The good news: the city is redesigning the Manhattan approach to the Brooklyn Bridge bike/pedestrian promenade. The promenade will be wider and will feature new crosswalks.

The bad news: the changes will create several hazardous situations. First off, the bicycle path will flip-flop, from south to north side of the promenade. Thus, near the bridge exit, cyclists will be forced to negotiate a three foot gap between an existing subway entrance and the path’s retaining wall. If the subway entrance is not removed, the path will not meet Federal guidelines for bike safety standards. In addition, cyclists traveling south on Centre St. will be required to dismount and walk their bikes the approximately 20 feet to the ramp’s exit. As shown time and again, using signage to force cyclists to dismount will not work. T.A. has pointed out these hazardous conditions to DOT officials, but so far they have been unwilling to commit to any changes.

Let the mayor know that these Brooklyn Bridge design problems pose an unacceptable safety risk to cyclists and pedestrians.

Write to:
Rudolph W. Giuliani
Mayor
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Read the latest news about this issue.