Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge.  Thanks JosephA.

Where is the Manhattan Bridge?: Over the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn, just east of the Brooklyn Bridge.

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How do I get there from Manhattan?:  

Start from the corner of Canal and Bowery.
Follow the pedestrian signs to the right side of the bridge
(cyclists are on the other side of the bridge).

Find the gates; stay on the right.

Separated from cyclists by subways and traffic - a beautiful thing.

How do I get there from Brooklyn?:  

Start from the corner of Jay St and Sands St.

Follow the signs for the pedestrian side.

Head up the stairs, and up you go.

How's the view?

Excellent.

A view of Brooklyn Bridge.

The Lower East Side.

How hard?: Average. 

You should run this bridge if: you want a much less crowded alternative to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Odd facts: A plaque on the Brooklyn side says the Manhattan Bridge is the "first modern suspension bridge" to use deflection theory.

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge.  Thanks peterkellystudios.



Where is the Brooklyn Bridge?: Over the East River between Manhattan and Brooklyn.


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How do I get there from Manhattan?: 

Start from City Hall Park, at the corner of Chambers St and Center St

Follow the signs, and the tourists, to the bridge

Pedestrians are separated from cyclists by a meaningless white line.


How do I get there from Brooklyn?: There are two main entrances.

1. Near the Brooklyn War Memorial Park near the intersection of Middagh St and Old Fulton St:


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2. On the north side of Tillary St between Adams St and Brooklyn Bridge Blvd (a longer trip, and therefore better):


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For the Tillary St entrance, look for this.



Great idea, in theory.

World HQ of Jehovah's Witnesses (most of the offices at eye-level seem to be empty).

How's the view?

Very, very good.

See what I mean.





The less-loved but superior Manhattan Bridge to the north.



 

Expect a lot of this.

Crowds!: The Brooklyn Bridge is by far the most crowded bridge in NYC.  These photos (taken at 8am shortly after a rainstorm) show the bridge practically empty.  If you run this bridge, be patient and don't expect to go fast -- you'll share the narrow path with tourists and walkers, cyclists and other runners.  The only way to enjoy this bridge is to go slow, relax and enjoy the crowd. 

If running through crowds puts you off, take the nearby Manhattan Bridge instead: it's much less crowded, the bike and pedestrian lanes are totally separated (and the views are better).

How hard?: Medium. It's long (1.13 miles / 1.81 km) but not too high. Moving through the crowds can be challenging.

You should run this bridge if: for some reason it's on your bucket list, or you enjoy crowds.  Otherwise, if you want a scenic bridge to run from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, the Manhattan Bridge is better in every way.

Odd facts: Is there a more famous bridge anywhere?  In 2006, city employees found a Cold War bunker inside the masonry.

Roosevelt Island Bridge / Welfare Island Bridge

The Roosevelt Island Bridge. Thanks dougtone.



Where is the Roosevelt Island Bridge?: over the East River between Roosevelt Island and Queens.


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How do I get there from Manhattan?: This is the only bridge off Roosevelt Island so if you're running from the Manhattan side you've probably just crossed from Queens and don't need directions back.  However, you can get to Roosevelt Island by tram from 59th St and 2nd Ave or by subway (F train) and then find your way to the bridge.  Look for the Motorgate Parking Garage, which looks like it sounds:

How do I get there from Queens?:

Northwest corner of Vernon Blvd and 36th Avenue (a few blocks northwest of the Queensboro Bridge), which looks like this:



Across the street from this.



How's the view?:


OK.

You can see a bit of Manhattan from the south side (but the path is on the north side)



A beautiful thing.






How hard?  Pretty easy.  2877 feet (877 metres) long but hardly any grade.  Probably the hardest part is getting to the Queens side in the first place.

You should run this bridge if: you want to get to Roosevelt Island by your own power without swimming.

Odd facts: The bridge can open for passing boats, but only does so when the UN General Assembly is in session.

Queensboro Bridge / 59th Street Bridge / Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge

The mighty Queensboro.  Thanks wallyg.

Where is the Queensboro Bridge?: over the East River between Manhattan and Queens, touching Roosevelt Island in the middle.


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How do I get there from Manhattan?: Start from the northwest corner of 1st Ave and 60th St.

To go over the bridge, you must first go under the bridge.

Follow the pedestrian / bike path (which used to be trolley tracks) north toward 2nd Ave

Follow the path left onto the bridge.

And you're on the bridge.  Watch out for speeding cyclists!

How do I get there from Queens?

Start from the northwest corner of Vernon Blvd and 25th St (aka Crescent St)

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Vernon and 25th/Crescent.



To the bridge!  (Note -- there's an odd switch when the center line changes from yellow to white:  Bikes and pedestrians share a lane where the center line is yellow; where the center lane is white, pedestrians get the north [water] side and cyclists the south [cars] side -- about half the people on the bridge follow the markings)


How's the view?

Great.

The Roosevelt Island Tram.

Lower Manhattan in the distance.

The Wards Island footbridge.

How hard?: Pretty challenging. 3,724 feet (1135 metres) long.  A serious grade (about 12 storeys).

You should run this bridge if: you want a hill run close to midtown.

Odd facts: The Simon & Garfunkel song "Feelin' Groovy / 59th St Bridge" is about this bridge.

Wards Island Bridge / 103rd St Footbridge

Too narrow for cars? Pity.

Yes, this one's all ours.

Where is the Wards Island Bridge / 103rd St Footbridge?: over the Harlem River betweeen the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Wards Island (Wards Island is Manhattan so technically this isn't interborough.)




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How do I get there?: Easy.  Two options from Manhattan:

1. Take the East River Pathway (which starts at the east end of 60th Street under the Queensboro Bridge, and has a few more access points running north along the way) to where 103rd Street would be if it went that far east. Bridge access looks like this:

2. From 102nd St and the west side of the FDR (roughly, here: http://goo.gl/maps/nlHVO), take the pedestrian footbridge over the FDR which leads directly into the bridge:

Looking north from the East River Pathway.



Where the FDR footbridge meets the Wards Island Bridge.

... but when does it open? (Actually this sign may be a pre-2012 relic: The NYC DOT says the bridge is now open 24/7.)

How's the view? So-so.  You can see a bit of Manhattan, Roosevelt Island, the Queensboro and Wards Island / Randalls Island. 

You're on camera.

How hard?: As easy as it gets.  Hardly any grade.  Only 312 feet (95 metres) long.  No vehicles to dodge. 

You should run this bridge if: you really hate running near cars.  Randalls / Ward Islands have few cars, a decent running trail around the coastline, and best of all, access to the Triborough Bridge (more on that later).

Odd facts: According to Wikipedia, the bridge was previously closed at night to protect Manhattanites from psychiatric patients crossing the bridge and committing crimes.  Also, Wards Island and Randalls Island are now one land mass joined together by landfill.