Monday, December 12, 2022

Roosevelt Island Residents Join With NYC Council Members Julie Menin, Julie Won And NYC DOT Manhattan Commissioner Ed Pincar To Celebrate Installation Of Roosevelt Island Bridge Bike Lane Safety Covering Over Dangerous Metal "Industrial Cheese Grater" Surface - And It Only Took 11 Years Of Pleading

On August 16, 2011, Roosevelt Islander Online reported:

Roosevelt Island resident Jonathan Clements shares this email message he sent to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) last Wednesday, August 10:

I'm a Roosevelt Island resident. I'm also an avid bicyclist -- and I have a suggestion. It's great that a lane is set aside for cyclists crossing the bridge into Queens. But it would be helpful if the bridge's metal grill were covered by some sort of mat. You may not be aware of this, but -- when it rains -- metal-grill bridges are like sheets of ice if you're a cyclist, especially if you're on a road bike with thin tires. I was reminded of this on Sunday: My son and I were crossing the bridge on our bicycles early on Sunday morning, after the rain had stopped, and as soon as we hit the metal grill, we both started sliding. We immediately got off our bikes and walked them across....

... UPDATE 8/17 - Mr. Clements received this reply from the RIOC Dirctors yesterday:

Thank you for your attention to the quality of life on Roosevelt Island. We at RIOC appreciate your help in working to make this island even better. The Roosevelt Island bridge work is being performed and overseen by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and is not under RIOC's jurisdiction. Please contact DOT's Director of Community Affairs,...

... UPDATE 8/18 - Mr. Clements contacted the DOT with his concerns about safety on the Roosevelt Island Bridge metal grill bike lanes. He received this response:

Thank you for your email regarding the improvement of bike mobility and safety on the Roosevelt Island Bridge. We have forwarded your message to the appropriate unit in DOT Bridges for review. We will provide you with their determination.

9 years later, efforts to get a safe Roosevelt Island Bridge bike lane surface covering were still a work in progress.

After more than 11 years of pleading by residents, including petitions and urgings from elected officials, the NYC Department of Transportation last month finally began the installation of a safe surface covering over the Roosevelt Island Bridge bike lane metal "industrial cheese grater".

Last Friday, December 9, NYC Council Members Julie Menin & Julie Won together with Roosevelt Island residents Paul Krikler and Lynn Shinozaki (both Manhattan Community Board 8 members) and NYC DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Ed Pincar celebrated the installation of the new Roosevelt Island Bridge Bike Lane surface safety covering by cycling from Queens to Roosevelt Island.

I spoke with the group after they crossed the Roosevelt Island Bridge. Here's what they had to say.

Commissioner Pincar reported the cost of the 300 polymer panels used to cover the Roosevelt Island Bridge bike lane metal grating was under $100 Thousand. Commissioner Pincar added if the winter and summer testing pilot stage is successful, the surface coverings could be used on other NYC bridge bike lanes. 

According to this release from Council Member Menin's office: 

Council Members Julie Menin and Julie Won joined Manhattan Borough Commissioner of the Department of Transportation Edward Pincar Jr. today to celebrate the success of the Roosevelt Island Bridge bike lane pilot project. The installation of new smooth and weather-resistant material makes the bike lane safer for cyclists in both wet and dry conditions.

Constituents and transportation leaders had previously advocated to Council Member Julie Menin to address unsafe and unpleasant conditions for bike riders on the Roosevelt Island Bridge: riders previously had to ride over the same metal “cheese grater-like” material that automobiles drove over on the drawbridge. This surface could be especially hazardous in inclement weather.

Working with Council Members Menin and Won, NYC’s Department of Transportation piloted a program to use a new material to cover the bike lane. This was the first time the Department had ever used the material in New York City. The DOT ordered 300 metal panels with flexible delineators from England and installed them in October to cover the bridge’s bike lane. Since the initial installation in October, the DOT has tested the panels under a variety of conditions. The testing is now fully complete and the installation has been deemed successful.

“I am pleased to see the immediate success of this pilot program on the Roosevelt Island Bridge bike lane. Prior to the installation of these panels, which were first tested by NYC Department of Transportation on the Roosevelt Island Bridge, our cyclists were biking in hazardous conditions in non-weather-resistant slippery metal. I look forward to these panels being used throughout the city to make bike lanes safer. Thank you to Manhattan Commissioner Pincar and my colleague Council Member Julie Won for working together to find a solution for our bicyclists,” said Council Member Julie Menin.

“I support any effort to prioritize cyclists’ safety, from calling on the city to open the south outer roadway on the Queensboro Bridge, to launching this brand new pilot program to make the Roosevelt Island Bridge bike path safe in all weather,” said Council Member Julie Won. “This bridge connects our neighbors in Queens and Manhattan, and we will continue to push for safer conditions on all of our bridges across our city. Thank you to Council Member Julie Menin and DOT for keeping our neighbors on both sides of the bridge safe and promoting climate-friendly transportation.”

“DOT is proud to launch this innovative pilot on the Roosevelt Island Bridge, improving safety and mobility for hundreds of cyclists on their only available route getting to and from the island,” said DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Ed Pincar. “We are grateful both for the creative collaboration with City Council Members Menin and Won – as well as the hard work of the DOT Bridges team who got this done. We look forward to getting feedback on the improvements from local cyclists in the months ahead.”

“I’m thrilled that the cheese grater has been covered in the bike lanes. In fact, I rode across on Wednesday in the rain and it was fantastic. No slipping. Thank you DOT,” said co-chair of Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee, cyclist and resident of Roosevelt Island, Paul Krikler.

“Thank you DOT and Council Member Menin for helping us with our goal of creating a bike riding healthy New York City. To accomplish this it takes these small steps, creating a safe bike lane, making it easier and better to bike and run here. We are so excited and grateful that DOT and Menin’s office have worked with us to make riding to our incredible island that much safer,” said co-chair of Community Board 8 Roosevelt Island Committee, Lynne Shinozaki. 

The Twitterverse adds:

And it only took 11 years.

By ROOSEVELT ISLANDER at 8:41:00 PM

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