Rode the Pulaski Bridge from LIC into Greenpoint around 6:45 last night and it was a full contact sport. The bike side is supposed to be bikes/scooters only, right? Instead it's joggers, strollers, a couple taking photos of the skyline, and at least one guy pushing a Citi Bike against the flow. I don't want to be the jerk ringing my bell for ten minutes straight, but I also don't love clipping a kid. Are we supposed to yield to pedestrians on that side, or is it a bike lane with extra steps? What's the move at sunset when the walkway side is jammed?

Oh man, I have strong feelings about this one! The split is technically there for a reason, but nobody respects the painted side. The pedestrian side is so narrow that once a group stops for a photo, everyone spills over. Have you tried the midpoint where the drawbridge seam has that little metal plate? People trip on it constantly and then drift right into the bike side. I always slow to a crawl there. The real trick is to hit it early or use the Vernon Boulevard sharrow, but then you have to deal with the concrete plant trucks near the Queens side. Ugh!

It’s always the same at that hour. I just treat it as a mixed-use path and accept I’m doing 6 mph from the bridge approach to the other side. You can ring a bell, but half of them have earbuds in anyway. If I’m trying to actually get home, I’ll drop down to Franklin Ave before the bridge and take the lane until the turn, but that stretch by the entrance can be worse.

I think it helps to separate what the design intends from what you can actually rely on. The Pulaski has a dedicated two-way bike path on the east side of the bridge, with a separate pedestrian walkway on the west side. In theory, pedestrians have their own side, and the bike path markings are painted with a bike symbol and a dashed center line. In practice, the pedestrian side is narrow, the western railing has better views, and the southern approach in LIC routes foot traffic through an uninviting stretch, so people drift. From what I can tell, a pedestrian who enters the bike path is in the wrong lane, but the city doesn't enforce that, and a collision still ends badly for everyone. My approach at busy hours is to keep my cadence low, ring once at a distance, and say 'on your left' rather than expecting a clear path. If I need to make time, I avoid the bridge entirely and cut through the industrial streets around Review Ave or take Franklin to Greenpoint Ave, but both have their own issues with trucks and rough pavement. The bridge is almost never the fastest option when it's crowded, just the most direct. One caveat: the Queens approach has been changing with construction, so check the merge before you commit.

I just dismount if it's that packed. Walking a bike for two minutes beats a broken collarbone. My commute isn't worth playing chicken with a stroller.

Fair enough. I tried walking it once and ended up nearly clipping someone with my bars on the narrow side. The crowd wasn't much better. Maybe the move is just take the lane on Greenpoint Ave when the bridge is swamped. Does anyone actually enforce the ped side, or is that a 311 complaint that goes nowhere?

Greenpoint Ave bridge has a wider walkway/bike setup if you don't mind the extra half mile. I use it when the Pulaski looks like a street fair. Drivers are decent there past McGuinness, but the Queens side of Greenpoint Ave is a bumpy mess.

Yes! The Greenpoint Ave bridge is underrated for exactly that reason. But have you tried the new little protected lane on Franklin just north of the Pulaski? It spits you out right at the bridge entrance and then it's a free-for-all again. I rode it last week and was so excited for about 400 feet before it dissolved. Also, the pedestrian side of the Pulaski isn't just narrow—it has that weird blind corner near the elevator on the Greenpoint side. People don't stand a chance.

To Flatbush_Fi's question: 311 won't solve a crowding issue. The city occasionally puts up flex-posts or repaints, but there's no one writing summonses for pedestrians in the bike path unless it's part of a larger enforcement action. A 311 complaint about path obstruction can at least create a record, but it won't change tonight's commute. More useful is adjusting your timing if you can—the heaviest foot traffic seems to be the last hour before sunset. In my experience, a half-hour earlier is noticeably calmer, and the path is almost pleasant right after morning rush. I also agree with Woodhaven_W about the Greenpoint Ave bridge, with the caveat that the northern approach in Queens has a left-turn lane that drivers treat as optional. It's better than playing pedestrian slalom, but not by much.

Half hour earlier is the real pro tip. I left work late yesterday and ate 20 minutes of slow rolling. Not doing that again.