Ride to Lunch – Tribeca to Washington Heights (Part 2)

Rider: Manuel Lawrence

Date: Friday, Nov 30 - 2:40pm

Length of ride: 11.8mi of 22.8mi (36.7km)

Type of bike lane: varied separate bicycle lane, bicycle lane, bicycle sharrows, no bicycle lane, shared lanes.

For the return journey, Tribeca to Washington Heights, I did not plan out a route other than the fact that I intended to ride through the central streets of Manhattan in contrast to the riverside option. For this I would rely upon my prior knowledge of Manhattan’s streets.

Starting off I was not sure which way to go, but fighting the urge to return to the riverside route I rode inland in search of a broad avenue to ride uptown along. I came across 6th Avenue. Sitting at a red light, when the light changed I turned left and immediately swung out across to the right side of the avenue, there was no bicycle lane. Being in the US where vehicles drive on the right I expected if there were a choice it would be on the right-hand side, as is the standard practice, not in New York apparently. I soon drifted through traffic across to the left side where numerous delivery cyclists were utilizing an unidentified but marked lane, possibly an intended bicycle lane (a benefit of a bicycle lane on the left side of one way streets is that it keeps cyclists away from the weaving movements of local bus services).

Picture 1 - Delivery vehicles double parking creates quite an obstacle for all road users. (6th Avenue)

The diagonal orientation of Greenwich Avenue, served well to merge across to 8th Avenue where I thought I may find greater safety in the form of a separate bicycle lane (separated by parked cars). The ride up 8th Avenue was decent, though there were numerous instances of vehicles parked in or partly blocking the bicycle lane, frequent pedestrian use of the bicycle lane (the perceived safety of the separate bicycle lane appears to attract pedestrians avoiding the busy sidewalks), tourists standing motionless in the lane with their luggage, turning left vehicles blocking the lane as they wait for pedestrians to cross, and as the traffic intensified in Midtown the separate bicycle lane disappeared, replaced by a marked bicycle lane or sharrows. To communicate with drivers turning left and in the process nearly cutting me off, I firmly tapped the side of their car or van with my hand, from my experience this works well to alert the driver of my presence, I also acknowledged the drivers that gave preference to me with a friendly wave. Although designated for bicycle use, the surface along the 8th Avenue bicycle lane was uneven, and the experience a bit chaotic.

Picture 2 - Vehicle encroaching encroaching on bicyclist's path. (8th Avenue)

Picture 3 - Pedestrians using the bicycle lane as additional side walk space. (8th Avenue)

Picture 4 - The NYPD using the bicycle lane for general parking. (8th Avenue)

As I closed in on the Columbus Circle roundabout I was expecting the bicycle lane, which was on the left, to switch over to the right side, this did not appear to happen. Instead I entered the roundabout on the left and given the hectic traffic at the time I made a rushed decision to ride through the center island along the pedestrian path and exited back onto the road on the other side heading up Broadway, not where I wanted to go.

A few streets further along I was able to correct my route and steered towards Central Park West where I knew there was a bicycle lane. This section was very comfortable, back to smooth roads, and with Central Park Drive closed to traffic it meant I was able proceed through red signals, with caution, as no vehicle would be crossing into Central Park at any of the intersections. I enjoyed this part of the ride, the lane worked well, with the exception of few poorly parked and unloading vehicles. This section of road presented the only location where I noticed delivery drivers had made the deliberate effort to park in a manner such that they did not encroach on the bicycle lane.

Picture 5 - The markings including sharrows through intersections made me feel safer. Intersections are the most dangerous part of a bicyclist's commute in NYC. (Central Park West)

The scene at the top of Central Park changed; I was completely cut off at the roundabout at 110th Street by a driver turning right from the middle lane, thankfully I avoided that safely. I continued along the 8th Avenue bicycle lane, which was not a pleasant experience, although there was a bicycle lane, in places, it was hard to see (it had worn away) and it was rarely usable. Cars were parked in it, one after another, double parked that is, I found this quite strange, it seemed the norm in the area, this is not legal and there is clearly an enforcement issue here. To add to this, delivery trucks also parked in the bicycle lanes, convenient for them, but not for the bicyclist who is given no option other than to merge into traffic to avoid the obstacle. Also along this stretch a MTA Bus driver saw it fit to rush up behind and pass me just before stopping at a bus stop, this left me in the awkward position of being forced to the curb, pinning me between the bus and the side walk – an all too common occurrence from previous experience.

Picture 6 - Through this neighborhood the bicycle lanes are used as additional parking space.

At 141st Street I veered towards City College (just to tick the destination off the list). This included riding up the steep incline leading up to Convent Avenue, the steepness was okay, the driver that thought to take exception to every other vehicle in the queued traffic and not allow a gap for bicyclists to pass was more the problem – this forced me to dismount halfway up the hill – I kept my rage toward the driver to myself.

The rest of the ride was quite comfortable, predominantly consisting of bicycle lane marked streets, including Fort Washington Avenue which lead me to my end destination. It was only within 200 yards of the end that I saw the first sign that informed road users that bicycle lanes are only for bicycles – a greatly required sign throughout the city (assuming signage is an effective method to educate people about appropriate bicycle lane use).

Picture 7 - "BIKE LANE - BIKES ONLY" signage may help to discourage no-bicyclists from using the bike lanes.

The return journey took 1 hour and 27 minutes for the 11.8 mile distance. It was very different to the ride down the riverside path, it presented a lot more dangerous situations, was far more inconsistent and is a ride I would not like to undertake frequently, but I did feel more connected to the city by riding through it.

Note: For fitness enthusiasts, it may be pleasing to learn that for an extra 45 minutes in travel time, shorter than most people attend the gym, I undertook 2 hours and 16 minutes of riding for the day.