A Trip Across the Triborough Bridge

UPDATE: The entrance to the walk/bike path on the Astoria/Wards Island section of the bridge is located on the north side of the bridge at Hoyt Ave N and 27th St. in Astoria. You can see it here. The walk/bike path entrance on the bridge from Randall’s Island to Manhattan is located here and exits at 124th St. and 2nd Ave in Manhattan. You can also see more details on Triborough Bridge walk/bike paths here.

I took a bicycle jaunt on my own around four of New York City’s boroughs last Saturday and part of the trip took me across the Triborough Bridge. Using “bridge” in the singular form is a bit of a misnomer because it’s actually a system of three bridges connecting the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx using Wards/Randall’s Island, upper right of photo, as the central section. Wikipedia has a lot more information if you’re interested.

I just want to talk about the section of the Triborough that crosses between Astoria in Queens over to Wards Island. You can see it pictured above on the left side of the photo. The bridge is a little peculiar in that, of all the major East River bridges, it’s the least friendly for bicycling. For starters, on the Queens side of the bridge, you have to carry your bike up two flights of stairs before you can remount and start riding on the pathway.

The second and more disconcerting issue with the bridge concerns the pathway itself. All the other East River bridges have extensive protective fencing on the walk/bike paths but the entire middle section of this bridge is exceptionally unprotected. There’s just a relatively short wall that separates you from a very long fall to the East River on one side or freeway traffic on the other. You can see what I mean in the photos below.

The top of the railing is only about 4-4 1/2 feet high.

Busy freeway on one side.

A long way down on the other.

I’m not entirely sure how to feel about this situation. On the one hand, it’s potentially dangerous; on the other hand, it’s kinda’ nice to be in a space where the state expects you to take responsibility for your own safety. That’s a pretty rare experience in this day and age.

Philosophical discussions concerning the responsibility of the state to protect us from ourselves aside, I enjoyed the opportunity to snap photos without having to poke my camera through a chain link fence. Here’s a few favorites.