UES Board Requests More Pedestrian Space On Queensboro Bridge

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Upper East Side's community board passed a resolution Tuesday requesting the city create more space for pedestrians and cyclists on a short-term basis as fewer New Yorkers drive and use public transit during the coronavirus crisis.

Community Board 8's resolution requests that the city Department of Transportation utilize the Queensboro Bridge's south outer walkway or some other span of the bridge to create more space for pedestrians to walk across the East River span on 59th Street. The board endorsed a similar resolution asking the city to study the viability of adding permanent pedestrian walkway in January.

"In the meantime we're asking for something short-term in nature that would be temporary, that would allow us to alleviate some of the congestion that takes place on the bridge and the safety issues on the north side of the bridge where the bikes and pedestrians are sharing space," transportation committee co-chair Craig Lader said during Tuesday night's virtual Community Board 8 meeting.

The board's proposal mirrors a plan proposed by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer in partnership with the nonprofit Bike New York earlier this year. Brewer's plan would result in the creation of an ADA-accessible walkway by re-purposing a lane of the Queensboro Bridge, which spans the East River at 59th Street in Manhattan and Queens Plaza in Long Island City. The lane is currently used by cars heading into Queens.

Two-way bike traffic is currently confined to a 6-foot-wide lane and pedestrians are forced into a 4-foot-wide space, according to the safe streets nonprofit. Modern-day design standards call for at least 12 feet of space for two-way bicycle lanes with an absolute minimum of 8 feet, according to Bike New York.

The transportation committee approved its resolution by a vote of 17 in favor to one opposed during its meeting earlier in the month. The resolution passed just as easily in Tuesday night's meeting by a near-unanimous vote of 47 in favor to one opposed.