Northeast - NYC new bike path/lane/route progress

They've already started on the new paths/lanes on my commute route, so I thought I'd start a thread for progress info regarding these changes.

I ride across W'burg bridge and down the E. River greenway to South Street Seaport.

On Manhattan side, there's a bike lane going down the middle of the road on the North side of the bridge (towards the E. River) which seems to just dump you into an access road.

They cut out a swathe the old erroded asphalt around the Fulton fish market and were laying nice smooth asphalt down today. Judging by the routing of the path there, it looks like they will install some barriers to separate the path from the open parking area.

RE: The bike "lane" along the south side of W'burg bridge moorings, they still have only painted bicyclist icons down the middle of the road, no lane markings.
-and-
Following a pretty big film location shoot in the area, the refurbished/extended bike path is in place through the old Fulton Fish market. They've used the concrete traffic barriers to keep the parking area separate from the path.

I'm gonna have to ride the route to see what you're talking about. Thanks for the update.

Now the Westside Bikeway Detour from 83rd Street to 91st Street ( where you're supposed to go up a level) is under construction

Renovations Kick Off In Popular Riverside Park Path (http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=64080)

im just glad they are getting some of these roads repaved. Canal finally has a nice smooth section, coney island avenue, geritsen, nostrand and 6th ave in brooklyn nice'n'smooth and few random streets ive been on, but can't think of em now. While not neccesserily bike path streets, i do take 'em often, and while car suspensions can handle the rough roads, my 700c rim with 23's force me to take the hits hard, so it's nice to see they are making them a bit more bike friendly. Im just waiting for bedford to be cleaned, stripped and repaved, that road is bad, real bad, 5 punctures, and 2 pinch flats on that road alone.

I'm waiting for a connector between South St. Seaport and Battery Park. That section between the S.I. Ferry and the park is all messed up and covered w/ metal plates everywhere. On a bright note, they repaved a notoriously horrible section of Lexington that claimed a couple tubes on my commute.

not sure how new it is, but i recently started using the new approach to the brooklyn bridge (brooklyn side). can't remember the name of the street that is connects to, but it makes riding to the bridge fairly easy.

like jimbo, i've noticed a few random streets here and there with new lanes on them.


does anyone know if 3rd ave in brooklyn will get a lane in both directions?

I'm waiting for a connector between South St. Seaport and Battery Park. That section between the S.I. Ferry and the park is all messed up and covered w/ metal plates everywhere. On a bright note, they repaved a notoriously horrible section of Lexington that claimed a couple tubes on my commute.

If you just stay close to the shore, past the ferry right next to the terminal doors and through the parking lot and around Battery Gardens, you can bypass the metal plates entirely.

Now the Westside Bikeway Detour from 83rd Street to 91st Street ( where you're supposed to go up a level) is under construction

Renovations Kick Off In Popular Riverside Park Path (http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=64080)

Just went past that yesterday - only the upper part is being redone. The part along the river didn't seem to have any activity on it yet...

They put in a sidewalk around 125th (where you have to cross over the WSH service road/entrance right after the Fairway as you go south) on the far left as you look at the water. I didn't see it until I was already past it - usually that side of the road had a bunch of junk on it but it looks a little cleaner. Roadway is chewed up still so be careful if you have skinny tires.

Up near the 150's/160's [edit - above 155th] it looked like they were building a new access way that is bike friendly - though HIGH!

Stop sign up at 181th entrance to the Hudson River Greenway. If you ever do the loop you know how dangerous that intersection used to be - now cars have to stop before merging onto the highway.

At 155th and Edgecomb Ave heading towards the Harlem River Drive there's a new fenced off lane. Not sure what its purpose is though - maybe to let bicyclists coming up the hill be separate from the speeding ones downhill? Looks like lane now is really wide though which is good.

They're repaving some areas near the cruise ships - lanes are routed towards the water for a little bit so watch out for clueless pedestrians. Also seems like in the 60's the fence was extended, watch yourself towards the end heading south - it suddenly gets half as wide, seems to curve to the left but really goes to the right. Bizarre.

And it's not a path (yet anyway) but where the greenway starts at 62nd there seems to be a little park they built to the south with some benches. Hope they eventually hook that around to connect to 37th St. Hey I can hope!

Just went past that yesterday - only the upper part is being redone. The part along the river didn't seem to have any activity on it yet...



NY1 seems to be a bit confused about exactly where the bikeway is, or is supposed to be. I'm not sure the City is ever going to complete the 81st to 93rd street portion of the promenade.

I rode across the Queensboro Bridge the other day and noticed they have new fencing on the Manhattan side approach to the bike/ pedestrian path. Bikes now have to enter from FIrst Avenue rather than use the old mid-block short-cut at the turn, which makes the incline just a little longer They've also completed the chain link fencing on the walkway which is a plus for acrophobic cyclists but does interfere with, what once was, a nice unobstructed view of the river and the Upper East Side.

NY1 seems to be a bit confused about exactly where the bikeway is, or is supposed to be. I'm not sure the City is ever going to complete the 81st to 93rd street portion of the promenade.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! :(


I rode across the Queensboro Bridge the other day and noticed they have new fencing on the Manhattan side approach to the bike/ pedestrian path. Bikes now have to enter from FIrst Avenue rather than use the old mid-block short-cut at the turn, which makes the incline just a little longer

Whenever I go over that I usually go up 1st Ave so I didn't notice a difference. Still beats the bus! :D


They've also completed the chain link fencing on the walkway which is a plus for acrophobic cyclists but does interfere with, what once was, a nice unobstructed view of the river and the Upper East Side.

Uh oh :(

125th St and (where does it go back to the path - 137th? ) entrances are now paved. Ahhhhhhhhh!

Still paving over by the Intrepid but I don't think it'll be much longer - they were tapping down the asphalt today.

Intrepid's gone now till 2008 I believe.

They finished that section by there but it's not painted yet.

South of Chelsea Piers where Eric Ng was killed recently there seems to be extra of those yellow pylons in the middle of the path.

The detour from 83rd to 91st on the west side is still torn up - looks like part of it is paved (but they were doing that the last time I went by) and it doesn't seem like any other activity has been done on it.

On the east side as you come down from the park (believe it's between the 80's and 90's, you have to walk up the stairs (heading north), ride for a bit then has a steep decline) there's a huge pothole in the path. It was there a few weeks ago but seems to have gotten bigger - all the paving bricks were removed for almost the whole path so be careful.

ARGGGH!!! The hill around 83rd Street that runs from the Riverside Park esplanade to the mid-level promenade (over the AMTRAK tunnel), is now closed as part of the mid level construction (as in the NY1 Story above). There's no warning until you discover they've put a fence across the path. There's no posted alternative and they've reinforced the fencing to prevent people from using the unpaved path that runs along the river.

Going north, you can take the stairs, on the right, after going through the underpass, or use either the 79th Street traffic circle or the wheelchair ramps around the 79th Street Rotunda.

Crews were actively working when I was there Tuesday afternoon so, hopefully, they'll expedite this section and re-open it soon.

If you're already on the bike path that does change anything?

If you're already on the bike path that does change anything?

If you're going south on the 'Serpentine Promenade' you'll need to continue down to 79th street. Then you can use either the large staircase down to the usual underpass that leads out to the river's edge, or you can use the rotunda or 79th Street traffic circle toacess the bike path south of 79th Street.

Ahh - gotcha.

As of Thursday evening the hill in Riverside Park was open again.

Sweet! Ya know - one day you and I are probably going to run into each other on that path :)

By the way, took the 59th St Bridge yesterday. Clear view of the water the whole way. There's a portapotty in the middle - probably for construction but if ya gotta go...

I saw a cop in a Cushman the last time I crossed the Queensboro at night.. but a porta potty? What's next? Maybe a hot dog vendor?

Yeah we probably pass each other all the time. You're not the guy with the utlity bike and the pit bull, are you?

Haha - no! I have a mtb with lots of colors that don't go together :) Hot dog vendor would be pretty cool actually...hmmm.... Could probably make a ton during rush hour traffic!

Rode another loop today. There's now a traffic light as you're coming south on the west side greenway where it ends at Battery Park.

As a sidenote I took a ride through Inwood Hill Park (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=91st+and+Amsterdam,+NYC&sll=52.373241,4.890933&sspn=0.017869,0.043988&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=40.872247,-73.920221&spn=0.011066,0.029032&om=1&iwloc=addr) today, took a right onto 10th Ave as I came off the Harlem River greenway area, rode to the bridge, turned around and hung a right at 218th (good hill there!). Some neat riding though you probably aren't supposed to ride, if you wiped out you'd be wiped out in quite a few spots. But very hilly, quiet, and relaxing. It connects over Amtrack to a little park along the water with fields and stuff. Probably a good time to go since there weren't too many people - I bet in the summer it's pretty packed. Couldn't believe I was still in Manhattan!

I love Inwood Hill Park though I usually approach it from the west, over the AMTRAK bridge, and then down and around. The downhill can be rather trecherous wiith all those leaves and loose gravel but the view is really spectacular. That side also gives you access to the Henry Hudson Bridge which I fnally explored after the Tour De Bronx.

I saw a few people riding on the Amtrack bridge today but besides jumping over a fence I still didn't see how to get there. I only realized yesterday that that Amtrack bridge isn't the Henry Hudson Bridge :)

Maybe my AMTRAK Bridge isn't your AMTRAK bridge ? :p There's the footbridge and then there's the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spuyten_Duyvil_Bridge) which is for trains only.

For the footbridge, go across Dyckman Street until you're just short of the river. Take a right onto the service road that runs past the ball fields. I think there's a gate blocking unauthorized motorized vehicles from entering this road. On your right, just a bit before the end of the island, there's a staircase that leads to a bridge that crosses the tracks. That brings you to the western portion of Inwood Hill Then if you follow the second path on the right it will lead to the pedestrian path on the Henry Hudson Bridge. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Hudson_Bridge)

Bam - I know where you're talking about now! The second right is a little tunnel, right? Or is that after the tunnel? I'll check it out next loop I do :)

I did see a few bicylists on the train bridge though - there's a paved path next to it.

Bam - I know where you're talking about now! The second right is a little tunnel, right? Or is that after the tunnel? I'll check it out next loop I do :)

I did see a few bicylists on the train bridge though - there's a paved path next to it.


My bad.
First you go left, then you take the second right. If you go through the tunnel and up the stairs, it leaves you somewhere between the uptown and downtown lanes of the Henry Hudson. - at least that's all I could see when I tried it. As far as I know thre's no pedestrian access on the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge but there may be some holes in the fence along there.

My bad.
First you go left, then you take the second right. If you go through the tunnel and up the stairs, it leaves you somewhere between the uptown and downtown lanes of the Henry Hudson. - at least that's all I could see when I tried it. As far as I know thre's no pedestrian access on the Spuyten Duyvil Bridge but there may be some holes in the fence along there.

There was a time I tried to get off the west side greenyway somewhere between 150's and 180's and wound up running my bike across some sort of highway (maybe WSH)- it's funny how some of spots lead you into really dangerous areas!

Thanks :)

There was a time I tried to get off the west side greenyway somewhere between 150's and 180's and wound up running my bike across some sort of highway (maybe WSH)- it's funny how some of spots lead you into really dangerous areas!

Thanks :)

yeah, there are some tricky areas with the greenway and the west side highway uptown. yesterday we tried to get off riverside and rejoin the bike path and couldn't figure out how to do it. ended up riding down to the 90's and crossing over down there.

and speaking of dangerous areas, i ended up riding into the 72nd street central park crossing once. this is the one that allows vechicles to drive under the park (i.e. not the surface streets). holy crap, i was almost minced meat after that one. had to walk my bike against traffic on a tiny little curb to get out.

yeah, there are some tricky areas with the greenway and the west side highway uptown. yesterday we tried to get off riverside and rejoin the bike path and couldn't figure out how to do it. ended up riding down to the 90's and crossing over down there.

Same thing happened to me yesterday! Came across on 155th, started following this racing guy decked out in blue spandex and wound up on Riverside Drive. Thought I could intercept with 125th but nope - wound up getting on the upper part around the 90's.


and speaking of dangerous areas, i ended up riding into the 72nd street central park crossing once. this is the one that allows vechicles to drive under the park (i.e. not the surface streets). holy crap, i was almost minced meat after that one. had to walk my bike against traffic on a tiny little curb to get out.

I did that once by accident too.

Same thing happened to me yesterday! Came across on 155th, started following this racing guy decked out in blue spandex and wound up on Riverside Drive. Thought I could intercept with 125th but nope - wound up getting on the upper part around the 90's.


i've looked for the elusive 125th crossover, but can never find it. i really need to look at a map and figure that out.

i don't know if you saw this thread or not, but slvoid, jimbo, scorer75 and i rode up to peirmont yesterday. you should have joined us:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=252977 (ride plans evolved later on in the thread)

maybe next time!

Ha - didn't see that. However this:


Whatever's nice, its not a race. As long as you're fit, you can do it.

would probably count me out :) I did that ride a few weeks ago - nice ride but I'm a slow poke going up some of those hills. The thick mtb tires doesn't help either though makes riding through NYC much less worry-free in terms of road junk!

Ha - didn't see that. However this:



would probably count me out :) I did that ride a few weeks ago - nice ride but I'm a slow poke going up some of those hills. The thick mtb tires doesn't help either though makes riding through NYC much less worry-free in terms of road junk!
Don't you have a roadie now? That should speed things up a bit.

Still have to post pictures - needs some definate work. All the rubber is peeling off the tires, stem's way too low, need to repack the bb and both hubs (one or both may be shot), and probably the cables. So it's at least a week from a trip like that! :)

*creeeeaaaaakkkk*

Just went on my first 2007 full Manhattan loop. Some things I noticed:

At 63rd (67th?) where it crosses over the FDR for the first time going to the East Side path the ramp is gone - you have to walk the bike down on the right. Looks like they're redoing it - have a framework that connects to I guess where the old one was.

When you go up the hill at 155th and turn towards the raceway there's a slight lane change now - they had the fencing in a different place last time I went.

When you get to the raceway there's a small sinkhole - used to have a cone in it but it either fell in or was taken away. At any rate it's gotten a little bigger but looks like it could actually collapse at some point.

Sightseeing notes: The cherry blossoms were gorgeous today! Looks like they planted a bunch of cherry trees along the raceway - fresh fertilizer's in the air so if you're highly allergic whatch out.

Slight changes north of where the Intrepid used to be (approximately the 70's where they're building that huge complex under the WSH) and where the Intrepid used to be - I almost slammed into a divider that a sign told me to turn into. Don't know what that's taking so freakin' long to finish.

Cars seem to be much less cognizant of bikes on the path compared to last year - almost got hit twice ON THE PATH so watch your ass around the towing compound and Chelsea Piers (take a gander at where Basketball City used to be - completed gutted).

Down by City Hall still on the West side there were doing some sort of landscaping and construction - the signs are crappy and the path is less than two feet wide for pedestrian and bike traffic in both directions. Hopefully that's super temporary - hard enough to navigate with pedestrians wandering on the path when they have a nice wide path right next to it.

Don't you have a roadie now? That should speed things up a bit.

I actually took my roadie on this one! Much faster - the hills I used to die on until I was conditioned I barely noticed. My wrists are killing me though, may have to give up on the curved bars since there's no way I'll be able to ride it for more than 3 hours (I was at 2:20 today and I'm icing my wrists now they hurt so much). Maybe Touring bars? Sucks.

*creeeeaaaaakkkk*

Slight changes north of where the Intrepid used to be (approximately the 70's where they're building that huge complex under the WSH) and where the Intrepid used to be - I almost slammed into a divider that a sign told me to turn into. Don't know what that's taking so freakin' long to finish.


Whenever there's the slightest hint of moisture in the air, a patch of mud, or ice, forms at the southern turn of the arch. That's probably just to increase the fun factor for unsuspecting cyclists who haven't done this stretch since the last midnight rerouting.

I did notice some signs in Fort Washington Park indicating a speed limit of 5 mph. One was posted around 155th Street and the second had already been pulled out of the ground. :rolleyes:

5mph on a bike?! I can walk faster!

Some good news for Brooklyn:

http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/07_09/bikeracks.jpg
Parking spots removed and bike racks installed at the Bedford L stop in Brooklyn (http://www.streetsblog.org/2007/07/12/an-nyc-first-on-street-parking-spaces-replaced-by-bike-racks/)

http://bp0.blogger.com/_GTU_nOCsE-s/RpZG9LaU88I/AAAAAAAAAq4/KnNQHG96--A/s400/IMG_3008_green_stripe_henry_st.jpg
Bike lane on Henry Street painted solid (http://mcbrooklyn.blogspot.com/2007/07/brooklyn-bikers-seeing-green.html)

Nice news about the henry street path. Are they planning that for other bike lanes?

They're experimenting with different colors to find the most effective.

I'm wondering if it gets slippery like the white lines can do with a little rain.

I've seen some backwards progress lately.

Doing the full loop of Manhattan the other night, I found the ramp up to 155th St. cut off completely. It looks like they're doing contruction, but a friend told me she hasn't seen much of anything going on there. I had to ride back down & find ride onto an offramp to get back to the path. The only notice is a "Go Back!" spray painted on the ground.

At the 38th St underpass, both gates going east are locked (dangerous if you don't know since they're directly in front of a light & an offramp). I had to go a couple blocks south to get back on the path.

Still, it's nice to ride the waterfront on a hot night. I just wish they'd hurry up and finish the loop this decade.

They're experimenting with different colors to find the most effective.

I wonder who painted this. It stops before Atlantic (going south), and then there is a different tint of green south of Atlantic for a couple of blocks. The new, bright green does not look "professionally" painted. It looks like some person or group took it upon themselves to make the bike lane more visible. Whoever did this, it seems to have increased the visibility of the lane. I have noticed fewer people wandering over into the bike lane, and I have not seen a single person park there since the painting. Hopefully, this will continue.

/cp

I wonder who painted this. It stops before Atlantic (going south), and then there is a different tint of green south of Atlantic for a couple of blocks. The new, bright green does not look "professionally" painted. It looks like some person or group took it upon themselves to make the bike lane more visible. Whoever did this, it seems to have increased the visibility of the lane. I have noticed fewer people wandering over into the bike lane, and I have not seen a single person park there since the painting. Hopefully, this will continue.

/cp

I bet some people took it upon themselves to continue it.

I've seen some backwards progress lately.

Doing the full loop of Manhattan the other night, I found the ramp up to 155th St. cut off completely. It looks like they're doing contruction, but a friend told me she hasn't seen much of anything going on there. I had to ride back down & find ride onto an offramp to get back to the path. The only notice is a "Go Back!" spray painted on the ground.

Wait - you mean if you go up Adam C. Powell and turn left on 155th you can't go up that anymore? Could you go on the road or was the road even the cut off?

Caught these riding home down Henry St. the other day. The green extends past Atlantic Ave. now, all the way to the end of the bike lane.


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1010/899105567_14bee9e4a3.jpg
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/mazaev/899105567/)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1420/899107457_29ccb04913.jpg
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/mazaev/899107457/)

Awesome - neon green!

I wish they''d do that for the Christopher Street bikelane. The paint is so worn the bikelane barely exists anymore. :(

Updates:

Manhattan Bridge open now for both peds and bikes - woot!

At 67th on the East side the ramp is now complete (no stairs) but they tore up a park they built a block lower - weird.

At 155th where it meets up with the path again on the east I would recommend riding in traffic instead of that 'path' on the side - it's usually swift moving but wide. The 'bike path' merges into a high curb, almost killed myself yesterday. Effin' brilliant.

On the west side around 91st Street where that detour is you now have to go through a dirt path to get to the paved part, seems like the entrance to that promenade is the last part being redone. Despite that looks great but it seems that section could have been done already when they had it cordoned off.

Down by the financial district it's all torn up. I have no idea where to ride, it's really narrow, the markings are all over the place with arrows in every direction. I haven't been down there in a while since they were working on it last (from above - 4/25!!), don't know what they're doing but it looks pretty major with deep trenches. Ugh. Might be better to ride in traffic there.

About two weeks ago I got to ride on that green strip - pretty cool though it feels like it might be slippery in the rain. The cars did stay off of it except for one gov't car that was parked half on it so you couldn't go around either way.

I just came across the Riverside path this weekend. It's fun after dark!!

Also if there's one good thing that's come out of all of this construction on Houston Street, it's that Houoston is now paved west of Sixth Avenue, all the way to the Bike Path. No more cobblestones!!

I just came across the Riverside path this weekend. It's fun after dark!!

Where is that exactly? I've done the Times-Up night ride but I don't think we hit that. I think I did wind up it once when I thought I could just go down to 125th on Riverside Drive but kept going :D