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A new approach — literally — for the Brooklyn Bridge bike path
The Proposal.
The Department of Transportation is making some changes to the entrance of the Brooklyn Bridge bike path to alleviate the chaos at the combined pedestrian crossing right next to the halal vendor in City Hall Park. It’s a welcome change — and also a necessary one now that the bike path is busier than ever. There was a 150 percent increase in Brooklyn Bridge riders between 2020 and 2023.
But bikers coming from City Hall Park will still have to cross Centre along with the pedestrians coming on and off the bridge promenade. (IMO moving the halal truck back to the park fence would also help a lot.) What they will avoid is the crazy 180-degree turn on and off the bike path (see image below).
Existing conditions
The images describe it better, but to summarize: the DOT will remove one of two southbound lanes (image below) on Centre immediately south of Chambers and convert it into a two-way bike lane (see image at top). Riders heading from Tribeca over the bridge will cross Centre and make a left just *before* they hit the base of the promenade. Then they will bike north for a few feet before they make the right turn onto the path.
The city added the dedicated cycling path by taking a Manhattan-bound car lane in 2021. Bike ridership over the bridge then nearly doubled from an average of 2,652 daily trips in 2021 to an average of 4,769 in 2023. More than 25,000 cyclists cross the East River bridges daily.
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Love it! That junction is really awkward.
Another chaotic spot is just a bit further down, outside the entrance to City Hall. Police barriers jut out onto the footpath, forcing pedestrians to spill over into the bike lane (which will become the road according to this proposal). I walk my dog there daily and have seen people in wheelchairs, with strollers, and groups of tourists struggling to navigate the area.
I brought up the issue with the head of security, and he explained that the barriers are necessary for when the mayor and other official’s cars enter. It still doesn’t add up to me. They have plenty of staff to halt the pedestrians momentarily.
agreed on the halal cart – does it pay rent for that space (/s)? make it move to make things easier for bikers and traffic…sigh NYC knows how to make things difficult for itself…
As is the situation throughout NYC, bicyclists here disregard traffic rules and menace pedestrians.
Bicyclists go through red lights, the wrong way etc.
Citibikers particularly don’t hesitate to curse any pedestrian who objects.
Tourists on bicycles who have no idea what they are doing or where they are going are also dangerous.
I LOVE IT! :)
Why not just eliminate the southbound lanes altogether and make City Hall Park, the Administration Building, and BB one continuous space? BB motorists from the North and West could be rerouted down Broadway and come up Centre to get on the bridge.
Joe,
Are you suggesting that MTA buses be detoured?
Worse bus transit?
To prioritize bicyclists?
Sounds like this change make things worse for MTA buses and bus riders?
And narrowing street space southbound on a route to the hospital?