NYSDOT has been working on a project to repair or replace the Troy-Menands Bridge, which carries NY-378 over the Hudson River between the Village of Menands on the west and the City of Troy on the east.
The project will impact me personally, as the bridge currently connects the southern end of the “Uncle Sam Bikeway” (applying that name to the physical infrastructure requires some squinting and wincing) in Troy and a stretch of the Empire State Trail on the west side of the river. Despite how hostile the southern end of the bikeway is to cyclists, I still ride it not infrequently, as there are a limited number of places to cross the river, and that’s the crossing nearest my home up the hill in suburban Colonie.
The public comment period for the project ends today, so I submitted the below to Susan Olsen, the NYSDOT contact for the project.
Dear Ms. Olsen,
I’m writing to comment on the Troy-Menands Bridge project currently being considered by NYSDOT. I live in Colonie and frequently rely on my bicycle for transportation. Despite the current condition of the bridge and the infrastructure surrounding it, I make use of it regularly to get from the southern parts of Troy to Albany (or back home to Colonie). I attended the public meeting in November 2022 and was pleased to see that some of the concepts being considered will support more robust use of the bridge and surrounding roads and trails by cyclists and other active transportation users.
It’s important that we continue to work to make it easy, safe (and pleasant) to use active transportation throughout our region. Because it connects two of our major urban areas, it’s vital that design for the work on the Troy-Menands bridge reflect those values. With that in mind, I urge you to select Concept 3. It provides the most direct and safest connection between existing active transportation infrastructure in South Troy and the EST in Menands.
Concept 1 relies on an existing bridge that’s too narrow to support a reasonable multi-modal path (let alone the vehicle traffic). While Concept 2 doesn’t have that failing, neither does it improve much on the existing vehicle infrastructure in South Troy, which is very hostile to anyone not in a car. Concepts 5-8 don’t provide access to the bridge from existing infrastructure in South Troy, requiring cyclists to ride more than a mile out of their way (uphill) to the HVCC campus to access the new bridge. Concept 9 is even worse in that respect, moving the crossing further south.
The Empire State Trail is a remarkable asset of New York, serving both visitors from all over the country as well as the thousands of local citizens who use it for transportation or for recreation. We should seek to strengthen such connections between our communities. Please keep that in mind when making your decision.
Sincerely,
For anyone interested, Capital Streets also submitted a letter (far more organized and comprehensive than my own). You can read that on their website here.