Bicycle and pedestrian advocates in the Kansas City area have been proposing to include a separated bicycle/pedestrian path as part of the new Paseo Bridge.
Some have objected that such facilities are rare, difficult, or dangerous.
In fact, as the following list shows, such facilities are increasingly common in the United States.
Interstate freeway bridges in the United States with bicycle/pedestrian crossings Note: This is only a partial list.
I-494 over the Mississippi River near Minneapolis, Minnesota - path is immediately adjacent to the freeway, separated by a stone barrier.
Squaw Peak Freeway in Phoenix AZ
Appalachian Trail at I-80 Delaware Water Gap NJ-PA
Wonders Way on the Ravenel Bridge Charleston S.C. (new)
I-84 Newburgh Beacon Bridge over the Hudson River, NY
I-84 Bulkley Bridge over the Connecticut River, Hartford, CT - sidewalk on south side of bridge for bicycle/pedestrian use, separated by concrete barrier
I-278 Triboro Bridge, New York City
I-295, Tukeys Bridge, Portland, Maine - separated from the freeway by a jersey barrier; no known incidents
I-279 over the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh--12 ft ada compliant ped/bike lane cantilevered off the superstructure
I-95 Gold Star Memorial Bridge over the Thames River, New London, CT
George Washington Bridge I-95 NY-NJ includes a sidewalk accessible to pedestrians on the south side and a path accessible to bicyclists and pedestrians on the north side
Ben Franklin Bridge I-76 PA-NJ
I-95/I-495 bridge over the Potomac on the Capital Beltway in Washington, D.C., now under construction, will have an adjacent shared-use path on the bridge for more than a mile
I-90 bridge over the Fox River in the Chicago area has a bicycle path underneath the main bridge
I-80 crossing the eastern reaches of San Francisco Bay has an adjacent bicycle/pedestrian path
I-680 crossing San Francisco Bay in California will have an adjacent bicycle/pedestrian path (under construction)
I-10 over the Colorado at Blythe, CA
I-80 Yolo Causeway bridge, between Sacramento and Davis, CA - approximately 3-mile section over the Yolo Bypass that includes a bike path physically separated by a barrier from the westbound traffic lanes
I-82 Columbia River bridge between Washington State and Umatillan, OR
I-5 bridge over the Columbia River at Vancouver, WA--sidewalks on both sides.
Scudder Falls Bridge I-95 PA-NJ (proposed)
Woodrow Wilson Bridge I-95 MD-VA (proposed)
The Record of Decision for two planned new interstate highway bridges across the Ohio River in or near Louisville includes separated bicycle/pedestrian facilities for both bridges
Interstate 395 bridge across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (immediately adjacent sidepath separated via jersey barriers)
Interstate 66 bridge across the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. (immediately adjacent sidewalks on each side separated by guard rail)
The I-395 and I-66 bike/ped facilities have existed for more than two decades without any safety problems related to their immediate proximity to the roadway.
Expressway type facilities, similar to interstates, with bike/ped on bridges
The new Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, SC, is not an interstate but has 8 lanes of fast motorized traffic and has a ped-bike facility. The people who claimed no one would use it have been proven wrong--the biggest complaint is that it can get crowded.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Hwy 101, San Francisco--sidewalk on each side. This is considered a freeway.
The Page Avenue Extension near St. Louis has 10 lanes of fast motor traffic and an attached bicycle/pedestrian path
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Tacoma, WA (State Route 16)--a 10 foot separated bicycle/pedestrian path, which is included on this route that is busy enough to require two separate multi-lane suspension bridges across the 5900 foot Narrows.
Interstate bridges that allow bicycle traffic on shoulders Bicycle traffic on these bridges is on shoulders that are not physically separated from the freeway traffic
I-5 American River bridge, Sacremento, CA - shoulder open to cyclists when the parkway below it is flooded
A number of others
Interstates that have paths adjacent to them These are non-bridge sections of interstate that have paths nearby or immediately adjacent for one reason or another.
Glenn Highway, Anchorage, Alaska - pathway adjacent to the first 22 miles of the Glenn Highway out of Anchorage, a 4&6 lane controlled access freeway; mostly unfenced and on the far side of drainage swale, some behind guardrail
I-66, Arlington, VA. The Custis Trail - mostly retaining walls or sound proofing walls separating, but in some sections just grassy shoulder/chain link fence; in 20 yrs no reports of runaway cars on the trail or trail users on the freeway
I-95, Brunswick, Maine - path adjacent to freeway for 3-4 miles; separated by distance and a chainlink fence
I-70, Glenwood Canyon, Colorado; Vail Pass, Colo.
I-205, Portland, OR
I-670, Columbus, Ohio - usually separated by grade but sometimes noise wall
I-84, Portland, OR
I-84 and I-384, Hartford and Manchester, Connecticut - Charter Oak Greenway parallels the freeway for about 4 miles
I-80/I-215, Salt Lake City, Parleys Crossing, UT
I-291 (Bissell Bridge), Hartford, Connecticut
I-80, Park City-Wanship, UT
Hwy. 1, Castroville to Seaside, California
Route 390 Expressway, Rochester, NY
Suncoast Parkway, Tampa, Florida
Route 104 Expressway, Rochester, NY
I-82, Yakima, Washington
I-435, Overland Park, Kansas - runs parallel to I-435 for a distance of about 1.5 miles, separated from the freeway by a fence
Out West cyclists are free to ride on many freeway
shoulders, not just on bridges. I just finished a ride from Stockton,
California, to Phoenix, Arizona. I rode freeway shoulders between
Bakersfield and Mojave, and again most of the way from Joshua Tree National
Park to Phoenix. I didn't experience a single close call or unpleasant
encounter.
Freeway riding isn't always pleasant, but it sure seems
safe.
I see no good reason why bicycles shouldn't be allowed most
freeways all over the United States, with the exception of some busy urban
roads with closely spaced interchanges.
Cecilia Jankura
wrote:
06/07/08 07:48pm •
67.232.235.2251260311905.2217
I would like to be part of a lobby group that
pressures the dept of trans both interstate and within states to create
bike paths on all taxpayers' roads. this is something that may be able to
happen in a democrat majority gov. especially with gas shortages and
everyone talking "green". i look forward to november to see whethter this
is a possibility! i have some ideas regarding this - Let's come up with an
acronym like PEDAL or PLACE (Pedalling Lanes Accessible for Cyclists in the
Environment). Find like minded folks and get it going (if the dems are in
power - forget it if we get another "4 more years")
The effect would be
- more jobs! - Just maintaining the lanes to keep them free of tires,
garbage and roadkills as well as painting the lines, would create lots of
jobs (and i don't mean prisoners on work release like in florida!) We would
need way-stations and signs. So in this time of recession, new jobs could
be created out of a real need! It would have to be presented as part of a
green energy/alternative transportation bill of some sort. I am up for any
ideas -
Please stay in touch - I am serious about this, Cecilia
Freeway riding isn't always pleasant, but it sure seems safe.
I see no good reason why bicycles shouldn't be allowed most freeways all over the United States, with the exception of some busy urban roads with closely spaced interchanges.
The effect would be - more jobs! - Just maintaining the lanes to keep them free of tires, garbage and roadkills as well as painting the lines, would create lots of jobs (and i don't mean prisoners on work release like in florida!) We would need way-stations and signs. So in this time of recession, new jobs could be created out of a real need! It would have to be presented as part of a green energy/alternative transportation bill of some sort. I am up for any ideas -
Please stay in touch - I am serious about this, Cecilia