Queensboro Bike Lane Will Help Form East Side Network, City Says

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An Upper East Side community board got its first glimpse this week at the soon-to-be-installed bike lanes across the Queensboro Bridge, which were announced this winter after years of demands by advocates.

As it stands, the bridge's north outer roadway is shared by pedestrians and cyclists, a claustrophobic setup that has led to numerous crashes. Safe-streets advocates, elected officials and the Upper East Side's Community Board 8 had called on the city to ease the congestion by opening up the bridge's south outer roadway — currently reserved for cars — to either cyclists or pedestrians.

Heeding those calls, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans in January to do just that, saying the north roadway would become pedestrian-only while the north side would be converted to a two-way bike lane.

On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation shared updates to Community Board 8's transportation committee, saying the project was slated to begin later this year.

Adding to the project's urgency is the bike boom that has swept the city during the pandemic. The Queensboro Bridge has seen the biggest increase in cycling of all the East River bridges: a staggering 45 percent jump since COVID-19 arrived, DOT Bicycle and Greenway Program Director Ted Wright told the board.

The new Queensboro path will also connect to an existing bike-lane network that has taken shape across the Upper East Side in recent years, from the protected lanes along First and Second avenue lanes to the hotly contested ones on East 61st and 62nd streets.

Unlike those latter lanes, which stoked intense debate on the community board, the Queensboro project was welcomed at this week's meeting.

"I want to really give a shoutout of applause to the DOT for working on something that really needs to happen," said resident Hindy Schachter, adding that the existing path was "woefully overcrowded" when she crossed from Queens to the East Side this week.

After winning approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission next month, DOT will start work later this year, hoping to wrap up by late 2022.

Previous coverage: Part Of Queensboro Bridge Roadway To Be Converted Into Bike Lane