critical security problem,” White said.

Several cyclists on Twitter complained about the poorly placed barriers. Photos show some of them surrounded by big plastic cylinders that take up even more space.

"You can't *not* think that something bad has happened and could again over there," Doug Gordon, who writes the cycling blog Brooklyn Spoke, wrote on Twitter. "The heavy barriers force this thought into your head."

Advocates have long called for officials to put short metal posts called bollards on the greenway to prevent cars from hitting cyclists.

The city and state acted as quickly as they could to make the bike path more secure after Tuesday's attack, Calhoun said. The city is keeping an eye on the flow of greenway traffic and is "adjusting the formation of the barriers as necessary,” Sarle said.

De Blasio acknowledged the problems Friday, saying the barrier plan "needs some revision to make sure people can still ride their bikes."

"Obviously we want safety and security, but we also want people to go about their lives," de Blasio said at an unrelated news conference.

(Lead image: Cyclists bike on the Hudson River Greenway on Thursday. Photo by Noah Manskar)