Introduction NYC Cycling 1. NYC Bike Policy 2. State of NYC Cycling 3. Cyclists & Streets “A Bike and a Prayer” Riding Infrastructure 4. Street Design  Bridges
6. Road Surfaces 7. Greenways 8. Parks 9. Bicycles and Transit 10. Reducing Traffic Security 11. Bicycle Theft 12. On-Street Parking 13. Indoor Parking On the Job Cycling 14. Bicycle Messengers “Fifth, Park & Madison” 15. Freight Cycles 16. Gov't Cycling Reducing Risks 17. Accidents “Three Who Died” 18. Air Pollution Bicycle Education 19. Schools 20. Public Education Appendices |
Chapter 5:
Bridges A City of Bridges
b) Status of NYC Bridges c) Bikeable Bridges in Good Condition d) Usable Bridges with Stairway Obstacles e) Bikeable With Difficulty f) Not Currently Bikeable g) Small and Midsized Bridges h) Security and Lighting i) Chapter 5 Recommendations A City of Bridges
New York, a city of skyscrapers and neighborhoods, is also a city defined by water — rivers, creeks, narrows, a harbor and a sound. Thus, its bridges are a critical part of its transportation network. Bicycle and pedestrian paths on bridges are one of the few elements of city infrastructure put in place specifically for nonmotorized transportation. Indeed, the Brooklyn Bridge was built to carry pedestrians, along with horses, carriages and carts. Turn-of-the-century crossings such as the Williamsburg and Queensboro were built to carry rapid-transit vehicles as well as nonmotorized travelers. Until the middle of this century, pedestrian paths were considered an essential bridge feature, while bikes simply joined the vehicular traffic stream on the roadways. As motor traffic escalated, however, bicycles were shunted over to the pedestrian paths, even as bridge authorities began removing the paths to make way for additional cars. Both the Whitestone Bridge (Queens-Bronx) and the Outerbridge Crossing (Staten Island-New Jersey), two bridges now open only to motor traffic, once had bike-pedestrian paths. Bridges built more recently, like the Verrazano (Brooklyn-Staten Island) and the Throgs Neck (Queens-Bronx), were built with no provision at all for nonmotorized crossing (a bike-pedestrian path was designed but not installed on the Verrazano). And on bridges that nominally permit cycling, such as the Brooklyn, Queensboro and George Washington, cyclists have had to expend tremendous effort to win or even maintain a modicum of safe and continuous access. The result is unsatisfactory bridge access that discourages bicycle use. Of 141 respondents to the 1992 City Cyclist survey who live outside of Manhattan and do not commute by bicycle, 25, or 18 percent, cited bridge problems as a reason they don't commute by bike. A City of Bridges
b) Status of NYC Bridges c) Bikeable Bridges in Good Condition d) Usable Bridges with Stairway Obstacles e) Bikeable With Difficulty f) Not Currently Bikeable g) Small and Midsized Bridges h) Security and Lighting i) Chapter 5 Recommendations |
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