Update On Proposed Roosevelt Island Bridge Helix Bike Ramp - Residents Express Safety Concerns About Speeding Bikers, Bird Poop & Emergency Vehicle Access, RIOC Says Bike Ramp Design Still To Be Done

NY State Governor Cuomo announced on April 19 that $2.93 million in federal funds were allocated to build a bicycle ramp from the Roosevelt Island Bridge Helix

Image Of Roosevelt Island Motorgate Helix From Above Via Google Maps

to the street. On April 20, I published a story reporting on the bike ramp which included this rendering

provided by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC)

The rendering of the Roosevelt Island Bridge Helix bike ramp design received criticisms by some residents in comments to the post including:

,,, the car ramp angle is too steep for bikes...

.. I'm fairly certain aggressive bikers will speed down the straight-away ramp and in the proposed design those reckless bikers would have a speeding runway down to endanger children,elderly and convalescents on that walking path.

and:

... This looks like a plan drawn up by someone who does not live on Roosevelt Island. Besides blocking double the amount of sunlight and the view of the river, that area has some of the worst pigeon excrement on the entire Island.

They roost under the bridge at that spot and that bike lane will promote poop, pigeons and sickness for Islands residents.

The obvious solution is to build the bike lane as an inner circle or an outer circle to the existing cloverleaf, thereby eliminating need for structural support construction, and in turn lower costs....

and:

... The idea that RIOC is going to block/diminish an important emergency access road is unconscionable...

... Another plan would involve replacing the escalators with a bike escalator or bike-width elevator....

I asked RIOC President Susan Rosenthal if the bike ramp rendering was an accurate depiction of the proposed design. Ms Rosenthal replied:

The drawings do not represent the proposed design. They were simply drawings depicting the general concepts so that we had visuals to show public officials, etc.  We will be preparing a request for proposal for an architectural/ engineering firm to prepare the construction drawings.

An online poll was created by a resident about the Bike Ramp.