Although the path is not long, it is important. The thirteen-block route is adjacent to the old Penn Central rail yard, on land owned by Trump and represents many years of negotiation between Trump, West Side civic groups, and New York City. The current segment to 68th Street is an interim trail that will be incorporated into Riverside South Park as the adjacent Trump housing development proceeds southward. Trump is building the new Park for the City in exchange for construction permits (MTR #287).

Even more significantly, the Riverside South path will soon act as a much-needed connector between the hugely popular state-owned premier waterfront bicycle and pedestrian path in construction to the south and the City's Riverside Park promenade and paths. Though a joint project of NYC Parks and Trump, the NYS DOT, which is working on nearby Route 9A (West Side Highway) actually built the Riverside South path to speed its completion.

The state-owned path can currently be cycled and walked to 59th Street, but will be cosmetically completed and officially opened in its entirety this summer. Together the two improvements will provide a car-free corridor between the City's densely residential Upper West Side and Midtown and downtown business and entertainment districts, a development many expect to significantly boost Manhattan cycling trips.

The long-term goal of the City and advocates is a continuous Hudson River Greenway and pedestrian/cycling path from Manhattan's southern tip to the George Washington Bridge at 181rst Street and beyond through the Bronx or further into the Hudson Valley. Manhattan sections still unfinished include a 12 foot extension over the Hudson's rocky shore between between 83-91st Streets and a continuation of the path between 125th and 145th Streets to connect Riverside and Fort Washington Parks. Both projects are on schedule for completion within five years. Planning documents suggest that the Manhattan portion alone will attract over 1,000 cycling trips per hour during the three morning and evening peak hours, making it the nation's busiest cycling path.