Days After Snow Storm, Bridge Bike and Pedestrian Paths Still Not Cleared

Chances are you're not trying to ride your bike anywhere today in this mess, but anyone who's tried to pedal over the bridges connecting Brooklyn with Manhattan this week was in for a treacherous trip, because the city has yet to adequately plow or salt the bike and pedestrian paths. As of last night, much of the Williamsburg Bridge path (pictured) remained impassible on two wheels, and commenters on Streetsblog say both the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge remained unsalted and icy.

One cyclist had this utopian suggestion: "If it weren't a government operation, with 'not my job' rules and turf, it would be possible to stick a plow on that small police vehicle that patrols the bridge and have the cop clear it while patrolling." Another took to Craigslist to pen a heartfelt Missed Connection: "You were the two bridges connecting south Brooklyn with Manhattan. I was the solitary biker trying to make it across the boroughs and back home."

And yesterday the calls for protest began rumbling: "The Manhattan Bridge path is still covered in ice as of this morning. I'm pissed off. Anyone want to organize a ride in the vehicle lanes in to protest? Even if you ride really slowly as a pack over the bridge, it'd still be faster and safer than walking the bike over an ice rink."

A DOT spokesman tells us: "Crews plowed the bridges immediately after the storm over the weekend, and DOT again sent out multiple crews to plow the bridges and clear the bike lanes on Monday and Tuesday." If that's really true, all we can say is, "You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie!"

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on December 24, 2008 1:40 PM

Comments [rss]

r1b2

This city hates cyclists and pedestrians. Why?

r1b2

This city hates cyclists and pedestrians. Why?

Snoopy

If the poor Chinese delivery man can make his appointed rounds on his bike with 6" of snow on the ground and still snowing, so can all the other bikers in New York.

I can never understand how cold hearted some people are by ordering out on the worst nights of the year. They should give 100% tips.

Total Fake

hipster losers of willyb-

why not donate some of that trust fund money to help clean up the roadway.

inoyourider

Hey people, have you seen our budget situation lately?

Is it really that surprising that a few things aren't getting done?

And lets be hinest its a big town, are the sidewalks across bridges oradjacent to parks such a huge deal?

The roads are done at least.

I'd rather maybe we as citizens man up a little and forego the expenses.

Better that then the property taxes.

Snoopy

Thanks for the source Jerky. The city should demand that bikers use those tires from Thanksgiving day to Easter or get fined. Let's raise some money to pay for clearing those bike lanes.

Jerky

Any hard-core winter cyclist should have a pair of studded tires,

e.g.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1787

http://www.schwalbetires.com/marathon_winter

Rideon!

RatherBeBiking

@22

Wrong, rode it 6 times since Sunday, on 700x23c tires. Don't talk about impassable until you actually try it.

Future Taliban

"If it weren't a government operation, with 'not my job' rules and turf, it would be possible to stick a plow on that small police vehicle that patrols the bridge and have the cop clear it while patrolling."

Why not surgically implant a saltspreader into your anus so that wherever you go you always leave a clear path behind you?

FrankMartin

§ 16-123. Removal of snow, ice and dirt from sidewalks; property owners' duties. a. Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person, having charge of any building or lot of ground in the city, abutting upon any street where the sidewalk is paved, shall, within four hours after the snow ceases to fall...

full reg here:

http://law.onecle.com/new-york/new-york-city-administrative-code/ADC016-123_16-123.html

FrankMartin

§ 16-123. Removal of snow, ice and dirt from sidewalks; property owners' duties. a. Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person, having charge of any building or lot of ground in the city, abutting upon any street where the sidewalk is paved, shall, within four hours after the snow ceases to fall...

full reg here:

http://law.onecle.com/new-york/new-york-city-administrative-code/ADC016-123_16-123.html

maevemealone

I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe building owners are responsible for clearing sidewalks. In which case, this is the year of the laziest building owners ever because every street I've been on in brooklyn since the snow has been a sheet of ice. I saw the Cadman workers breaking up some ice outside the park so that's a start but seriously, what gives? These owners and the city do realize they are setting themselves up for huge liability claims?

berniegoetz

"Why don't the elitists who want us to spend tax money on their silly bike lanes shovel it? It's good upper body exercise."

Yeah, I mean we're living in particularly robust financial times right now with virtually no budget concerns to worry about. Why the city hasn't jumped to resolve these heinous conditions in our city is UNKNOWN. Clearly this is YET ANOTHER flagrant snubbing of cyclists who are, as we all know, systematically targeted for abuse by EVERYONE.

thefacts

The Grand Street bike lane has been impassable for days with ice and snow.

Why don't the elitists who want us to spend tax money on their silly bike lanes shovel it? It's good upper body exercise.

JacqueMehoff

that looks dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists.

guess we know where the city's priorities are.

whitecastlerock

There are plenty of homeowners out in Kew Gardens Queens who refuse to put out salt or break up the goddamn ice. I am not sure if it some religious thing or they are just too fucking cheap or lazy to do anything...

nicemarmot

Funny, neither the sidewalks nor the streets around my office (near Madison Square Park) were particularly well cleaned. There were still huge chunks of totally unsalted, super-slippery rainy ice all over this afternoon.

But that's not a change from the norm. Remember that snowstorm two winters ago where the snowplows made giant icy mountains between the sidewalks and the streets, and you practically needed climbing gear just to cross the street? I pretty much use that to set my expectations and go from there.

What do my tax dollars go for, again? Oh right, union pensions.

self h8ta

Much of Greenpoint is a mess too- my entire block is just a sheet of ice, I have to walk on the other side of the street (where the condos under construction feel it appropriate to salt) and try to slide up a slant from the nearby driveway just to open my front door.

#11, are you suggesting that with my limited holiday cash, i should be salting my block so i don't break a leg trying to get home?

Kevin Walsh

In Nassau County, sidewalk snow removal is pretty much unknown unless homeowners do it out of the goodness of their hearts. The county and municipalities pile up plowed snow in the crosswalks. If it rains after the snow, as it has been, it's a rink.

Today's conditions, melting ice with a layer of water, are the most slippable possible.

www.forgotten-ny.com

Kevin Walsh

Q1: Who's responsible for this?

Q2: How much will we pay in slip-n-fall injury lawsuits?

Answer is the MTA/LIRR and Amtrak are responsible for cleaning bridge overpasses. The ones in Maspeth, Middle Village & Ridgewood were also sheets of ice yesterday, too. I guess they're waiting to hike the fares before they invest in rock salt or shovels.

http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2008/12/ice-aint-nice.html

www.forgotten-ny.com