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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
Brooklyn’s bikers have swayed the world’s strongest military with a few well-penned letters.
The Army Corps of Engineers had closed the Plumb Beach Bike Path as part of their project to shore up the Belt Parkway against erosion. But at the request of disgruntled bikers the Army has now made accommodations to keep the path open throughout the Summer.
“I guess a lot of people use that lane,” said Chris Gardener, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers. “I’m not terribly familiar with biking the belt over there, but going by the amount of people who have called and emailed, it’s pretty popular.”
The Army is currently overseeing contractors that are erecting sand dunes, walls, and coastal jetties to protect the beach and Belt Parkway against erosion in the event of future storms. When the project began, the military had arranged to keep the bike path open. But, in May it announced that the path would have to close because of safety concerns regarding heavy equipment that would be stored nearby.
Bicyclists complained and the Army took the complaints to their construction contractors, along with city and national park agencies, which were able to arrange for park land to be used to store the equipment.
“Basically they worked it out with parks and now they can use different parts of the park for staging areas for the heavy equipment,” said Gardener.
The bike lane is now officially opened, according to Gardener, and should remain that way throughout the duration of the Army’s project, but anything could happen.
“Right now the status is that it will stay open through the rest of the work,” said Gardener. “That could always change, but we’re hoping we’ve found a solution to keep open.”
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.