Commuting around Tarrytown, NY
 

I got a job offer in Tarrytown and am looking into how feasible bike commuting is there? I had the idea to live in Dobbs Ferry . According to Google maps the bike commute would just be 29 minutes. See https://goo.gl/maps/L4r57n9vTjn

Looks like a traffic free trail just west of Broadway!

congrats! nice area!

Watch out for the Headless Horseman, but otherwise looks great.

Look for alternatives to going straight up route 9. That will be a bear at rush hour ( which up there takes about two hours).

If I lived in or near Dobbs Ferry, I'd take Metro North to Tarrytown, using the bike for the links at both ends (allowed on the train because it's counter flow). Then consider making a ride out of it in the evening, either to go home, or a loop near Tarrytown, then back to the train for the trip home.

If you take that job and live in Dobbs Ferry, most of us will consider you lucky. The commute distance is nice, and you have two routes to choose from. Yes, traffic on Broadway could get annoying, but you could get used to it or time your commutes outside of rush hour. And most of the time, you can take that trail.

Wait..that trail looks like a nice excuse for a gravel bike or cross bike with rack mounts. I don't know why you wouldn't take that every day.

I don't think it is passable in winter. Even the rail trail along the Saw Mill parkway (which is generally pretty nice) is often impassable when there is snow. But most of the year, yeah that would be a fun commute.

You guys are talking about the South Croton Aquaduct Trail , right?

That's the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway.

parks.ny.gov/parks/96/details.aspx

Quick summary: it's not for commuting.

Details: The trailway is a delight to ride, but don't confuse it with a rails-to-trails trail. The technology of the Aqueduct was borrowed from the Romans with no updates. The surface is merely backfill over a masonry drain. You can expect to find lots of rocks and roots. It's for fair-weather riding. If you were to have visited the OCA today, you'd probably be ankle-deep in mud. Further, snow isn't cleared in winter.

Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct

aqueduct.org

is headquartered in the Keeper's House on Walnut St in Dobbs Ferry where you'll find all manner of information.

I was afraid of that.

This thread hasn't been dormant nearly long enough to qualify as a zombie, but there's been no follow-up from the OP.

However, this:

route9active.org/

flipped over my transom. It's directly relevant to this thread. (For those from Away, the villages are listed north-to-south and include the OP's proposed commute.)

If the past is prologue to the future, I don't expect the pace of either planning or execution to be brisk. Further, the dimensions (narrow lanes / no shoulders) of Broadway / Route 9 constrain what can be done. But maybe there's hope.

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FBinNY: your suggestion to consider Metro North trains between Dobbs Ferry and Tarrytown is interesting, but Tarrytown's station is more than a mile north of White Plains Rd / NY 119, the OP's apparent destination. Further -- perhaps you've biked it -- heading east from Tarrytown's station to Bwy starts with a surprisingly steep climb.