Moped riders may soon be allowed to ride alongside cars on the Brooklyn Bridge and the lower level of the Queensboro Bridge. Under a proposed rule by the Department of Transportation, registered mopeds with license plates would be allowed on the Brooklyn and Queensboro Bridges. The ban would remain on Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, and the upper level of Queensboro. There is currently no legal route for mopeds to travel across the East River, as riders are prohibited from using the motor vehicle lanes and protected bike lanes on all roadways. As first reported by Streetsblog, the city hopes the rule change prevents conflicts between moped riders, pedestrians, and cyclists.
According to DOT, many moped riders are delivery workers who live in Brooklyn and Queens and have no legal route in and out of Manhattan. The agency selected the two bridges because of enhanced rider protections.
“There are barriers or bridge structures running along the Brooklyn Bridge and the lower roadway of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge that help protect riders in the event of a crash,” the DOT explained in a proposed amendment of rules.
“The configurations of the Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and the upper roadway of the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge do not provide the same protections.”
Mopeds traveling over the two bridges would be subject to a $4.50 daytime congestion pricing toll imposed on motorcycles when entering Manhattan below 60th Street.
While the proposal aims to improve bike lane safety, concerns remain about reckless moped riding, particularly speeding and weaving through traffic. However, the speed limits on the bridge car lanes range from 30 to 35 miles per hour, and DOT notes that traffic rarely moves that fast.
“New York City’s transportation network is always evolving, and this proposed rule change is about expanding safe, practical options for moped users — especially the thousands of delivery workers and commuters who rely on them daily,” DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement to Gothamist.
“For far too long, moped users have had to take longer, inconvenient routes and costly detours, often riding in bike lanes creating an unsafe mixing of modes.”
Concerns about mopeds in bike lanes grew after a major crash on the Manhattan Bridge bike path in the summer of 2023. The incident left at least four people hospitalized with serious injuries and created a “trail of blood and wreckage more than twenty feet long,” according to Gothamist.
DOT will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed rule on April 14 at 10 a.m. to gather feedback. You can learn more about participating here.
RELATED:
Interested in similar content?
Source link
