rfomenko

Actually, it's a very direct route (straight line, apparently) via Bayway/Elmora Avenues. The path drops you off at Trenton & Bayway Avenues & it's only 1.5 miles total to Route 27 according to the Google Maps. But it's purely academic since the bridge is still closed to the cyclists...

Ferdinand NYC

Interesting! But, now that I consult Google Maps Street View, I don't see an easy way to follow Bayway Avenue west. It seems that, once you get to a street called Cole Place, you need to make a left to go south; but a concrete island prevents that, so you have to go to the right and then make a u-turn in order to take Cole Place to connect to Brunswick Avenue, which, in turn, then leads to the next segment of Bayway Avenue. And these are packed quasi-highway-like streets with no shoulders. By contrast, going to Route 27 on 1st Street and Elizabeth/Rahway Avenue looks a lot more pleasant, even if this route is almost twice as long.


Ah. So what is the currently projected opening date?

rfomenko

End of this summer. But we all heard it before exactly one year ago, haven't we?

ChiroVette

Not sure about that, but obviously I hope you're right. The reason I am skeptical is because of the fact that there have been no recent updates in the form of blog posts or news articles, and the end of this summer is only 2ish months away. If the path were to be open to the public in a few months, I would probably expect news about it by now, not just website articles all ranging in 2 months to a year or so old. Unless they intend to open the path quietly, and with no real advance notice. Just like, "Hey, everyone, surprise, the path is open!"

rfomenko

Heard anything new lately? Because I haven't

ChiroVette

No and I look a lot. So far, no news I can find.

pec35

Hello everyone ! I'm Antoine and new here. I'm french, and my girlfriend and I are planning to ride across US from NY to SF next year, can't wait ! Nevertheless, I can see that it seems to be a real mess to get out of Manhattan with a bike... Didn't expect that complicated I know George Washington Bridge is rideable, but we'll be heading West towards Summit, and I read somewhere that it is awful riding through Newark and surroundings.

I've been therefore looking for an easier way to get there, which brought me on this forum, since we'd like to ride across Goethals. We would take the ferry from Manhattan to SI, and then, so, the bike path on the Goethals to continue Northwest towards Summit.

It seems, after reading your posts, that you know very well NY : is this a good option ? As long as the Goethals is open next summer, which does not seem so sure

indyfabz

You could always take the ferry to Hoboken and the train to the Summit area. Where do you plan to head from there?

ChiroVette

Actually if you're going straight west, headed toward San Francisco as your eventual destination, the George Washington Bridge should be your best starting point out of Manhattan. You are far enough north of Newark that you can completely bypass that area all together. Honestly, if I were planning a trip from NY City heading west, I wouldn't think twice about taking the GWB. Not sure about the bike path situation in and around Fort Lee, where you enter Jersey from that bridge, but there is absolutely no need to think about ferries or to even consider going way south of there to get to Jersey through Staten Island.

pec35

Thank you for your answers. We're planning to go to the Pine Creek Gorge in Pennsylvania, so yes we could take the GWB and go North but it would be some extra miles we'd like to avoid. I only see large dangerous boulevards on Streetview on the Jersey side when you go West after the GWB.

indyfabz

Watch out for the furry ones. Saw this little guy two years ago while riding Pine Creek. If you plan to continue west through the Allegheny National Forest be cautious. Two days before I took this photo I came face to face with a bear from about 25' away as I was leaving a campground. He was easily 500 lbs.


BTW...Which direction are you planning to ride Pine Creek?

pec35

I think Summit, Bangor, Berwick and Williamsport, and after Pine Creek yes we'll go through Allegheny. I'll watch out for these cubs ;-) Anyway, this is not about the original discussion.

Any news from the bike path on the Goethals ?

zacster

Riding across New Jersey can be a problem without knowing where to go. I never do it myself, and limit myself to the area coming off the George Washington Bridge. Given that the Goethels Bridge will be a new path I don't expect that the roads around it will be bicycle friendly for another few years, if ever. Drivers are just crazy in NJ, but they are in France too.

There's an organization called Adventure Cycling that has maps and maybe a good route across NJ, and the rest of the country as well. They appear to be the successor to BikeCentennial that created a cross country route back about 45 years ago. I was a member of the old group but never did get to ride cross-country. Just a quick check shows that the route avoids central NJ, in fact avoids NJ altogether except for the short section between the GWB and back into NY on 9W. And the funny thing is, that is what I would probably have done without even seeing it.

arbee

I stayed mute on this query, but I think it's worth chiming in.

Here's an anecdote and a bit of history that directly pertains.

A long time ago — I think it was toward the end of the last century — for fundraising and publicity, the East Coast Greenway Alliance https://www.greenway.org/ arranged to transport a bottle filled with sea water in Key West, Florida, to Calais, on Maine's border with Canada. (If you're wondering, the Maine town name is pronounced "CAY-liss"; sorry about that.) I was 1/3 of a threesome informally tasked with carrying this bottle by bicycle from Tottenville (Staten Island's southern tip) to St. George and then ferry the bottle to Manhattan where we handed it off to some folks who walked it north along the Hudson.

This adventure was scheduled for a spring day that dawned cold and rainy. On schedule, I joined my two associates at Manhattan's South Ferry for our outbound trip. Unplanned / unexpected, at South Ferry, a fourth bicyclist who was fully dressed and equipped for touring joined us. A bit puzzled, we got into conversation. Our new friend was a German tourist heading out on his first day riding west across the USA.

For those unfamiliar with the region, at that time — end of the 20th century — there was a pedpath on the Bayonne Bridge, but no provision or accommodation for folks on bicycles or on foot to cross either the Goethals Bridge or the Outerbridge Crossing. Our new friend, the German tourist, was unaware of these details.

Specific to our project, pressed back into service for that day, a ferry that had operated between New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Staten Island's Tottenville was to transport the bottle of water across Arthur Kill, the body of water between Staten Island and New Jersey. Everything went to plan: the ferry ride from Manhattan's South Ferry to St. George, the ride south on SIR from St. George to Tottenville, and, because we were early, a diversion (in the rain) to the Conference House.

We met up with the folks from Perth Amboy. With no ceremony, they handed us the bottle of water. And, with no ceremony, we handed them the German tourist. Their plan was to direct him to the Delaware and Raritan Canal tow path heading west from New Brunswick and then wish him good-bye and good luck. In my opinion, that was a good plan. None of us ever heard from the German tourist again.

What I can assure you: today, and for the foreseeable future, there remains no way to head west from Staten Island on a bicycle. I know no way to make that historic ferry available.

Ferdinand NYC

If you are going to Summit, New Jersey, then entering the state way up at the George Washington Bridge doesn't seem sensible.

Also, riding in Newark is not unpleasant at all. The problem is getting to Newark from Jersey City. On this question, there is a long thread in this forum that was begun in 2011, and is still periodically updated. That thread is available here. The tone of the thread is initially celebratory, as the act of riding to Newark finally became possible after a long wait. But the tone shifts to downcast as the thread goes on, due to the shoddy condition of the connection between Jersey City and Newark.

Also, once a bicyclist lands in Newark, that bicyclist finds himself/herself in the city's industrial outskirts; and the route to the main part of the city is not at all obvious. There are two possible routes: one entails a long detour to the south; the more direct route straight west sends a bicyclist through a maze of paths that are overgrown and unmaintained. I use the latter method; but, for a first-time visitor, I suppose the former is preferable, as it is at least plottable on a map.

But once you make it to the heart of the city, Newark is pretty nice to ride through. There is really only one good bike lane; but it goes north-south, so it won't impact on your trip.

Recently I rode through Newark in the direction of Summit, though not all the way to that town. I took Springfield Avenue out of Newark, to the connection with a street called Millburn Avenue, which I took as far as the town of Millburn. You can take that street about another 2 kilometres west, to its end at a street which is called Morris Avenue. (Actually, for a brief 1-km section, Millburn Avenue is one-way going east; so the westbound travel is on the adjacent street called Glen Street, before you return to Millburn Avenue proper.) When you reach the end of Millburn Avenue, you turn right, and the street called Morris Avenue soon becomes Morris Turnpike. You take that street for about 1/2 of a kilometre, until there is a marked left-side turnoff to a street called Broad Street. That gets you to Summit.

You haven't mentioned where you are staying in New York City. If by some chance you are staying in the far northern part of Manhattan, then using the George Washington Bridge would be alright.

But, if you are staying anywhere else, then your best approach would be the inexpensive and bike-friendly ferry from Downtown Manhattan to Jersey City, and then riding through Jersey City to the connection to Newark (via Kearny), and on to Summit.

As the time draws nearer, you can request specific instructions about the ride from Jersey City to Newark, and the way to get from the landing in Newark into the centre of the city.

zacster

Let's just say that it wouldn't be the most scenic of routes. Unless you have a real reason to go to Summit, to meet up with friends say, I'd just not go that way. And if you have friends in Summit, have them meet you in Manhattan instead of going to them.

Ferdinand NYC

I believe that notre ami français has indicated that he does indeed have a reason to go to Summit, on his way west across the country.

pec35

Thank you for your answers, that's very kind. I talked with my friends in Summit, and finally yes we're going to meet elsewhere, that will be easier. So in the end I think we will take the GWB as soon as it opens at 6AM, and then through Hackensack, Paterson, Lincoln Park... I saw there are some big boulevards (Streetview is my best friend), but nothing that seems really dangerous for bikes, and quite quickly we'll be riding on smaller roads. Can't wait to start the ride through your country =) Thank again !

arbee

I think your decision to head west from NYC over the George Washington Bridge is prudent. Even if access to the Goethals Bridge pedpath were available — at this moment, it isn't — its NJ end is immediately south of Newark Airport and north of Exxon's Bayway Refinery. It isn't pleasant bicycling.

Since this discussion started, there's been activity concerning the New York side of the Goethals Bridge: Presentation to Staten Island Community Board — 1 September 17th, 2019

Note: this is merely a proposal. Nothing suggested is actually in place. This does remind me of the number of jurisdictions that have a say in decision-making: of course there's the bridge itself, but on each side, where the bridge's pedpath ends, there are state and local considerations. Thus far, I'm not aware of any plans proposed for the NJ side of the bridge.

ChiroVette

Well, after many continued, ongoing delays, things are starting to heat up with this bike/ped path. Well, sort of.

Latest City Plan For Goethals Bridge Bike Lane

Skipping to the important part of that article, near the bottom:

The article cites the difficulty they are having with routing cycling traffic to and from the bridge, on both sides, because of the fact that so many trucks use the bridge. They are apparently building a completely closed off cycling/pedestrian lane, and cyclists, according to the article, will have to ride a very counter-intuitive, circuitous path to get onto and off the bridge, I think particularly on the Staten Island side.



I don't personally mind jumping (or riding) through a few hoops if the path is safer. Even if it is poorly designed as some activists are now claiming. An interesting side note is that the good news of the path's now pending completion, though admittedly it was supposed to already be open by now, is that they are starting the actual construction of the actual structure of the path within a few weeks, or may have already started. I have a good feeling about this, because in my experience in The Big Apple, while all the talk and planning may be fraught with delay after delay, as the Goethals path has been, once actual construction starts, things happen pretty quickly. This is why I tend to believe that this path will finally be opened in 2020, at least if construction actually starts now.

As another aside, the comment section of this article has an understandably feverish renewal of complaints that the Verrazano Bridge has no bike lane. If I skimmed it right, Staten Island residents are complaining that they are cyclingly isolated from the other boroughs of NY City, and Brooklyn/Queens residents are complaining that there is no way to pedal all the way from the boroughs to Jersey without detouring to Manhattan and/or sitting on a ferry. Of course, I think that someone should probably remind them that many of the S53 and S93 buses that travel from Bay Ridge Brooklyn to Staten Island have bike racks when they say there is only the ferry or GWB, but I nonetheless agree with their point. The MTA, Port Authority, DOT, and whoever else needs to be involved in the plan seriously has to consider this as an option for the Verrazano. But I can definitely see a lot of logistical reasons for why this may never happen.

Here is another article about the bike lane:

Link

And for what its worth, here's a piece about the Verrazano:

Verazzano Bike Lane Wishful Thinking

zacster

I was in San Francisco this past weekend and rented a nice road bike, and my plan was to go to Marin county. Instead of heading straight to the Golden Gate bridge from the Wharf, I went first to my hotel and then to Golden Gate Park, and then around the coast and back towards the bridge and at some point I lost the cycling crowd. Add to that the fog and the bridge was not visible. But it was still easy to follow the signs to the bridge, and once I got close the cycling crowds were back. But there was no question that the cyclists were welcome and were part of the tourist crowd that is drawn to the bridge.

Imagine that being the case with either the Verrazano or GWB, instead of being treated like we're a nuisance. Imagine a ramp from the Belt Parkway bike lanes directly up to the bridge, with signs, separate paths for cyclists and pedestrians, observation points and a welcome center. That's what Golden Gate is like even if you come from the opposite direction of most traffic like I did. It would become a tourist destination in its own right. But heaven forbid we take even an inch of bridge space away from the traffic to create that.

arbee

Here's an "update" on access to the Goethals Bridge pedpath:

https://thecity.nyc/2020/01/light-at...-cyclists.html

"Update" in quotes, because — no fault of The City — there's nothing new or specific to report.

Dahon.Steve

I created that thread and it's hard to believe almost 10 years have passed! Without question, that thread is my proudest contribution to Bike Forms. I have crossed over from Jersey City to Newark over 20 times using US 1-9 Truck bike path without any issues at all. However, I could not recommend going over the bridges at night. Last year I escorted a couple of tourist using the bike path to Newark. They actually enjoyed the crossing and excitement. I felt like a million bucks that day!

Last summer, I finally was able to cross over the Bayonne bridge into Staten Island. I had to stop about 4 or 5 times because it's a mountainous climb going from Bayonne to Staten Island. I missed going to the Staten Island mall or eating at Boston Market on Forest Avenue. I would cross over more often but I'm going to have to buy an electric bike with motor assist!!

Schumi554

Has anyone checked on the Staten Island side of the Goethals bike lane connection lately?

rfomenko

It's open, folks! I'm sure everyone knows by now but just in case