bicycle sharing at train stations would help villages

 This past weekend I attended a "Discover Irvington, NY" event on Main Street in Irvington. The village is trying to encourage tourism and was promoting the charming, quaint downtown (just seconds from the Irvington train station), the historic buildings, beautiful parks, terrific restaurants and shops.

I think that one way to successfully encourage  even more tourism would be to expand the NYC Bicycle Shares program to the river villages in Westchester. My suggestion: Either the NYC bicycle sharing organization or local bicycle shops should consider placing bicycles/bike racks at the Hastings on Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Tarrytown train stations. People could take the train from NYC to one of the stations and spend the day enjoying a magnificent bike ride along the Hudson River. Each of the villages has amazing restaurants, shops and attractions that tourists would love.

I believe that a bicycle sharing initiative at the rivertown train stations would be a big boost to property values. Cyclists from NYC would be introduced to our fantastic villages. My guess: Once people spend some time in the River Villages, that they will want to move to our town. This concept could also be a big financial help to local downtown businesses since cyclists will shop in each of the local village downtown business areas.

Paul Feiner

Greenburgh Town Supervisor