When she's alone on the brand-new Manhattan Bridge bike path, cyclist Eleanor O'Brien feels as if she's flying.

The two-month-old bike path is so little used - especially compared with the chronically clogged Brooklyn Bridge path - that O'Brien can pick up speed going downhill, let go of the handlebars and stretch her arms out like wings.

"You feel like you're flying into Manhattan," said O'Brien, 32, an actress from Prospect Heights, as she threw her arms out to show how she rode to an audition.

In July 2003, Transportation Alternatives (T.A.), with the help of students from Recycle-A-Bicycle, polled 190 Manhattan Bridge users (159 cyclists/31 pedestrians) regarding the safety of accessing either side of the bridge's bicycle and pedestrian path. Bridge users were asked if they walked or biked across the bridge, how many times per week they crossed, their opinion of the safety of the entrances and whether or not they had crashed or had a close call while walking or biking to the Manhattan

Set To Open After 40 years:
Manhattan Bridge Path Grand Opening with Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall
Wed. May 16, @ 1 pm
Where: Gather at the South East corner of Bowery and Canal
on the rebuilt Manhattan Bridge Path.

Today, Transportation Alternatives (T.A.) released the results of its "Manhattan Bridge Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Survey." In July, T.A. polled 190 Manhattan Bridge users about the safety of walking and biking to and from the bridge's bicycle and pedestrian path. Each day 1,000 people walk and bike across the Manhattan Bridge.