Bicycle Infrastructure

Go Ahead — Take a Ride on the Park Row Bikeway

After years of limited public access, the Park Row project will improve north-south bike trips under the Brooklyn Bridge, and will link the bridge and Chinatown.

By Brad Aaron

4:11 PM EDT on June 18, 2018

Go Ahead — Take a Ride on the Park Row Bikeway

Video still: Noel Hidalgo

The official unveiling is a few days away, but the new Park Row bikeway is ready for riding.

Because of its proximity to NYPD headquarters, Park Row was mostly closed to the public after 9/11. Local residents and businesses had for years asked the city to restore access, and last summer DOT announced plans for a two-way bike lane, plus 10,000 square feet of painted sidewalk space, between Worth and Frankfort streets [PDF]. Crews got to work on preliminary street markings last April.

The project will improve north-south bike trips under the Brooklyn Bridge, and will link the bridge and Chinatown. Some tour buses may be allowed, but otherwise the segment will be closed to private motor vehicles.

Painted bike lanes on Frankfort and Dover will connect southbound cyclists from Park Row to Lower Manhattan and the waterfront. Image: NYC DOT

DOT told Streetsblog that, as of today, the path is “operational in advance of a forthcoming and more formal ribbon cutting later this week.”

Noel Hidalgo, who might be the project’s most dedicated observer, posted a short video tour this morning:

https://twitter.com/noneck/status/1008696849375662080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Brad Aaron

Brad Aaron began writing for Streetsblog in 2007, after years as a reporter, editor, and publisher in the alternative weekly business. Brad adopted New York's dysfunctional traffic justice system as his primary beat for Streetsblog. He lives in Manhattan.