GWB South Entrance CLOSED

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Anonymous's picture
Anonymous

Yesterday, I saw cyclists on the north path of the GWB. On further inspection, I saw that the south entrance CLOSED on April 2.

I found the following posted on the Port Authority website:

The south sidewalk will be closed and the north sidewalk will operate in its place from Monday, April 2, 2007 until approximately Monday, June 2, 2007. This operational change is needed to allow for construction that will improve the safety and security of the bridge.

Anonymous's picture
Hannah (not verified)
Monday, June 2?

"Well that's interesting, considering June 2 is a Saturday and that shortly before the work started they said it would last until May 4. (http://www.nycc.org/mb/thread.aspx?b=1&t=8695&tp=14&c=(44)#msg39204 )

I don't use the word ""hate"" very often, but I freakin' hate the PANYNJ people who keep closing the south side of the bridge.

Hannah"

Anonymous's picture
Mordecai Silver (not verified)
June 2nd is probably optimistic

Knowing the PA, I shouldn't be surprised if the date of re-opening is changed to August 2nd. Or even October 2nd.

Anonymous's picture
phhhidy cents (not verified)
correct > it will open again in Oct. during the MS Ride (nm)
Anonymous's picture
Richard Rosenthal (not verified)
An even more probing question about the GWB work

"The work being done now, according to ""a spokesman for the PA"" at its press office, is on overhead cables.

Question: Inasmuch as this is a different workforce than worked on the surface of the bridge when it was closed last year, why wasn't this work done concurrent with that other work since it wouldn't have interferred with it?

Question #2: We were told the work done on the bridge last year would improve it for cyclists? How is riding across the bridge improved by the work done last year?

(This isn't to discount whatever was done to improve the safety of the bridge, e.g. the sheathing of the cables; it is to suggest we were, I think the expression is, having smoke blown up our somethingorother.)

The work done to increase the safety of the bridge has, insofar as I can tell, decreased the width of our path at a number of points throughout it.

Let me again put forward this rebuffed proposal I made to the PA: once an hour from, say, 8AM to 4PM, put a Port Authority police car on the roadway with cyclists behind them, and a second PA police car behind the group, and let us cross on the regular surface.

As, I think it was Mordecai who has most recently bewailed this, the notion of closing the bridge to cyclists and pedestrians from midnight to 6AM in the name of security is errant nonsense. Is that to say someone bent on malicious behavior, or worse, couldn't just as well wreak his damage at 11:59 or 6:01...not to mention create far worse havoc in a truck?

No, I suggest it is a petty budget matter of not having those feckless watchpersons in place those hours and saving on their salaries. OK, fair enough...maybe; but at least be straight in stating your reasons, PA. ""For security,"" bah!"

Anonymous's picture
Mordecai Silver (not verified)
GWB closed to cyclists between midnight and 6am

"Richard Rosenthal wrote: ""As, I think it was Mordecai who has most recently bewailed this, the notion of closing the bridge to cyclists and pedestrians from midnight to 6AM in the name of security is errant nonsense.""

I did post about that last October: http://www.nycc.org/mb/thread.aspx?b=1&t=7851&tp=1#msg34852.

(Be sure to read Katie Lambden's September 2004 article on the CRCA website and her letter.)

More recently, ""Brownstone"" complained about it forcefully: http://www.nycc.org/mb/thread.aspx?b=1&t=8722&tp=3&c=(90)#msg39614."

Anonymous's picture
af (not verified)
RR, you seem to have overlooked your previous fine discussion.

Found in this thread:

http://www.nycc.org/mb/thread.aspx?b=1&t=6807&tp=1#msg29065

Date: Thursday, June 15, 2006 8:13:03 AM
This message was last updated on: Friday, June 16, 2006 5:12:13 PM

Author: Richard Rosenthal
205.188.116.8 Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; PPC Mac OS X; en-US; rv:1.0.2) Gecko/20020924 AOL/7.0

Subject: OK, here's the result of my speaking to the PA about the GWB

I talked with an earnest and responsive Tony Ciavolella, a press officer for the Port Authority, and Robert Durando, general manager of the GWB.

... the work is done when money for it is appropriated and becomes available.

Bikes would not be permitted on the bridge because of the expansion joints snaring tires. (Several years ago, when a man whose legs were paralyzed was completing his record handcycle ride from Huntington Beach, CA. to City Hall in NYC, we met him in NJ to escort him into town and had a police escort across the main bridge roadway. As it happens, I did flat on one of the expansion joints.

In any event, the PA could not pull an officer off his regular patrol duty to escort us in convoy fashion.

There is no possibility of rebuilding the ramp up to the GWB to eliminate that sharp hairpin.

...

Anonymous's picture
Richard Rosenthal (not verified)
"The expression ""Hoisted by my own petard"" has some resonance"

"Oh, af, not ""Gotcha!"" Got ME! Or, said another way: oops.

But I would interpose this in response to myself, as it were:

If we were able to convoy across the bridge, I believe the expansion joints would not present a peril if, forearned about them, we crossed them at an angle. When I got snared by one, I was unaware of it and took it head-on.

As for work on the bridge being done only when money is appropriated, then I would ask whether the present cable work wasn't anticipated last year and ask was the money requested for the work then and not available?

Neveretheless, a tip of my helmet to your research, af. I think I've never felt so close to immortality."

Anonymous's picture
Hank Schiffman (not verified)

"""There is no possibility of rebuilding the ramp up to the GWB to eliminate that sharp hairpin.""

Looks more possible to me than some other government policy. And would cost a lot less...."

cycling trips