Bicycling

Manhattan Bridge Bike & Ped Improvements Nearing Completion

It looks like the street redesign around the Manhattan entrance of the Manhattan Bridge is nearing completion. Considering that Transportation Alternatives has been pushing for these fixes for years, that was pretty fast. DOT presented its plan to the local Community Board, to unanimous approval, in July; sketched out the lines on the street in August; and here we are.

By Aaron Naparstek

11:05 AM EST on December 11, 2007

It looks like the street redesign around the Manhattan entrance of the Manhattan Bridge is nearing completion. Considering that Transportation Alternatives has been pushing for these fixes for years, that was pretty fast. DOT presented its plan to the local Community Board, to unanimous approval, in July; sketched out the lines on the street in August; and here we are.

With the Manhattan side of the bridge squared away, attention now turns to the utterly pathetic state of bike access on the Brooklyn side of the Manhattan Bridge. Former DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall unveiled plans for the creation of a Sands Street bike ramp on June 14, 2005, shortly after T.A. Deputy Director Noah Budnick’s life-threatening bike crash down there. Two and a half years later the Sands Street project is nowhere. Apparently, the Department of Design and Construction has completely dropped the ball on this one.

Thanks to Streetsblog reader Dave “Paco” Abraham for sending in these photos. You can find more detailed DOT plans for the Manhattan Bridge and other “complete streets” projects around the city here.

Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek is the founder and former editor-in-chief of Streetsblog. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Naparstek's journalism, advocacy and community organizing work has been instrumental in growing the bicycle network, removing motor vehicles from parks, and developing new public plazas, car-free streets and life-saving traffic-calming measures across all five boroughs. He was also one of the original cast members of the "War on Cars" podcast. You can find more of his work on his website.

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