Brooklyn, Queensboro bridges to add bicycle-only lanes

NEW YORK (AP) - Bicyclists who currently share space with pedestrians as they try to get across New York City's Brooklyn and Queensboro bridges would get their own lanes across those spans, according to a plan from Mayor Bill de Blasio.

De Blasio was announcing the "Bridges for the People" project on Thursday evening, as part of his final State of the City speech.

On the Brooklyn Bridge, the innermost car lane in the Manhattan-bound direction would be turned into a two-way bicycle lane, and the promenade space that bicyclists and pedestrians currently use together would be given over solely to those on foot.

While the promenade has marking delineating bicycle and pedestrian lanes, the increasing use of it by both walkers and cyclists had made it difficult, at times dangerous.

At the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge between Queens and Manhattan, de Blasio said construction would start this year on making the outer roadway on the north side into a two-way bicycle lane, while the outer roadway on the south side would be only for pedestrians.

Bicycling has grown dramatically in popularity, and jumped during the pandemic, and the city has created miles of dedicated roadways.

De Blasio's speech included a number of subjects as well, from pandemic vaccinations and economic recovery to education, policing and climate change.