The answer is years away but it’s conceivable the world’s widest crossing could one day rank alongside New York’s many treasured landmarks, which include Grand Central Terminal, the Brooklyn Bridge and most recently, the Walkway Over the Hudson.
People walking or biking over the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland will enjoy six scenic overlooks along the 3-mile path. The northerly view would offer stunning vistas of the water, Hook Mountain and the Sleepy Hollow lighthouse.
“That really is a big draw,” said Larry Oakner, senior partner of strategy and engagement with CoreBrand, a marketing consultant firm in Manhattan.
“It may fall into those hidden gem kind of ideas of what New York state has to offer,” he added.
Although the first of the Tappan Zee’s two spans will open in late 2016, the path won’t be ready until 2018 when it will become part of the northern span that carries traffic into Rockland.
A tourism director’s dream scenario would envision thousands of people arriving on weekends to descend upon the path, while pumping money into shops and restaurants in Tarrytown and the Nyacks. Bicycle clubs from New York City and the region would add it to their routes; out-of-state visitors would opt to stay overnight to take in local attractions, including the first major new bridge to be built in the metropolitan area in half a century.
“Just to simply build the bridge won’t deliver the greatest return for you from a tourism perspective,” said Bill Baker, chief strategist of Total Destination Marketing, an Oregon-based firm that helps communities with branding. “They want reasonable experiences, not to just take a photo of it.”
Baker said the landmark offered a unique opportunity for local businesses.
“The parties need to start talking and planning for it,” he said. “There may be some need to commit some funds and perhaps re-purpose some plans.”
Michael Yanko, whose company is constructing a 132-room hotel in Nyack, is banking on the new bridge and walkway drawing visitors from all over. Located off Exit 11 on the Thruway, Nylo Nyack is expected to open in June 2015, targeting both corporate clients and tourists.
“We will have packages for couples to come from the city and to stay in Nyack for the weekend,” said Yanko, a developer and co-owner of WY Management. “Certainly the bike and pedestrian lane and a beautiful bridge is helping.”
In Tarrytown, plans call for putting up a visitors center with parking for about 100 cars near the bridge on South Broadway. The path will connect to South Nyack but exactly where is far from settled. The village is almost entirely residential, further complicating the parking issue.
Rockland County Legislator Nancy Low-Hogan lives in South Nyack and represents several river villages near the bridge.
“In my mind, the (path) is going to be a tourist attraction. Period. End of story. That means opportunity. It also means challenges and that requires planning,” said Low-Hogan, who has taken up the tourism torch with fellow Legislators Alden Wolfe and Harriet Cornell.
They plan to host a meeting next month with officials from South Nyack, Nyack, Grand View, Piermont and Orangetown to talk about next steps. They later hope to expand the sessions to include other local and regional representatives, business leaders and tourism experts.
“Eventually all of these people have to be in this conversation,” Low-Hogan said.
The state Thruway Authority, which owns the Tappan Zee and its replacement, has not released estimates on how many visitors the path could attract.
Some are looking to learn from the experiences of other elevated pedestrian paths, including the High Line in Manhattan and Walkway Over the Hudson, a mile-long converted railroad bridge connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland that has attracted nearly 3 million visitors since opening in 2009.
David Rocco, a Yorktown Heights resident who served on the Walkway’s board of directors from 2005 to 2010, predicted the Tappan Zee path would become a major tourist destination. He visited San Francisco last summer and took a stroll on the 2-mile walkway on the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He thought of home as he saw people jogging and cycling while taking in spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and Candlestick Point.
“I think it’s going to be magnificent,” Rocco said of the new Tappan Zee. “It’s going to be such a draw for both sides of the river.”
However, he said there was the matter of the traffic noise — “It was loud” — but it didn’t take away from his overall enjoyment.
Tappan Zee officials may want to keep an eye on the Bay Bridge to see if its path ends up giving the Golden Gate Bridge a little friendly competition.
More than 5,500 people showed up to use the Bay Bridge Trail on the first Sunday it opened on Sept. 8, 2013.
John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority, said while there aren’t updated hard figures, he estimated thousands use the path on a good weather weekend, even though it won’t be completed until June. And driving there requires walking a mile from a parking lot just to reach its entrance.
“We weren’t sure how big of an attraction it would be,” Goodwin said. “It proved to be a major attraction indeed.”
Twitter: @ksaeed1
Ask us about the Tappan Zee
Journal News/lohud transportation reporters Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed will answer questions and listen to concerns about the Tappan Zee Bridge project from 11 a.m. to noon on Nov. 1 at Pierson Park in Tarrytown. Join them for the informal one-on-one talk over coffee and snacks.
Tappan Zee fast facts
Bridge type: Cable-stayed
Project cost: $3.9 billion
Construction schedule: 5 years, 2.5 months
Project completed to date: 25 percent
Numbers of spans: 2
Traffic lanes: 4 on each span
Breakdown lanes: 1 on each span
Express bus lane/emergency access lanes: 1 on each span
First span opens: December 2016
Second span opens: November 2017
Project physical completion: April 2018