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for Hudson Valley bicycling |
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This page has reports we've received about road conditions in the Hudson
Valley -- especially for roads which are included in the routes on this
website.
Of course this website cannot give you what would be most useful: fully accurate and current information, for all the road segments on the route you plan to ride -- as they will be when you plan to ride it (like three days in the future). We can include here information for only those road segments that we or someone who tells us has ridden in the past year or so -- and that leaves a lot of time for things to change, and a lot of other road segments not reported. So be ready for surprises. It's valuable to bring road maps to help you find alternative routes that avoid unexpected bad or risky conditions. And please send us a report when you learn about road conditions which it would help us and other bicyclists to know about. what's heresee also |
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Where to find outClearly with all the roads and bridges and paths on this Bike Hudson Valley website, many sources of information would be needed to have any reasonable chance of learning about current conditions along a bicycle route.
Here are some sites to try:
For bridges, check also:
ManhattanWestside Greenway pathSee [ Westside Greenway Path condition reports index ]
Riverside DriveMay 2003, Ken Roberts: In good riding condition from 165th street to 78th street. October 2000, Ken Roberts: In good riding condition from 72nd street to 165th street. Bridges of New York City -- ReportsCheck out the Transportation Alternatives "Fiboro" pages -- lots of helpful info on all New York City bridges -- and a nice overview map. George Washington BridgeReportsOctober 2005, KenR: Port Authority website says restricted hours for south sidewalk due to a construction project. October 2004, KenR: Port Authority website says that the South sidewalk is closed at night from Midnight 12:00am thru 6:00am: see their GWB sidewalk info and also their Important Message to Bicyclists.
June 2004: KenR: South sidewalk open in normal condition. September 2003, Ken: South sidewalk closed. We took the North sidewalk instead. This required carrying our tandem bicycle up and down several steep stairways on both sides of the Hudson river -- about the wildest bicycle carry we've done, but we somehow made it. Port Authority website says that South sidewalk closed thru September for bridge tower painting. May 2003, Ken Roberts: South sidewalk open in good riding condition. June 2002, Ken Roberts: South sidewalk open in good riding condition. [ photos ] see also
Broadway BridgeMay 2003, Ken Roberts: East sidewalk open in good riding condition (except for a minor obstacle). West sidewalk closed. see also
Henry Hudson Bridge2002 - Ken Roberts: went across it on the west sidewalk with no problem. November 2001 - Dan Armstrong on NYC.bicycles: "No Bicycle Traffic" Sign on Henry Hudson Bridge walkway -- The sign seems to be aimed at northbound users of the walkway, not the road. Just noticed it while biking up to the Bronx for a ride along Palisades Avenue. But nobody tried to stop me when I took the bike across. November 2001 - Jim Zisfein on NYC.bicycles: This walkway is too narrow for a ridden bike and a pedestrian to get past each other safely. The sign should alert you that if you're riding, and you hit a pedestrian, you're at fault. . . . Riding across this bridge should be the reward for actually getting there. It's very difficult to reach from the Manhattan side. From Inwood Hill Park, you have to carry your bike up the stairs over the Amtrak tracks, make a left, go past the trail that tunnels under the parkway, take a small, steep, unmarked trail off to your right, **walk** up this trail - it's in horrible condition, watch you don't twist an ankle - and finally reach the toll plaza. Verrazano Narrows BridgeClosed to bicyclists for the foreseeable future. [ photos ] See the Hudson River bridges page. Bayonne Bridgebetween Staten Island, NY and Bayonne, New Jersey. [ Photos ] Bicyclist-pedestrian sidewalk is on the West side of the bridge, separated from the motor vehicle roadway. Since the sidewalk is on an "arch" bridge, there is a significant uphill for the first half of the crossing, and a significant downhill for the second half. To enter it from the North end in Bayonne: Start at West 4th St, and carry your bicycle up a flight of stairs. You may be required to walk your bike across the bridge. To enter it from the South end in Staten Island: Start at the intersection of Morningstar Rd and Hooker Place and ride on a sidewalk next to the South-bound exit from the bridge -- you will be riding against the direction of motor vehicle traffic. You may be required to walk your bike across the bridge.
The New York Harbor Circle route crosses the Bayonne Bridge -- check Trip Reports. Links: Port Authority | Transportation Alternatives | Photos You can try calling 718-390-2502 or 718-442-6212 to check on current conditions of the bridge, but the people you talk to there may not know much about the current status or conditions of the sidewalk. ReportsJune 2002, Ken Roberts: When we called the Port
Authority phone line the night before, the guy who answered told us that
he thought the sidewalk was closed. But actually when Sharon and I
reached the North end in the morning we found no sign of closure -- and
no gate at all on the North end which could be closed. As we
went along the sidewalk, we
saw signs and painted words that said "no bicycle riding" --
and also signs that said "no rollerblading" and "no
skateboarding". But I also remember some signs along the
sidewalk that seemed to assume that there was riding of bicycles
there, such as "Bicyclists yield to Pedestrians", and (just
before coming off the bridge on its North end) "Bicyclists
must dismount". So we decided to walk our bike across. The condition of the sidewalk was excellent and we made it just fine. Along the we met two or three pedestrians. At the South end of the sidewalk there was a gate about four feet high which was wide open, though it could have been closed and locked. I'm sure we could easily have made it across riding on our bicycle with no problem. Later we met a local rider who had also come across that morning, and he told us that the sidewalk has always been open any time he was there in the last year. When we checked the Bayonne Bridge page and the Traffic Advisory page on the Port Authority website afterward, there was no mention on either page of bicycle riding not being permitted. But later someone told us they had found an obscure page on the Port Authority website (not linked to its Bayonne Bridge page or the Tunnels-Bridges-Terminals home page, and not returned from a request for "bicycle" on the Port Authority website Search page) that said that a bicycles are required to be walked across the Bayonne Bridge. [ Photos ] But we've also watched bicyclists ride across without being stopped, and we've heard several reports from local riders that they routinely ride across on their bicycles. November 2000, Ken Roberts: Bicyclist-pedestrian pathway open for riding -- with mostly good surface, and fine views. We rode across it just fine. Goethals Bridgebetween Staten Island and New Jersey. Links: [ Port Authority ] [ Transportation Alternatives ] ReportsJune 2002, Ken Roberts: Someone reported the existence of an obscure page on the Port Authority website (not linked to its Goethals Bridge page or the Tunnels-Bridges-Terminals home page, and not returned from a request for "bicycle" on the Port Authority website Search page) that included this statement: "The sidewalk at the Goethals Bridge is closed to all pedestrians and motorists. The sidewalk will be replaced as part of the Goethals Bridge Roadway Replacement Project expected to begin in 2003." October 2002, Ken Roberts: Sidewalk is closed to bicyclists for construction. Outerbridge Crossingbetween Staten Island and New Jersey Links: [ Port Authority ] [ Transportation Alternatives ] closed to bicyclists as far as we know [as of June 2002]. ReportsJune 2002, Ken Roberts: Someone reported the existence of a bicyclist info page on the Port Authority website (apparently linked only from this Outerbridge Crossing page -- not from the Tunnels-Bridges-Terminals home page, and not returned from a request for "bicycle" on the Port Authority website Search page) that included this statement: "There is no sidewalk at the Outerbridge Crossing; therefore, there is no access for pedestrians and bicyclists." More bridgesfor other bridges, see Transportation Alternatives for upstate bridges, see Bridge Condition Reports |
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