Death Row---Jay Street Approach to Manhattan Bridge Bike Path

If you're riding north on Jay Street, which does have a bike lane, heading for the Manhattan Bridge bike path, may the Good Lord be watching over you.

Here's a view of the area on the NYC Cycling Map. The names of most north/south streets appear to the left of the actual street. Jay Street can be further identified by the subway lines F, A, and C.

Here's a shot taken on Jay just a little south of the intersection with Tillary Street. This intersection is very dangerous. Many cars coming into the intersection are going to be turning right on Tillary. I'm not exactly sure what the bike markings mean for you to do.

A lot of times it looks like this. Cars in the middle lane will also turn right onto Tillary.

When I was there on Thursday, getting through the intersection involved negotiating cars that were blocking the intersection.

Now I'm positioned on the northeast corner of the intersection. Here's a couple of cyclists weaving their way through. I don't know exactly what the guy on the left is trying to do. Tillary Street has at least 3 lanes going east and at least another 3 going west. Some of the cyclists were weaving through with the light against them, perhaps seeking to bring Tillary's fatality rate up in the league with Queens Boulevard.

Now this is a shot on Jay, looking north toward the Manhattan Bridge bike path. Looks like smooth sailing, right? Well, there's a major problem about 1/2 the way up to Sands Street.

The major problem is the steady stream of cars and trucks, on the left,exiting from the Manhattan Bridge, all of which are heading north to Sands Street, where most will make a right to access the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Note the bike lane on the right, which is a buffered lane designed to bring cyclists south on Jay Street from the Manhattan Bridge.

This is a shot of the traffic making a right at Jay and Sands Street. The lead in to the bike path is on the sidewalk underneath the Manhattan Bridge overpass. This shot doesn't really capture the usual heavy traffic making rights at the corner.

We're back on Jay by the cars and trucks exiting the Manhattan Bridge. Here's a couple of intrepid cyclists, many of whom are chanting out loud: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no evil, for I am an entitled cyclist who claims the road as his/her own.

Now the recommended way to access the Manhattan Bridge bike path, is to head west on Tillary one block to Adams Street. Strangely, this is not as yet a protected bike path. And I don't know why. There are 4 or 5 lanes on Tillary at this point. It's true that a large number of cars will be turning right at Adams onto the Brooklyn Bridge, so maybe the DOT doesn't want to mess up that flow. Anyway, you go west one block to Adams and hang a sharp right.

And here's what Adams Street looks like. A protected bike lane. Hardly any traffic. What a blessing.

And what is the reward for being one of the few cyclists who chose not to take the shorter route through the Valley of Shadow of Death? Salvation, you will be one the Jehovah Witnesses's few who will inherit the earth when Judgment Day comes. While you will encounter some danger ringing people's door bells early on a Saturday morning, you will have all eternity to ride your Huffy in peace.

But I actually have a solution. The southbound bike path on Jay Street is about 5 or 6 feet wide. I propose making it bidirectional. That's not unheard of. It's being proposed for Prospect Park West. The Jay Street bike lane could be widened by another foot or two, by moving the yellow line in the middle of the street over a foot or two to the east. That wouldn't wipe out any traffic lanes and it would make for a safer passage for cyclists coming and going to the Manhattan Bridge.

A couple of days after I did the Jay Street study, I was up on the Brooklyn Bridge early in the morning. I'm currently fascinated with the interaction between people using the Brooklyn Bridge. I find it spiritually challenging to ride across the bridge as a fully alert being, willing and able to go with the flow.

What got me thinking in this way is the following from an article by Chip Brown called "A Bike and a Prayer" "At a deeper level, city riding is a continual lesson in feminine principles, in particular the art of being vulnerable. A confrontational, macho aesthetic spells calamity. You must learn to yield, to dodge, to seek harmony. You are obliged to mind the web of interrelations, that complicated mesh of interest, conflicts, intentions...." Here's a link to the full essay: "http://www.transalt.org/files/resources/blueprint/features/bikenprayer.html"