Pedestrians and cyclists will continue to endure unsafe traffic conditions and risk injuries on the Queensboro Bridge for at least one more year

Every day pedestrians and cyclists are risking dangerous collisions on the narrow share two-way lane on the Queensboro Bridge. De Blasio promised the bridge would be fixed and pedestrians and cyclists would be completely separated and share each a side of the bridge by the end of 2022.  This promise will not be kept as the DOT announced yesterday that the work will not be completed until the end of 2023.  The news raised a lot of outrage as, since the pandemic hit and New Yorkers changed the way they are commuting, the pedestrian and bicyclist traffic was 26 times more heavier than during pre-pandemic era according to  statistics from last September.  Near misses occur daily and crashes resulting in injuries are common on the narrow path where pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders and an influx of faster moped riders who despite knowing that they are illegally using the path, find it safer than riding among cars on the bridge.

Pedestrians and cyclists feel like they have been tricked

The DOT did not provide any explanation as to why the work was delayed except that it was related to the fabrication of the new deck. However pedestrians and cyclists advocates feel like they are taking advantage of. De Blasio promised the South outer roadway would be converted to a pedestrian path starting late 2021 and would be completed this year. Now the DOT says they can not do that because the South outer roadway need to be open to cars during the bridge renovation project.

As it is now, out of 10 traffic lanes, 9 are sued by cars and one is shared by pedestrians and cyclists.  Again, the city is heavily promoting New Yorkers to use different transportation modes of transportation but continue to prioritize motor vehicles when it comes to share the roads.

Read more in Street Blog

 

The city is making the bike lane width argument for the bike riders. The fact that the bike stencil doesn't even fit in the available lane says everything you need to know about the tight space on the Queensboro Bridge. https://t.co/mHEYaCOVtj

— Pat Kiernan (@patkiernan) September 29, 2020