Build the greenway and they will come

“What if you could travel to work, the grocery store, or even Montauk Lighthouse without getting in your car?”

That provocative and enticing idea, posed in a Feb. 15 presentation from the Trust for Public Land, is the promise of the Long Island Greenway.

The greenway is a long-sought project that once completed would allow Long Islanders and visitors to bike, walk, or run on some 175 miles of trails from Brooklyn and Queens all the way to the East End. Using parks, utility rights of way, and more, the Greenway could link many of Long Island’s green spaces, providing better access to dozens of train stations and adding picturesque trailheads and clearly marked paths. It would also connect Long Island to the 750-mile Empire State Trail which gives recreation-seekers and wanderers a mighty and beautiful passage from the Canadian border down to New York City and all the way across the state to Buffalo.

A coalition of local leaders and nonprofits — including the Trust for Public Land — is now seeking funding from the federal government to help plan and design a Riverhead to Montauk Point section of the greenway. It’s a crucial piece of the puzzle, given the traffic challenges and need for alternative transportation on the East End. And this is the perfect time to make a concerted push, given the infrastructure and environmental funding coming online from the federal Inflation Reduction Act, state Environmental Bond Act, and more.

Long Island has made strides in conceiving and building green spaces and trails. That includes Suffolk County’s Hike and Bike Master Plan, as well as the greenway that goes from Cedar Creek Park in Seaford along Wantagh State Parkway to Jones Beach, and then along Ocean Parkway to Captree State Park. Millions of people came to Long Island parks last year, according to state data. Our beaches and woods have always been a draw for residents and people who visit from near and far.

The environmental and personal benefits of a full greenway are enormous. It would encourage exercise and give Long Islanders a safer way to bike at a time when healthy lifestyles for all and a focus on longevity are paramount among the younger residents we want to keep and attract. The greenway would enhance the walkability of communities in both Nassau and Suffolk counties, adding new transit options and reducing pollution. More travelers strolling or zipping down the path means more dollars spent at local businesses along the way.

If Greenway advocates can get the federal dollars, their hope is to get construction started in the next few years. After all the lengthy planning, that would be a happy jaunt.