NYC completes long-stalled plan to separate bikes and pedestrians on Queensboro Bridge

New York City officials on Tuesday announced they would finally make good on a years-delayed plan to separate pedestrians and cyclists on the Queensboro Bridge.

Starting Sunday, cyclists and walkers will each get their own lanes on the busy crossing, ending a conflict that’s persisted for years. The city transportation department under former Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled plans to add a separate lane for cyclists on the bridge, but the rollout stalled after Mayor Eric Adams took office.

"Forcing thousands of cyclists and pedestrians into a single 12-foot lane each day [was] a recipe for chaos,” said Jon Orcutt, advocacy director at the nonprofit Bike New York. “The city knows this, which is why it developed a plan to separate walking and cycling on the bridge as far back as 2019.”

The bridge’s north outer roadway — which pedestrians and cyclists currently share — will be converted to a lane only for cyclists, while the south outer roadway will be dedicated to pedestrians.

City transportation officials earlier this year also moved to allow mopeds to drive in the traffic lanes on the Queensboro Bridge, a move intended to make cyclists and pedestrians safer.

City data shows the Queensboro is the second busiest East River bridge for cyclists. More than 7,500 people biked over the span on Monday alone, the data shows. The bridge has grown far more popular among bike riders in recent years, with the city counting 2.1 million cyclist crossings in 2024, up from 1.2 million in 2019.

De Blasio oversaw a similar separation of cyclists and pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge, where people on bikes were previously forced to navigate crowds of tourists. In 2021, the city converted a traffic lane on the bridge into a two-way bike path — and announced plans to complete a similar project on the Queensboro Bridge.

Adams, who dubbed himself the “Bike Mayor” when running for office, unveiled the Queensboro lanes by sending reporters a pre-recorded video shot on the street. In it, he sought to head off criticisms of the delayed improvements, claiming he was collecting feedback from the public.

“ This is a city of 8.5 million people with 35 million opinions,” he said in the video. “And we heard people on both sides of this issue.”

Supporters said they were pleased the Queensboro improvements had arrived.

“After years of advocacy, many of us were excited to see [the city's Department of Transportation] complete the work to open new, dedicated pedestrian paths on the Queensboro Bridge,” state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris said in a statement. “It is a shame this announcement was needlessly delayed without explanation, but I am glad this day has finally come.”