I drove through that area frequently during the late 1980s and they were blasting rock on the west bank to widen the approach to the bridge back then.
Rumor at the time was the wider road would support the addition of a second span.
New York is already famous for turning an old section of elevated rail lines into a beautiful park. Now there’s a proposal to build what could be the coolest elevated park yet.
A group of New Yorkers came up with the idea to turn an old bridge, slated to be demolished, into a 3-mile pedestrian park that would look something like this:
Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown, about 20 miles from Manhattan, would be transformed into Tappan Bridge Park, a 3-mile linear park that crosses the Hudson River. The bridge is in poor shape from a high volume of car traffic, and construction on a new bridge is expected to start next year.
But as Treehugger reports, making the bridge-park a reality will be a significant challenge:
Saving the Tappan Zee is rather unlikely, however. The State has formally closed its environmental review, which includes plans for demolition. Lecuona argues that the reasons given for the demolition are “not well founded,” and the problems posed could easily be overcome. But officials don’t seem to be listening, and it could take a lot of signatures to make it a possibility, let alone a reality.
If things do progress, the next step would be a feasibility study, which can be expensive. But Lecuona points out that it took nearly ten years to build the High Line, and that the success of that project could help the Tappan Bridge Park get off the ground.
It’s certainly a bold idea, and as the High Line proved, bold ideas for public spaces like this can have a huge impact and economic benefit to the region.
A New York Bridge Set for Demolition Could Become a Park Instead [Treehugger]
Images: Tappan Bridge Park and Steve and Sara via Flickr
