After a seven and a half month detour, the time is finally upon us: Starting Monday, cyclists can return to the north side of the Manhattan Bridge, and pedestrians can go back to the south side. The days of biking on the harrowing Bowery detour are just about over, and knock on wood, there were no casualties (except for the credibility of the Daily News editorial page).
Some construction sheds will remain on the bridge paths until 2013 -- read all about it in NYC DOT's construction update [PDF].
It seems likely that the Manhattan Bridge detour hampered the growth of the city's annual bike count, which measures cyclists crossing six points around the edges of the Manhattan CBD. So, will we see a rebound effect now that the bridge is going back to normal? Leave your forecasts in the comments.
