zacster

Any comparison to the west side is completely ridiculous. It was the stretch south from 37th St. I rode this about 15 years ago when they first put it together, promising all kinds of improvements. I didn't see any. It is the same mishmash of paved dedicated bikeway, old paved over parks, driveways, narrow concrete paths, streets, etc... It isn't a path at all, just what little pavement exists between the FDR and the river, and it is non-existent in places. There was even construction in the same places.

Next time I'll stick to 2nd Ave.

nigelsane

The city was hoping to have the entire Manhattan waterfront greenway completed by 2018. The first phase of the 2nd Ave subway is currently scheduled to be completed by 2016. I think that gives us a hint of when we may actually be able to have a pleasant ride by the East River.

Still, the city did complete a land swap deal late last year so the gap from 37th to 63rd may be filled in in our lifetimes. That's some good news.

zacster

I rode it again today, this time from the Manhattan Bridge down around Battery Park and onto the West Side Greenway. To say it was slow going doesn't begin to describe how horrible it is. The West Side was packed today too, but there is at least room to ride.

BridgeNotTunnel

I live on the other side of the Triboro Bridge so the East side greenway is a decent option to get to midtown, and a MUCH safer route than going through LIC and using the Queensborough.

Tons of route info, video, pics, on my page linked in my sig. Events, organized rides, I even did a self sustained cyclotour from Astoria to Clarence Fahnestock.....

nigelsane

Really? You'd take the Triboro with all the stairs and ramps and then the narrow East side greenway over 34th Ave, Vernon, Crescent, etc.? If you haven't taken the Queensboro in the past year or so, you may have missed the fact that the Queens side approach is very, very nice now.

I guess your problem could be with the UES though, in which case there's no way to win.

InertAgent

I recently starting commuting from UES to Wall St. I tried different routes, and timed them a couple times. Taking 2nd Ave was almost 10 minutes longer than the East River Greenway because of all the lights, even though it is a mile shorter. I do tend to obey lights, which are numerous when you get downtown. At least the East Side Greenway isn't boring like the Hudson River Greenway.

zacster

I go uptown on 1st for the morning commute, and the lights on 1st aren't an issue as I can usually make it between the major cross streets on a single cycle. It's the lights everywhere else, in particular in Brooklyn.

Maybe I'll give it a try going on the greenway, but I'm not optomistic. At least my office is near the end at 37th St. where you have to go onto 1st Ave anyway.

Stacy

I live in the Village and often take the Queensboro to visit family in Astoria. I rode the TriBoro Bridge once during the NYC Century and would NEVER consider riding it alone. Not only does it have all those stairs but it just doesn't feel safe. All I can imagine is that you must be a whole lot bigger and stronger than I am.

Cyclerock

I agree with you. Recently I was heading downtown on the east side and chose the greenway over the streets, due to the lack of lights. Even with the tile-like ground, the congestion, and lack of continuity, it seemed fluid enough. I didn't time the commute and compare it to a parallel route on the street, though.

zacster

I tried it on my commute today and it did not save any time, not that I expected that. It was a nice change of pace though. I felt a lot less like a commuter and more like I was just out for a spin. The bad part is that at 35th St the path ends, whereas it used to go a few blocks further. This puts you in with the FDR exiting traffic.