best brooklyn/manhattan route
 

Hi,
I'm going to start commuting from Prospect Heights (Washington & Sterling Pl.) in Brooklyn to the west village (14th and 8th ave.) Any suggestions on the best route/paths would be greatly appreciated. I've heard some negative things about riding on Flatbush. Is it worth it to take the Brooklyn Bridge? Thanks!

I have been commuting from prospect hts to manhattan for four years, rain or shine. used to be downtown, now I work in midtown. it's the best part of my day. here's my input:

Don't take flatbush. It's faster, but the traffic is a nightmare and until you are very experienced and comfortable in traffic, I would avoid it like the plague. (sat or sun mornings are a different story - anytime before ten and you can zip down to the bridges from your hood in minutes.)

That said, there are a bunch of options. the most efficient, in my opinion is:
Mornings - take the on-street bike path on Bergen all the way to Smith Street. Right on Smith street, across atlantic Ave and keep going straight. when you pass under the Manhattan bridge overpass, go right up onto the bike lane over the manhattan bridge. breathe deep, enjoy the critical mass graffiti and thank the lord you live in this beatiful friggin' city. watch for two big bumps on the path (steel plates covering seems in the bridge) at the two towers in the center of the bridge. descend bridge. When you come out the end of the bridge, make a 180deg turn and go uphill to bowery. Take bowery until you are forced to go left at houston. take houston just far enough to get to lafayette, and take the bike path up to 12th (or thirteenth - whichever goes west, but not to 14th (where the path abruptly and unpleasanlty terminates.) just take that west to 8th ave - and take the whole lane so the cars dont squish you and you don't get doored.

Evenings reverse, except take the proper street (12th or 13th) to get back to broadway (not lafayette since b'way travels south), then when you are back in bklyn take the on-street bike path on dean all the way home. the bike paths on bergen and dean made me cry tears of joy when they put them in a little over a year ago. use them well.

Alternate via Brooklyn bridge - this is a prettier, more relaxed route. I used to take bklyn bridge when I worked downtown cuz it was quicker, but now it's more of a diversion that I take when I feel like it. it is prettier. the only downside is it gets really crowded if the weather is nice.

take bergen to smith. smith to atlantic. left on atlantic, right at the first light. and go straight down past the marriot and federal buildings to the intersection at Tillary where the ramp to the bike path is. (there is a side road that has a bike lane painted on it - I avoid this because the bike lane is used as a parking lot and the traffic gets so clogged, you basically cant move at times). It will take some time to figure out the best way to manage traffic and get onto the path, but there are plenty of other cyclist to watch to figure out the best, safest way to do it. the safest, least efficient way is to cross over and wait for the light. I go right with traffic in the left lane and peel off onto the bridge. anyway it will take a bit of expereince to figure out your preferred method.
on the bridge is self explanatory - no big bumps and the view is spectacular. take it in and thank god you live in this beautiful friggin city. (ed. note - don't scream at pedestrians to get out of the bike lane. chances are they don't speak english and wont react in time anyway if they do. If you must do something to alert people, use a bell. I have given up on fighting the crowds - it's like riding the subway and getting mad at someone for bumping into you. it's a big city.) when you come off the bridge stay right and head north up lafayette (which has an on-street bike lane.) Just like the other instructions, lafayette to 12th and over. if you want a more leisurely ride, go to worth and take a left, travelling over to the west side waterfront path. that is really pretty, no cars to battle, and if you don't mind the massive crowds of roller-bladers and peds, it is nice to look out over the Hudson. take this to 14th and over.

can't help you with bike parking, try www.transalt.org they have a list of indoor bike parking.

feel free to ask me any questions about bike commuting at all. If you want, I'll even meet you and show you the routes I like one morning. I leave at 8 or so. good luck

A standing ovation for Mr Super! Well done!

Mr Super writes a great description, but i would actually argue for a different, and faster route...

from prospect heights, take washington all the way north to myrtle. turn left on myrtle, onto the bike path, pass fort greene park on your left, and bike till navy street. turn right onto navy (again, bike path) and follow under the BQE until Sands st. turn left onto sands, and follow for a few blocks until, presto, the onramp to the manhattan bridge.

take bridge over, enjoy the view, and then get onto the bowery as mr super detailed above. However, i would argue that, after turning left onto Houston, take houston until 6th ave (varick down there), turn RIGHT, and go up 5 or 6 blocks till Greenwich Ave (AVE, not ST!) and turn left onto that. greenwhich av is a diagonal, which will run you from approx 6th/6th right to 8th ave and 14th st. this is much quicker than taking the numbered streets outlined above.

for the ride back, reverse, but i would recommend taking the PEDESTRIAN side of the manhattan bridge (i know, i'll get flamed for this) because a)you can get on directly from the bowery and b)its substantially prettier; seeing the brooklyn bridge, statue of liberty, etc, instead of the ****ing projects and the much less pretty williamsburg bridge.

let me know if you have any questions. i live in fort greene and do it all the time.

bikiola's bklyn route would definitely be quicker from where you are. I am not a big fan of Washington, though and I especially like coming home via Dean street at dusk. You will be hard-pressed to find a prettier tree-lined stretch of old brownstones. you should try both; a little variety is good.

bikiola's manhattan part would be quicker, too. probably preferable to my hopping and skipping from Lafayette, with the possible exception of being on Houston for that long; which I find pretty unpleasant. I usually go straight up the East side, so I have less to offer there but it's true that the cross-town traffic on any of those streets can be painful - his diagonal route is faster, just gauge how you feel on Houston.

and no flames for using the pedestrian side on the Manhattan bridge - just use your head and be courteous and everyone will be happy.

If you're more experienced, fly down flatbush, it's straight, always lots of cars to draft, and the center line between the 2 directions let's you go real fast if you like to pretend to be messenger.
The entrance is kind of sketchy for the MB approach but that would take u right into chinatown.

Your route was totally superior in every way *except* for that recommendation to take the wrong side of the bridge :) I refuse to flame you but we had years of biking on that side and should be happy to have our own side even if the Peds are too lazy to go to thier side. Besides there are fewer peds and you can hit much higher speeds in the bike lane.

___

If you take Myrtle I might wave when I see ya ;)

however depending on the time of day Flushing is nice and deserted and has been freshly paved.. well some of it has been anyway :)

Flatbush Avenue is dangerous. I rode down there a couple of weeks ago and cannot believe how many cars and it's gridlock almost all the way down. The only way to get to the bridges is riding in the door zone by the passenger side and hope the cars don't open them because there really is no other way to do it.

You have more guts than me if you're going to ride the center line between four lanes of cars that are backed up for a mile and a half.

mind what the others have told you. help you it can.

here's the visual aid: I take this route to work. Pretty easy ride.
sorry about the tables folks

http://www.uploadhouse.com/images/69...212commute.gif

hey ch0mb0, I have never done the Pacific bit, is there an advantage over Bergen there?

Looking at the map, (which is cool, by the way I should do that more often) I am less confident that bikiola's advice to go over to 6th would really save much time. anyway, I suppose this whole thread is a bit like asking a cab driver which way to go -- you'll get loads of different answers. There probably isn't a "best route" anyway. I tend slightly toward preferring a pleasant ride over pure efficiency, but there's a limit to how pleasant it can be in rush hour traffic.

Oh, well - Im off to go catch the tail end of the evening rush. ciao.

hey ch0mb0, I have never done the Pacific bit, is there an advantage over Bergen there?

Looking at the map, (which is cool, by the way I should do that more often) I am less confident that bikiola's advice to go over to 6th would really save much time. anyway, I suppose this whole thread is a bit like asking a cab driver which way to go -- you'll get loads of different answers. There probably isn't a "best route" anyway. I tend slightly toward preferring a pleasant ride over pure efficiency, but there's a limit to how pleasant it can be in rush hour traffic.

Oh, well - Im off to go catch the tail end of the evening rush. ciao.

Oh - one last comment - part of the reason I don't like the route via Washington down by the Navy yard is that it's pretty damn ugly. Same reason bikiola prefers the south side of the MB -- better to stare at brownstones than projects (and at the Navy yard you also get the bonus of crumbling houses and a tow pound.) but that's a purely aesthetic preference, which not everyone will share. ciao for real.

True, you can also cut down ashland and make a left at sands and get on the manhattan bridge.

I recommend Ashland then left at Sands for the Manhattan bridge also.

hey nyc folks,

this is OT but i didn't want to start a new thread...

is everyone generally agreed that it's not such a hot idea to ride across the bridges alone late at night?
or later at night at all?

i'm mostly talking about the queensborough but anyone's opinion would be helpful.

bk

I take the Manhattan Bridge about 99% of the time and I have ridden across it at all hours without any problems. I can't speak for the other bridges.

I don't have this commute from bklyn, though I do live below the Bklyn and Manhattan, I go up Eldridge, to Houston to get to the EV. There are few lights and almost no stop signs. (Eldridge is one block east of the North side of the Man. Bridge entrance.) Also what about 9th street across from Ave A or Fourth Ave to 6th/Greenwich? I can't stand the aggression on Houston.

I was on the Queensboro for the last two nights after 1030, I saw no problem, there seems to be enough other (foot/bike) traffic there to be safe. But I am 6'3 250lbs so my perspective is different than others. I ride all 4 lower east river bridges at all hours and have never seen anything sketchy; but I have heard about it.

I have taken the brooklyn, manhattan and williamsburg bridges late at night often. I guess it is always wise to keep an eye on people mulling about, but I have never had a problem. For some reason, the manhattan bridge seems kinda sketchy cuz there's like a cage on either side of you, but like I said, never a problem. You will find tourists and star-struck lovers walking over the brooklyn bridge at 3 am. [I also one time was barred from crossing the brooklyn bridge at 9 am cuz some nut pulled a gun and threatened people, ultimately shooting himself. but this was daytime (and this is NY).]

Probably not a good idea if you're a 5' 8" blond with a nice body and you're wearing a miniskirt and a tank top. Otherwise, go for it.

yeah, the bridges should be fine for us dudes. i've seen a small group of teens smoking pot on the manhattan bridge late a few times, but they are probably more scared that i might be a cop. frankly though you'll see some sketchy stuff pretty much anywhere even during the middle of the day...just keep an eye out and leave if you see something weird going on.

chombo - curious why you take hudson instead of going a couple blocks further down to the bikepath? Is it the wind ?

However if you are a 5'8" blonde with a nice body wearing a mini-skirt please PM me ;) :D

DEFINITELY not a good idea. :p

On a related note, has anyone ever tried riding over the brooklyn bridge on the roadway?

I did it on 8/14

(that was the blackout for anyone that remembers). mobbed with peds, cars and bikes. totally friggin' great. and Marty Markowitz was on a lightpost screaming into a bullhorn, "welcome home." what a dweeb.

I'm starting to like Pacific less and less.
It used to be less congested in the mornings, but suddenly this street is choked with double parked cars, mini-buses, and cars dropping off their kids at the dayschool. And if a truck gets on this street, forget it. I think it's time to displace and find an alternate path.



The wind is definitely one of the reasons. Also, the traffic isn't bad and flows pretty smoothly up to 8th and beyond. It's not hard to catch all the lights and you can get up this street fast.
Lastly, I work on 8th and hate having to pull it back in a couple blocks from the path. I'm lazy. :D