By Jonathan Foster
East Hampton used to have designated bike paths. The bicycle provided individual freedom and led to a wave of innovative technology.
East Hampton should reinstall bike paths and refocus transportation toward renewable resources. The East End is threatened by overcrowding and climate change. As it was at the turn of the last century, I believe the bicycle is key to minimizing both of these problems. East Hampton’s history with the bicycle offers a precedent that may allow us to move forward with less congestion, fewer accidents and cleaner air.
Until as recently as the 1960s, many of East Hampton’s roads had a curious third lane: the “sidepath,” an additional lane between the road and the pedestrian sidewalk, intended allow the cyclists to travel at their own speed — originally, without spooking the horses. These sidepaths extended from Montauk to Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor, as well as all the beaches.
One could ride to New York via connected sidepaths. Bicycling offered travelers a newfound speed and freedom and were the preferred mode of zipping from one place to another.
The paving of Main Street in 1900, sponsored by the Ladies’ Village Improvement Society, featured a complete renovation of the stretch between Town Pond and Hook Mill. It was highlighted in the January 19, 1900, East Hampton Star as being well-researched, with the requirements in mind: The main road was compacted “quartz gravel with a sprinkling of the proper sort of clay” for horseshoes and carriage wheels. The wide gutter was built with stone “from the east side of Napeague Harbor, near the railroad siding on Napeague Beach, and is considered excellent in shape for gutter work.”
Between the road and the gutter was a lane of grass. This allowed horses and carriages to stop and tie up at one of the hitching posts. The hitching posts did double duty as a barrier between the sidepath for bicycles and the skittish horses. Pedestrians were safely on the sidewalk, near the houses.
During the several years of planning for the new road, the new bicycle technology allowed such scions as Henry Ford, Carl Benz, John Starley (Rover) and the Wright brothers to create new machines that paved the way to our modern lifestyle.
A modern e-bike can go 20 to 25 mph without its rider breaking a sweat. What will today’s inventors and tinkerers be able to do if we shift our focus back to the bicycle?
I hope the town and the village are looking toward the future, and are able to look at what worked well in the past. With climate change worsening by the season, it is imperative that East Hampton sets up the infrastructure necessary for people to be able to safely and easily ride their bikes between towns for shopping and to the beach.
New dedicated lanes — modern sidepaths — would make this possible and provide a new sense of freedom and reduce congestion. This would make our beautiful and fragile area more livable now, and in the future. It would also allow East Hampton’s natural beauty to shine again as the excess traffic would be calmed.
I hope my fellow East Enders will agree with me and consider the bicycle a primary means of transportation again.
Jonathan Foster is an architect and resides in East Hampton.
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