Shore Parkway Promenade Bike Path On Road to Recovery
One of Brooklyn’s favorite bike trails is about to get the attention it has needed ever since Hurricane Sandy did her worst to this scenic route.
Repairman will have to fix tossed about concrete slabs, torn-up fencing and trenched roadways in at least ten different places along the 2.5 mile path. The contract to fix the bike path, worth about $2 million, was awarded to a contractor from Queens only just last week, by the New York Department of Parks and Recreation.
“It’s good to see that they’re finally working on it, because it’s terrible that we don’t have this path,” said Dennis Monsen, a Bay Ridge resident.
Bill Simpson, the project supervisor explained the procedures that the public can expect to see:
“We’re putting up a construction fence to allow the public basically a six-foot area to walk through, which is going to be covered with temporary asphalt and make it a lot safer for them. They won’t be exposed to falling into the ocean over here, or they won’t be subject to trip hazards.”
Leaders in the community however are not entirely happy with the planned repairs, believing that a long-term solution is needed while this project is just a “quick-fix.”
“Right now, this is a temporary fix,” said State Senator Marty Golden of Brooklyn. “This has been temporarily fixed now about 10 times. It’s time to stop with the temporary fix before people really get injured and hurt and killed on this Belt Parkway.”
“What we’re seeing now after every storm, we’re getting significant damage here, and the Belt Parkway is flooding out,” said Marnee Elias-Pavia, district manager of Community Board 11. “And basically, emergency services can’t use that area.”
These community leaders are asking for a new seawall which can protect the parkway from the damage future storms threaten to bring to the area.
“Everything was underwater,” Elias-Pavia said. “We need to protect our streets and our neighborhood.”
“This is a disaster, from all the way down by the Verrazano Bridge, all the way up,” Golden said.
The repairs are expected to be completed by the Memorial Day holiday.
