traffic on riverside drive

April 7, 2009 7:02 PM

NYC biking filter: what is traffic like on riverside drive weekday mornings between 7am-9am?

i'd like to bike my normal route (up riverside drive and over the GW bridge) before work, but i'm worried there is going to be tons of traffic. anyone how the traffic is there compared to the weekend?

posted by nanhey to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (11 answers total)

Best answer: it's quick. like, close to highway quick.
posted by puckish at 7:23 PM on April 7, 2009

Response by poster: sigh. i guess it's more laps in central park. thanks for the info.
posted by nanhey at 7:33 PM on April 7, 2009

Yeah, that's still smack in the middle of the morning commute, and there are precious few stoplights. I would avoid. Try Ft. Washington and/or Haven Ave. instead. I constantly see teams of bike people streaming south down Ft. Washington, but not so much on Riverside, which leads me to think that they've gone through your current conundrum, and arrived at a Ft. Washington route as a safer alternative.
posted by greenland at 7:35 PM on April 7, 2009

I often jump on Riverside if the West Side Hgwy is looking particularly troublesome. I am certainly not the only one!!! It moves pretty good some days. I would not ride my bike there at that time of day, but I am an old man and a sissy about such things. I do see folks riding their bikes between the West Side Hgwy and the river on a path there. Not sure what its called or how to access it other than from the boat basin, but it is usually very empty and the users all seem safe and serene.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:59 PM on April 7, 2009

Wait a minute, the northbound traffic isn't much in the morning. I say give it a try. Then come back south via the Greenway as JohnnyGunn suggests.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:31 PM on April 7, 2009

There's a bike path from Chambers Street to North of the GWB along the Hudson. Why would you want to bike on Riverside Drive?
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 9:37 PM on April 7, 2009

When I was a student on the Columbia health sciences campus, I had a classmate who would regularly bike up to 168th st from 116th via the bike path that goes along the river. She seemed to think it was an easy ride.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:46 PM on April 7, 2009

maps here
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 10:48 PM on April 7, 2009

Yeah, bike all the way west from wherever you are towards the river, the last thing you hit before the water will be the bike path (depending on where you are, from 59th street it goes under the WSH and the park is between it and the water up to roughly 70th street). It doesn't "flow" as well once it leaves Riverside park and crosses under the WSH and runs on the inside of it, but its still do-able, and infinitely safer as there's no cars to have to calculate.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:57 PM on April 7, 2009

It really isn't so bad. In fact, now that we've entered the spring season, there are dozens of cyclists taking the same route daily, on training rides up to piermont, nyack or points further. If there is any traffic, they should expect to see you on the roads. However, don't forget your blinky light in those early hours.
posted by stachemaster at 7:21 AM on April 8, 2009

I ride Riverside Drive between 125th and 96th Streets to and from work every day. I do not have a problem with the cars or their speed. For the most part, they give me enough room. If you're riding uptown in the morning, you'll have much clearer sailing.

To be clear, the greenway offers its own hazards, such as people walking unleashed dogs and runners plugged into their little soundtracks, and other situationally unaware individuals. Pick your riding venue, pick your poison.

[What some call the "Cherry Walk," the river-hugging portion of the bike path between 125th and 100th Street (or so), is ok for moderate to low speed riding, but I would not recommend riding this northbound at night. There are no street lights, the path winds around trees, and the headlights from oncoming cars will blind you.]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 4:33 PM on April 10, 2009