BitchcakesNY's Flickr

It's going to be a tight squeeze for cyclists and walkers on the Williamsburg Bridge starting June 13th, when the DOT will block off the south side pedestrian path for six weeks in order to install new roadblocks at the entrance near South Sixth Street. The roadblocks are intended to "prevent small cars from plowing through the entrance to the bridge’s cycle path," the Brooklyn Paper reports; we imagine they'll resemble the bollards that were recently raised on both sides of the Manhattan Bridge bike entrance.

It's unclear from the Brooklyn Paper story whether the entire south side bike path will be closed, or just part; conceivably the DOT could leave half of it open and then reroute pedestrians over to the north side bike path when they reach the middle of the bridge. But even that will cause severe overcrowding, especially on weekends when the Williamsburg Bridge is packed with pedestrians, cyclists, joggers, skateboarders, street artists, and sometimes Japanther. As BP notes, more than 6,200 cyclists now use the bridge’s two pathways each day.

We contacted the DOT for more details on this project, and we'll update when we know more. In the meantime, plan on a slower bike commute over the bridge come June 13th. Or strap an air horn and a can of pepper spray to your handlebars.