Bridges
Streetsblog Basics
MTA Tests Bike Racks on Bus Across Verrazano
An anonymously-sourced New York Post story yesterday might leave readers with the impression that new bike racks on the front of Staten Island buses will lead to late trips and a liability nightmare for the MTA. The MTA, however, says it's still studying the racks -- a tried-and-true amenity in every other big American city -- on a route crossing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which currently has no bike path.
March 10, 2015
Cuomo to Spend Lion’s Share of NY Bank Settlement Windfall on Highways
One of the looming questions as Governor Andrew Cuomo has unveiled his budget agenda over the past few days has been how he'll divvy up the $5.4 billion windfall the state has reaped from bank settlements. At the State of the State address this afternoon, Cuomo revealed that the biggest chunk of that money will go to the Thruway Authority so highway drivers don't have to pay higher tolls.
January 21, 2015
Eyes on the Street: The Williamsburg Bridge Bike Path Freezes Over
Courtesy of Will Sherman, here's what the Williamsburg Bridge bike path -- one of the most important bike transportation connections in the city -- looked like this morning after the season's first snowfall. Icy and unbikeable. Sherman says he saw at least a few people take a spill.
December 11, 2014
The Growing Political Muscle of the Campaign for a Verrazano Bike/Ped Path
This Saturday, close to 100 people gathered at the Alice Austen House on the North Shore of Staten Island to demand a walking and biking path across the Verrazano Bridge. And in a sign of the campaign's growing political potency, several elected officials came out to announce their support for the idea, including Assembly Member Michael Cusick, State Senator Marty Golden, and City Council Member Vincent Gentile.
October 22, 2014
EPA Rejects Cuomo’s Clean Water Money Grab for Highway Bridge
This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency rejected the $510.9 million federal loan New York state had requested from a clean water program to pay for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project. Only $29 million worth of TZB work is eligible for clean water money, the EPA's regional office ruled, averting a dangerous precedent that could have let governors across the country raid environmental funds to pay for highways.
September 16, 2014
Need to Add a Bike Lane to a Bridge? Experiment Like Pittsburgh Did
The Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place 2014 conference took place this week in Pittsburgh. Even though the Andy Warhol Bridge already has a nice shared bike-ped path on it, for one week the city decided to put bike lanes on its roadway. It's the simplest design you can imagine, just two rows of small traffic barriers and a little bit of signage. I compiled a few moments of footage while walking to an event one night.
September 12, 2014
Seeking Safer Routes to Walk and Bike Across the Harlem River
Have you ever tried biking or walking across the Harlem River? Despite a plethora of bridges, walkers and bikers often face crossings and approaches that are confusing or downright hostile. A new campaign from Transportation Alternatives and local residents aims to focus DOT's attention on making it safer for New Yorkers to get between the two boroughs under their own power.
July 23, 2014
State Panel OKs $255 Million Clean Water Raid for Tappan Zee Bridge
This afternoon, the Public Authorities Control Board signed off on a loan from the state's clean water fund to help finance the new Tappan Zee Bridge. The board approved half of the $511 million loan that Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking, but the administration called it "the first installment" of the loan, creating the expectation of more clean water money to finance the extra-wide highway bridge. The approval, likely to be further challenged by advocates, could set a dangerous precedent for other governors looking to raid clean water funds for highway construction.
July 16, 2014