NEW YORK—A narrow elevated pathway, reaching at most 16 feet wide, is currently split into four lanes for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Brooklyn Bridge.
The lanes are “notoriously congested,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said.
Council members Brad Lander, Margaret Chin, Stephen Levin, and transportation advocates, held a press conference in front of the bridge Tuesday. They announced an engineering and design competition, to expand the pedestrian-bike pathway by three times. The width of bridge’s elevated pathway is currently 8 to 16 feet.
Three-quarters of the expanded space would be for pedestrians, and one-quarter for cyclists. The expansion would not affect the car lanes below or close down the bridge.
When the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, it was carrying carriages and trolleys. Now, aside from the commuter vehicles, around 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 bicyclists cross the bridge each day, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The numbers can reach much higher than that. On a random day in May 2010, the Brooklyn Bridge had 15,000 people cross in 12 hours.
The Brooklyn Bridge’s last major construction happened nearly three decades ago, when its promenade was extended into Manhattan and Brooklyn streets in 1983.
It remains to be seen how much the renovation will cost, or where the funding will come from. The council members will begin discussing plans with DOT soon.
Jennifer Godzeno, pedestrian advocacy manager of Transportation Alternatives, said the organization has been hearing complaints about the dangers of overcrowding on the Brooklyn Bridge for decades.
City Council recently passed a bill that will measure cycling and pedestrian accidents more efficiently; however at present, there are no statistics for the number of people who have been injured from bike crashes on the Brooklyn Bridge.
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