Opening of pedestrian-only lane on Queensboro Bridge appears to be delayed – again
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On the North Outer Roadway of the Queensboro Bridge, pedestrians and cyclists compete for space as construction to fix the dangerous situation lags. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
On the North Outer Roadway of the Queensboro Bridge, cyclists and pedestrians maneuver in and out of lanes to avoid each other. Motorbike drivers – who are not allowed on that section of the bridge – zip in and out too. All the while, cars and trucks speed over the bridge connecting Queens to Manhattan while N and W trains shake the structure.
While the city said it planned to fix the chaotic conditions on the North Outer Roadway by adding a separate path for cyclists by the end of the summer, their self-imposed deadline now appears entirely out of reach – again.
Transit advocates have raised concerns about the pace at which the long-delayed project is moving, and say they fear another delay will soon be announced. If the new roadway’s completion is ultimately pushed back, it would mark the fifth time the safety improvement has been delayed.
Representatives from the city’s Department of Transportation neither confirmed nor denied the project’s delay, telling the Eagle that “no changes to the timeline have been announced.” The agency ignored additional questions from the Eagle asking specifically if the project would be completed by the end of the summer.
For several years, the North Outer Roadway of the Queensboro Bridge, which connects Long Island City with Midtown Manhattan, has been a treacherous venture for cyclists and pedestrians attempting to traverse the connector.
The narrow paths for cyclists and pedestrians are separated by painted lines, but increased use of the bridge by cyclists and delivery workers in recent years have made those lines largely symbolic. As crashes began to occur with more frequency on the roadway, so too did calls from advocates for the city to add a new lane exclusively for cyclists.
In April, the city’s Department of Transportation laid out its plan on the bridge. They said they the bridge’s North Outer Roadway would be open up to those riding on two wheels while they rebuilt the South Outer Roadway which will be used for those wanting to traverse the bridge on foot.
Construction of the cyclist side of the bridge was supposed to be completed by the end of the summer, DOT documents show.
There have been more than two dozen injuries on the Queensboro Bridge dating back to 2021, a trend transportation advocates worry will continue if the city doesn’t finish construction on the crossing. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
However, as the summer comes to an end, the DOT has not announced any public updates on the project and has declined to give clear answers to reporters about if their deadline is still tenable.
Meanwhile, locals and transportation advocates say the project isn’t moving at a pace that gives them confidence the path will be open come the fall.
“We are now reaching the end of the summer, and we have no updates on their completion timeline,” said Emily Jacobi, the Manhattan organizer for advocacy group Transportation Alternatives. “Usually when we're getting close to the finish, we start to hear more about it, and we're not seeing that. The silence from the city, the silence from DOT, is slightly concerning here.”
While construction on the new path continues, so does the status quo.
“Right now, when you commute over the bridge…it has a cramped amount of space for pedestrians and cyclists together,” Jacobi said. “It's led to injuries over the past many years, and it's just limiting the commute capacity for the bridge when cycling is increasing over bridges across the city.”
According to data reported by the transportation outlet Streetsblog, there have been at least 23 crashes, with 25 injuries on the NOR since the beginning of 2021.
Transportation Alternatives’ data shows that since 2022 specifically, there have been 12 serious injuries along the bridge in total, including three pedestrians and four cyclists.
“It's really awful, especially at rush hour,” said Jacobi, who added that the road’s dangerous reputation pushes some to travel along other dangerous alternatives.
“Sometimes you'll see cyclists biking and car traffic,” she said. “You'll have pedestrians and cyclists kind of competing for space when we don't need that.”
Queens-based attorney and transportation advocate Peter Beadle, who often represents cyclists and pedestrians who have been injured on the city’s streets, says he and his legal colleagues have dealt with a number of cases stemming from collisions on the bridge.
Beadle personally believes the NOR’s lanes are too narrow and “completely inadequate.”
“[With] how narrow it gets, it doesn't take too much for you to just be that half an inch extra to the left, and now you're tangled with somebody,” he said.
Cyclists make their way across the Queensboro Bridge.Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
DOT says that in 2023 an average of 7,185 bikers rode the bridge, nearly 3,000 more than the Brooklyn Bridge.
Around 2,785 people walk the bridge everyday, according to data gathered in the spring of last year.
As more people continue to use the bridge, and with construction unfinished, Beadle worries the negative trends could continue if the project isn’t completed quickly.
“The longer you delay, the more injuries pile up,” he said. “Every year that goes by, you're adding injuries that didn't have to happen if they had implemented this sooner.”
Community Board 2, which approved the project, hasn’t heard from DOT concerning the Queensboro since the spring, although the board doesn’t meet over the summer.
“I think we have been very clear that we want it to happen, and I think they actually want it to happen, but I think that it's the usual bureaucracy that's going on,” said CB2 member and former chairperson Danielle Brecker.
Brecker said the board asked DOT around May about the project’s timeline, but they didn’t get a concrete answer.
“We just have to keep making noise and keep asking them where this is,” said Jacobi.
Councilmember Julie Won, who represents the Queens side of the bridge, said in a statement to the Eagle that she is hopeful that DOT keeps on schedule.
“After years of delays, broken promises, and missed deadlines, construction to convert the Queensboro Bridge South Outer Roadway to a pedestrian-only walkway has finally begun,” she said. “I am hopeful that the Department of Transportation will keep its word and open the walkway to pedestrians by the end of the summer, making the bridge safer for all who use it.”
This story has been corrected to reflect that DOT is rebuilding the South Outer Roadway, rather than the North Outer Roadway.
