Motor Parkway Trails #1: Brooklyn-Queens Greenway
Inspired by my presentation "Exploring, Biking and Hiking Along the Historic Motor Parkway" at the Adirondack Mountain Club in Dix Hills earlier this month, a new series is being introduced on VanderbiltCupRaces.com documenting the favorite Motor Parkway Trails.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
Hope to see you this morning for Brunch & Presentation .
Leading off: The Brooklyn-Queens Greenway in Queens.
Starting Point: Horace Harding Boulevard and Peck Avenue
End Point: Winchester Boulevard, Queens
On July 8, 1938, Commissioner Robert Moses and the New York Department of Parks opened a 2 1/2 mile bike path on the former right-of-way of the Motor Parkway beginning in Fresh Meadows.
Sam Berliner III and my favorite co-author Al Velocci showing Newsday reporter Bill Bleyer the Queens section of the Motor Parkway in 2004.
The 73rd Avenue Motor Parkway Bridge
Hollis Hills Terrace Motor Parkway Bridge
Springfield Boulevard Motor Parkway Bridge with the entrance/exit ramps to the Motor Parkway.
The Rocky Hill Lodge was located at the top of the ramps..
The almost hidden Wheeler Farmway Bridge #1.
The second Wheeler Farmway Bridge at Alley Pond. Robert Moses decorated the bridge with bricks.
Comments
The “stretch” that started it all for me as a lttile boy growing up in nearby Floral Park. This “speedway” hosted the bikes on my and my buddies and ignited a lifelong love of bikes, cars, motorsport and Long Island’s history. So pleased that NYC had the sense to keep some of this heritage alive
Robert Moses was far more interested in form then function - he didn’t care if a highway was unusable, and he despised mass transit. But hey, his brick decorating of a bridge looks good.
Ron
I love the bike path through Cunningham and Alley Pond Parks, particularly the bridges over which it travels. Its ironic that Robert Moses thought he was hurting Willie K by deeming the Motor Parkway in Queens would be but a humble bike path rather than a highway, and now it is the most original section, immortalizing the LIMP.
Thanks also to those NYC Mayors who supported the maintenance of the “Bike Path” in the seven decades following the transfer of the LIMP to NYC.
As both an avid cyclist and a local historian, the more I learn about the Motor Parkway Bike Path in Queens, the more special it becomes for me.
From a purely cycling standpoint, though, it should be noted that this bike path, with its many hills, can be a bit challenging for casual riders and children. Expect a combination of short-but-steep hills with little or no space to build up speed and long, gradual ascents, which can knock the wind out of anyone who hasn’t been on a bike in a while.
In any event, if you’re in good enough shape, don’t miss this one, if only for the history!
Agree Tom on those hills, and they should not be taken for granted with kids on bikes. That hill under the GCP is a killer ~8% grade that even adults are seen walking their bikes. :D I used to ride by on Union Tpke from Woodside, and passing through the area, that Wheeler bridge by the tennis courts always stood out, like it represented something but not sure what it was. Thanks to Howard, Sam, Art, and Robert, their websites answered a lot of questions. I’m glad the area was preserved by NYC as it’s still a wonderful walk back in time, a porthole to the past.
I also agree with Tom and Frank on those hills on the on the Bike Path in Queens,it knocked the wind out of me when I went their one day to look at the remains of the Motor Parkway.I walked one way and ran up the hills,walked down the hills at a very slow pace to catch my breath. I’m not one to do this very often