BikeNYCBurbs

Westchester County is a county with a tremendous amount of potential, and an enormous carbon footprint. According to Wikipedia, it "covers an area of 450 square miles and has a diverse population of approximately 950,000, residing in 45 municipalities". With the Hudson River on the west, the Long Island Sound and New York City to the South, it is an area rich with rivers, culture, cities, trees, and....some public transportation. And some bike paths.

But not enough.

I grew up, for the most part, in a small town in Northern Westchester named Chappaqua. While Chappaqua is an extremely wealthy area in terms of median income, it is tragic in terms of infrastructure. I have seen third world countries with better conditions. What is so wrong?

The roads have no sidewalks.

The buses have no shelters.

The buses often only come every hour and a half.

There are no bike paths.

The roads are windy, people drive fast, and are dangerous.

There are a number of small introductions that could be done to this area, to make it bike, walk, and public transportation friendly. A number of the residents don't have cars: youth under the age of 16, the elderly, people with disabilities, some immigrants, some NYC natives. My goal with this site is to capture what potential lies in this wealthy area, to inspire conversation and ideally, action. Are you with me? I hope so. If you live in the area, are interested in advocacy and don't know where to begin, please contact me at arielleb@pdx.edu. Thank you!