Seen & Heard: Is the Bike Path Finally Ready to Open?

••• “The opening of the bike lane between Vesey to Liberty is imminent,” emails a local cyclist. “This will be such an improvement for commuters and to get most bikes out of North Cove and the Esplanade (and I say this as a passionate biker). Did you know that the Hudson River Bike Path is the busiest in the country? It’s such an [expletive] to all bikers to force such an unpleasant detour for seven (!) years.”

••• Musician Questlove lives in Lower Manhattan, according to a promotional video he narrates for the Downtown Alliance.

••• Signs are up in the Chambers/Broadway area for the TV show “Limitless,” shooting today.

••• The Sterling Mason has an elevator (for freight? Or the parking garage?) that opens onto the sidewalk—an old-school touch.

Sterling Mason elevator••• On Nov. 4 at Apexart: Alternative Unknowns, for which “six New York City-based artists and designers have been commissioned to create objects that provoke new ways of thinking about emergency preparedness. Each artist will be invited to a conversation with the NYC Emergency Management Department about emergency issues facing the city, and then will be tasked with designing object-based artifacts. The objects created will be presented at apexart as a theatrical simulation space, which will serve as a stage for a performance by two pairs of trained improv actors who will interpret these emergency preparedness objects and the multiple potentials for how they could be used.”

 

9 Comments

  1. Would all you bikers please observe the bike lane traffic signals? I’ve come close to getting hit on several occasions by bikers who think they are exempt from obeying traffic laws.

    • I agree 100% and I always obey the traffic signals. However, I would like to add “would all you pedestrians please observe the bike lane is different than the pedestrian lane.” Every time I ride up and down the Hudson River Bike Path I always come close to colliding with pedestrians, parents with strollers, and joggers who use the BIKE path because they think they are exempt from obeying the signs. It’s particularly hazardous from Chambers to the Intrepid.

      • Completely agree. Even when they installed flashing roadside signs that pointed all pedestrians to the pedestrian lane, there were still runners, walkers, strollers, etc. There is literally the pedestrian walkway 10 yards away. Amazing.

        • Question about bike lanes: Obviously, pedestrians shouldn’t be in the bike lane. But what should happen at a sidewalk/bike lane intersection such as the one on Warren?

          Last weekend a biker yelled at me when I was on the sidewalk. He pointed to the green bike traffic signal, which suggested that he could go full speed to cross Warren. I see his point, but there is no corresponding sign for the pedestrian walking east on Warren. I can’t seem to find a definitive rule on who needs to yield, but it is fairly clear throughout most of the bike lanes that you always yield to a pedestrian crossing.

          What’s the answer? And is this green bike traffic signal confusing?

          • Bikes are subject to ALL the same traffic rules as motorized vehicles…which means they must always yield to pedestrians. That said, as a pedestrian, you would be wise to avoid crossing the bike lane when they have the green lighr. My issue is with those many bikers who simply ignore the red signals on the bike lanes.

        • There is a difference between runners and pedestrians and it not acceptable to expect the runners to use the pedestrian walkway along the esplanade. The surface (pavers vs. blacktop) does not work for running long distances. Additionally, there are a number of children on foot, bikes and scooters along the esplanade and it becomes an obstacle course for a runner to swerve past them all. The bikeway needs to be shared with runners, just as the East and West drives in Central Park are shared with runners and bikers.

  2. Questlove lives in the Gehry building. He used to be on the 30th floor, but he moved upstairs when the rest of the building was completed. And he wears his afro pick at the gym.

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