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QUEENS WEEKLY, AUGUST 16, 2020
DOT shoots down plan for more pedestrian,
cyclist space on Ed Koch-Queensboro Bridge
BY MARK HALLUM
The city’s Department of
Transportation nixed Transportation
Alternatives’ call
to close the eastbound outer
roadway of the Ed Koch-
Queensboro Bridge to vehicular
traffic — at least for now.
Transportation Alternatives
wants that the roadway,
dubbed the South Outer
Roadway because its on the
south side of the bridge, reserved
only for pedestrians
and cyclists, but the DOT
maintains that now is not
the time — largely due to the
roadway’s fencing.
Not only does the agency
plan to prioritize vehicular
traffic until work on the upper
roadway is complete in
2022, but a spokesman says
the fencing is only half the
height deemed safe for foot
traffic over a bridge.
The advocates, citing
reduced use of the bridge
and a boom in cycling as
the pandemic still looms in
the minds of New Yorkers,
seemed to anticipate this response
in the letter claiming
that while the reasoning was
sound, the current climate
of health safety should shift
their priorities.
“Between 2006 and 2016,
vehicle traffic on the Queensboro
Bridge fell 8.5 percent,
while bike trips doubled and
pedestrian trips tripled. Due
to concerns from COVID-19,
millions of New Yorkers remain
wary of returning to
the subway and bus system
File photo by Christina Santucci
and are increasingly turning
to bikes, scooters, and
their own two feet as their
main form of transportation,”
the Transportation Alternatives
letter to the DOT
reads. “The DOT has cited
reasons for inaction, such
as using the outer roadway
to stage construction equipment
for bridge repairs, and
the lack of barrier fencing.
These considerations are
important, but they cannot
prevent the city from rising
to the challenge and finding
ways to prioritize the creation
of more space for the
thousands of pedestrians
and cyclists who need it in
this crucial moment. Emergency
street redesigns, such
as open streets and ‘pop-up’
bike lanes, have been successfully
implemented in
quick response to the growing
demand for space to walk,
bike, and social distance.”
While work goes on on
the upper roadway, DOT says
they lack the resources to
mend fences, making them
high enough to prevent them
from being scaled.
On Aug. 5, DOT Commissioner
Polly Trottenberg
with other transit leaders
said that their funding, due
to the pandemic and the city
$15 billion deficit, has been
slashed by 12 percent this
year. But during the height
of the pandemic in New
York, a 90 percent reduction
of vehicle traffic was clearly
seen and CitiBike ridership
has hit new heights, she acknowledged.
“DOT has examined the
modifications that would
be necessary to convert the
South Outer Roadway to a pedestrian
path and the North
Outer Roadway to exclusive
bicycle use,” a DOT spokesman
said in response to the
letter. “However, due to ongoing
work on the Queensboro
Bridge Upper Roadway, the
South Outer Roadway will
be needed for vehicle diversions
through the end of construction
in the fall of 2022.
In addition, even for temporary
use during this crisis,
the South Outer Roadway’s
current level of fencing is not
safe for pedestrian or cyclist
use, as the existing railing
is scalable and only about
half the standard height for
bike and pedestrian paths on
NYC bridges. Moreover, installing
the necessary safety
fencing would be difficult
to accomplish while our resources
are limited.”
Proposals to convert the
roadway have been passed
nearly unanimously by community
boards on both sides
of the East River as both cyclists
and pedestrians struggle
for a piece of the current
foot path just 9 feet wide.
Over 3,500 have signed
the petition coupled with the
letter also signed by Councilmen
Jimmy Van Bramer and
Ben Kallos.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum
by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
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