Northeast - NYPD blockade on mid span 59th Street bridge

The biggest problem for many of us, I think, was that it seemed to come out of nowhere, with no explanation.

I was just surprised to hear it even involved the workers - I figured this may have inconvenienced them as much as anyone.

hmm............

no cops or cones this am. too cold?

Heard yesterday that they will be there till December.....not sure how reliable that is, but fwiw...

No cops, probably all around for the opening of the UN. Did anyone ride the reserved lane on 57th street? That was awesome!

Either last year or the year before I was riding in the reserved lane when a group of cops blew their stacks at me. I looked at them innocently and said I thought it was part of the 200 miles of bike lanes the mayor supported. They weren't amused... To be fair I did think I could ride in it though :P

They've been pretty lax so far.

Me and another cyclist in the lane and some peds and a cop or two all shared a laugh as a motorist - a man in his late 50s or so, heavy European accent - started to absolutely freak out cause he was not allowed to turn off Park Ave. The absurdity of the situation made it amusing to a degree, but I felt bad for the guy....

I hope the cops stay off the bridge after this session closes. Been under the weather and have been taking a break from commuting.

hope so too, but I suspect if they are not back tomorrow we'll see them on Monday.

To my knowledge no bridge workers were killed by renegade cyclo-terrorists this week, despite the absence of cones and scooters.

hope so too, but I suspect if they are not back tomorrow we'll see them on Monday.

To my knowledge no bridge workers were killed by renegade cyclo-terrorists this week, despite the absence of cones and scooters.

It's been a nice week. Last week I was away on business so it was great to come back and find the bridge free of blockades.

Of course I work on the east side and frequently travel between midtown and the UES so U.N. traffic hasn't exactly made it any more pleasant a ride. If they can block off lanes for U.N. business, why can't they get us some permanent dedicated bike lanes? :D

maybe if we paint our bike blacks and put blinking lights on 'em?:D

maybe if we paint our bike blacks and put blinking lights on 'em?:D

Don't forget guns, I want to mount a sub-gun to my bars.

Just not on a fixie. Recoil is a b***h.

just not on a fixie. Recoil is a b***h.

:d

they're back!

one guy was getting a summons (well, at least the cop had his license) and I got a tongue lashing for not dismounting to cross the cones.

No signs today, just the moped and the cones.

Oh, man....that stinks!

Thanks to BF I was up wasting time till 2:30 AM and too beat to throw a leg over the bike this am.

I work for a Jewish school, so I have most of October off (:thumb:). I hope the cops are gone for good by the time I'm back in full effect for NOV....good luck out there, guys.

I asked that guy this morning if I had to dismount, he said "yes, through the construction zone."

I had a long discussion with officer Bagloni this morning on my Queens bound commute. Boy this was one pissed off dude, not at me just in general.

There were two vans blocking the cycling lane and NO cones or dismount signs at that point. I slowly road around the vans and saw two cones, the officer and his scooter.He was hassling someone for not dismounting, so I got off mine and figured I waould avoid the headache. No bi g deal, we are talking 5 feet of walking.

I mentioned to Officer Bagloni that there was no Sign and he starts talking about how I'm not working with the system (HUHH?). I see, I'm a rebel a 50 year old fat rebel on his way to work with a saddle that hurt rebel. I tried to calmly mention to him that having people dismount with no sign should not be expected. He said it was logical to walk around the construction. In fact he says the law if enforced would be having cyclists dismount and walk the bridge, huhh?

So I asked, If thats correct WHY IS THERE A BIKE LANE on the bridge?

This guy was so NOT into any calm logical discourse that I found it very humorous, since I was calm. he said what would I do if cycling was not allowed on the bridge because of me. I told him I and most others would walk or ride on the roadway.

Obviously this guy is no fan of cyclists.

Ohh yeah, he said the work today would be only two hours and he would be gone in the sunset with his scooter.

wow....seig heil! wtf.....

he should have taken your bike to teach your rebellious a## a lesson...nothing like building positive relations with the citizenry.

I had a long discussion with officer Bagloni this morning on my Queens bound commute. Boy this was one pissed off dude, not at me just in general.

I've spoken to him before, when he was a bit calmer. I don't think today was going his way either.

That said, I haven't exactly found the police presence on the bridge to be any PR improvement for the cops.

I'm really hoping the cold weather drives them away.

I felt bad for the cop. I mean he was being bombarded from the east and the west. At least with the signs, he could have just dealt with anyone who just couldn't read the sign.

Not for nothing, but if he's aggravated at cyclists riding in a bike lane, just imagine what he's like w/ people actually breaking the law. I know being a cop can be stressful, but seriously, how stressful is watching bicycles go by?

exactly. He's got a nice view and port-a-potty up there too.

can't you guys and cops just get along? Its just minus 10 seconds off your commute...

Unless you guys are looking for to just annoy the messenger.

Unless you guys are looking for to just annoy the messenger.

I think you've got it backwards. The messenger is looking for to just annoy the cyclists.

can't you guys and cops just get along? Its just minus 10 seconds off your commute...

Unless you guys are looking for to just annoy the messenger.

The sole purpose is to harass cyclists. There's no safety issue. Dismounting going uphill hoovers, imho.

This morning was a nice ride in, bridge was clear and traffic wasn't bad either. I guess due to the Jewish holiday.

ahh - I actually rode up the bridge at midday - off from work, but feeling fat and lazy (hadn't rode since last week) - no sign of cones or their keepers....

might try a longer ride today if the weather holds out. Back to work tomorrow:rolleyes:

See, press (http://gothamist.com/2008/10/10/cops_making_queensboro_bridge_bike.php)

I was called by the Daily News but missed them as it was Yom Kippur
and I was doing my thing in synagogue.

There have been no cars for the last week or so.
The last Officer I spoke to said that they were there when the construction crew was there.

In anycase, my life continues and this is the LEAST of MY problems.

I was called by the Daily News but missed them as it was Yom Kippur
and I was doing my thing in synagogue.

There have been no cars for the last week or so.
The last Officer I spoke to said that they were there when the construction crew was there.

In anycase, my life continues and this is the LEAST of MY problems.

Actually, there was a car at the foot on the Queens side this week with a cop parked over the curb on the sidewalk, Tuesday and Thursday. Monday morning I think they had the "cyclists must walk" up where they had some guys painting.

Tuesday or Wednesday morning, I'm not sure, squad car parked on the Queens incline side. Not the scooter cop, and no cones, just parked in the middle of the MUP.

The DOT needs to fix the root causes of the problems on the MUP, but I think we've already covered the idiotic design in this thread.

With so much space on the streets, why not just carve out a lot more separated bike lanes and stop putting the cyclists and peds into the same space?

But yeah, life goes on.

Columbus day was just a joy.

Except for that going to work thing.

Yeah, the work thing pretty much blew. Biking in and home was great though.

Just fyi, have been seeing scooters and cruisers at mid-bridge daily, and they are handing out summons and beratings...be forewarned!

See, press (http://gothamist.com/2008/10/10/cops_making_queensboro_bridge_bike.php)

Thanks - this was long overdue for coverage!:thumb:

Just fyi, have been seeing scooters and cruisers at mid-bridge daily, and they are handing out summons and beratings...be forewarned!


I'm out of this one, I guess. I just moved from Queens to Brooklyn. My new commute, over the Manhattan Bridge, seems to be free of any police presence whatsoever. Still curious about why the Queensboro Bridge is being singled out. I can understand the police trying to slow down bicycle traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, given the volume of bicycle and pedestrian traffic there, but the Queensboro Bridge efforts seemed unnecessary (aside from the occasional brakeless fixie rider).

I was puzzled until it was made clear that the complaints were from Bridge workers - to the best of my knowledge, there is constant work on the QBB, not on the other three in Lower Manhattan.

i bike across the 59th st. bridge for the very first time this weekend by doing a brooklyn tour myself by going thru the bike lanes from brooklyn bridge>williamsburge>greenpoint>pulaski bridge>59th st bridge...got some nice view of manhattan on the pulaski bridge. the 59th bridge was much tougher than the brooklyn bridge i must say. completed the days with a 25 miles tour.

ps - i didn't have any problem like some of u guys being stop by the police or any detour when crossing the 59th st. bridge.