Turning old infrastructure into modern parks is so hot right now! Inspired by the High Line, not only do we have that trippy LES Low Line to contemplate but now at least one clever Westchester County official is talking about turning the Tappan Zee bridge into a giant park once its replacement (just fast tracked by the Obama administration) is built. Uhm, yes please?
Compared to the Low Line the idea is quite simple:
Paul Feiner, the Greenburgh town supervisor, said his vision of a suburban High Line would be good for property values, business and tourism and would link Rockland and Westchester Counties in a way that had not been done in the past. He said a pedestrian bridge, supported by donors as the High Line has been, would save hundreds of millions of dollars in demolition costs and take some of the sting from the new plan’s failure to include mass transit or other nonautomobile features.
For another example of how such an idea could work, Greenburgh points to the Walkway Over The Hudson in Poughkeepsie. But not everyone is loving the idea. The Governor's office is declining to comment on it, and Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for the Westchester County executive, Rob Astorino points out to the Times that keeping the bridge alive as a fishing pier or park had been considered when planning the new bridge but was eventually scrapped for unspecified reasons. "I don’t see that as something the county executive would support now," she told them.
Beyond bureaucracy, another concern about such a park would be its length without an exit (three miles!) and the fact that it would make an excellent place to kill yourself without proper security. Still, as fans of parks with spectacular views we'd like to see this idea get tossed around a little longer. No reason to tear down perfectly good infrastructure!
