Started in 2013, Complete George now comprises two hundred organizations, communities and electeds who’ve called on the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to widen the bikeways across the George Washington Bridge.

Manhattan CBs 4, 7, 9, 12, Bronx 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, Yonkers, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Edgewater and Cliffside Park alone comprise 1.5 million residents in support.

New York Communities and Elected Officials

• Manhattan Community Boards #4, 7, 9, 12, Bronx #1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12; Yonkers

• Executives of Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess; Manhattan Borough Presidents Stringer, Brewer and (provisionally) Levine.

• NYC Council Members Ydanis A. Rodriguez, Mark Levine, Andrew Cohen, Keith Powers , Carlina Rivera , Helen K. Rosenthal, Ben Kallos, Paul A. Vallone, Daniel Dromm , Karen Koslowitz, Costa G. Constantinides, Antonio Reynoso, Justin L. Brannan, Eric A. Ulrich. See 0103-2018.

New Jersey Communities and Elected Officials

• New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (Brian Lehrer Show, 17:43)

• Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Union Freeholders; Middlesex Transportation Coordinating Committee, Monmouth Transportation Council; Senator Stack, Assemblywoman Huttle; Bergen Executive Tedesco and Hudson Executive DeGise

• 60 North Jersey municipalities: Allendale, Alpine, Bergenfield, Bogota, Carlstadt, Carteret, Cliffside Park, Closter, Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, East Newark, Edgewater, Elmwood Park, Emerson, Elizabeth, Englewood Cliffs, Fair Lawn, Fairview, Fort Lee, Garfield, Glen Rock, Guttenberg, Hackensack, Haledon, Harrington Park, Hasbrouck Heights, Haworth, Hawthorne, Hillsdale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Kearny, Leonia, Little Ferry, Lodi, Mahwah, Midland Park, Montvale, New Milford, North Bergen, Northvale, Norwood, Oradell, Paramus, Park Ridge, Ramsey, Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, River Vale, Rochelle Park, Saddle River, Secaucus, South Hackensack, Teaneck, Tenafly, Waldwick, Wayne, West New York, Woodbridge Township, Wyckoff

Cycling Organizations

• 40 cycling organizations, including Transportation Alternatives, Century Road Club Association, New York Cycle Club, Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey, Five Borough Bicycle Club, Empire Tri Club, Kissena Cycling Club. NYS Bicycle Racing Association, Westchester Cycle Club, Mid-Hudson Bicycle Club, Women’s Woodstock Cycling Grand Prix, Long Island Randonneurs, Team Red-White-and-Blue, Staten Island Bicycling Association and International Mountain Bike Association which includes 40,000 members, 700 bike shops; and local affiliates JORBA, Palisades MTB and NYCMTB.

Bike Shops

• 60 bike shops and bike-friendly businesses, including Bicycle Habitat, Strictly Cycles, Piermont Bicycle Connection, NYC Velo and Hastings Velo and 9W Market.

Other

• Sierra Club NJ, New York Road Runners whose members now face a choice of sharing a path with a slow moving tourists or swift streams of cyclists; WE ACT, based in West Harlem, empowers low income people to build healthy communities; StreetsPAC, dedicated to improving the safety, mobility and livability of NYC streets; Regional Plan Association, an indispensable resource for tri-state policy makers for 90 years; and Hudson Valley Tourism which extends north to Albany.

• Bloggers The Radavist and Bike Snob who calls the GWB the “crown jewel of recreational cycling” in the region.

Quotes

• “We ask that you call on the Port Authority to widen the George Washington Bridge paths as part of any state program to expand cycling infrastructure.” – Letter to Governor Cuomo signed by 15 State Senators and Assemblymembers

• “As one of the densest metropolitan areas in America, we must commit to shore up 20^th Century infrastructure that cannot keep up with the demands of the 21^stCentury.” – Letter to the PA signed by 11 members of Congress

• “6,000 cyclists cross the GWB per weekend.  This is a number that will go up, not down.” – Orange County, NY

• “As a long-distance cycling club, we wholeheartedly support segregating the pedestrian walkways and widening the bicycling pathways of the GWB as part of the planned refurbishing of the span.” – Long Island Randonneurs

• “CB4 supports policy which advocates for, accommodates, and respects all road users, and is on record requesting that new cross-Hudson River tunnels and bus facilities include cyclist needs. The closest Hudson River Crossing to CB4 which allows cycling is the GWB.” – Manhattan Community Board #4

• “Despite the 23 mile distance, Glen Rock has a surprisingly large number of bicycle commuters and we’d love to see this number grow as each additional biker is potentially one less car on the road.” – Borough of Glen Rock, NJ

• “Over the past several years, the Borough has installed bike lanes, promoted bicycle safety and has served as the host community to bicycle races and similar functions. Widening the paths would serve as a perfect compliment to improvements and policies that we, and neighboring communities, have implemented.” – Fort Lee, NJ

• “With new off-road opportunities opening up in Sterling Forest, Harriman State Park, paths that meet federal guidelines will insure that cyclists can commute to and from NYC with ease.” – International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA)

• “The PA’s Plan to allocate one 7 foot path for peds and runners and one 7 foot path for cyclists will inevitably cause runners to move over to the cyclists’ path.” – NY Road Runners

• “Despite being the only bike route over the Hudson leaving NYC, the proposed 7-foot paths seem more like an afterthought than a true civic amenity.” – Regional Plan Association

• “We would encourage the Port to continue to think aggressively about planning for adequate bike facilities in all of its projects. Specifically, about the long-term need for additional capacity on the George Washington crossing. – NYC Deputy Mayor, and former PANYNJ Executive Director, Anthony E. Shorris