“I always preferred the Jones Beach bike path because of the atmosphere,” said Stieglitz, who lives in Seaford. “It makes the ride a whole lot more pleasurable when you have something nice to look at. This was my first time riding all the way to Tobay. At first I was apprehensive, but it was so rewarding to be able to go that far on the bike path.”

Second extension in the works?
Eileen Peters, the DOT’s Long Island spokeswoman, said the state is “absolutely committed” to extending the bike path farther east, perhaps to the Captree State Park boat basin in Babylon, 11 miles to the east. She noted, though, that nothing is definite. Numerous approvals –– including those of local residents who live year-round on Jones Beach Island –– would have to be secured, and millions of dollars in state funds would have to be allocated before such a project could get under way.

“It’s being discussed,” Peters said. “We’re still in the early stages. Our intention is to improve pedestrian and bicycle facilities throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.”
She added that the Town of Oyster Bay was a valuable partner in making the new Ocean Parkway extension a reality, explaining that town officials agreed to open Tobay Beach park to non-resident cyclists Mondays to Fridays (except holidays) over the summer, when it is open. Now, DOT officials hope, the Ocean Parkway bike path will serve as a model to show other municipalities that there is nothing to fear about bike paths. (Many communities worry that they will bring an influx of “outsiders,” according to Richard and Lisa Schary, of North Bellmore, who are retired teachers and longtime cycling advocates.)

In March 2013, I took a tour of the Ocean Parkway, led by state Department of Parks and Recreation officials. Five months earlier, Superstorm Sandy had virtually erased the dunes that line the south side of the parkway. Workers were trucking in tons of sand and planting thousands of beach-grass fronds to restore them.