Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Bicycling

Need to Add a Bike Lane to a Bridge? Experiment Like Pittsburgh Did

The Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place 2014 conference took place this week in Pittsburgh. Even though the Andy Warhol Bridge already has a nice shared bike-ped path on it, for one week the city decided to put bike lanes on its roadway. It's the simplest design you can imagine, just two rows of small traffic barriers and a little bit of signage. I compiled a few moments of footage while walking to an event one night.

In New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge is just packed with pedestrians and cyclists. For about the last ten years or so, the crowding gets so intense at peak hours that it can be perilous. There have been many solutions suggested over the years, including converting one of the roadway's car lanes to a two-way protected bike lane so cyclists and pedestrians don't have to jostle for space on the narrow promenade they currently share.

Of course the Brooklyn Bridge has more traffic of all types than the Andy Warhol Bridge. But keep this Pittsburgh experiment in mind for the future. Something has to be done on the Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe a trial bike lane during the summer would be a good place to start.

It wouldn't be an unprecedented decision. There are many other examples throughout the world -- here's our video of Vancouver giving road space to bikes on the Burrard Bridge:

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Trump won. Prop L lost. Now what?

San Francisco Transit funding: Election recap

December 11, 2024

Daylighting: Can Muni and AC Transit Get with the Program?

It's going to be a struggle getting motorists to stay out of the red zones. But what about transit vehicles?

December 10, 2024
See all posts