Bridges

If you’ve talked to me for more than a few minutes, you know about my interest¹ in bridges.

But my interest isn’t specifically in the bridges themselves, it’s in their crossing. Specifically, I love walking and biking across bridges. One experiences an open-air crossing in a completely different manner than by driving or being on or in² some other enclosed mode of transit.

👉 Here’s the list of bridges I’ve traversed on foot or by bicycle. 👈

I was at the NYC Tech Gather the other night near City Hall, and on my name tag, as a way to break up the monotonous conversations about “what do you do” and “where do you work”, I put “I like bridges” on my nametag. So a few people asked me about that and one of the first questions that comes up is, of course, “what’s your favorite bridge”.

I realized I don’t have a great single answer for that question. I think it is because there are so many dimensions on which to judge a bridge.

There are essential factors, like beauty, popularity, engineering. People love the Brooklyn Bridge and I suppose it’s the most popular to visit; maybe the Millennium or Tower Bridges are up there, too. There’s the experience of crossing. There are two that stand out to me here. One is the Golden Gate, simply because it is so impossibly big, and leaves you really feeling like you’re really just very far from everywhere. Another that struck me is the Mid-Hudson Bridge, near Poughkeepsie. There is something about the design and situation of the pedestrian walkway that really made it stand out. It also included a really cool art installation.

Then there’s the more personal reasons. Friends (Ben Franklin, George Washington, High Bridge). Relationships (Pulaski) and breakups (oddly enough, also the George Washington). Feeling alone (Sint-Annatunnel for feeling literally alone, Verrazano for that NYC brand of loneliness that exists among a crowd). The little stories, like the four bridges I cycled across the day my bike got stolen (Williamsburg, Ward’s Island, RFK, Roosevelt Island), and the one I walked over on the way home (just Williamsburg).

A lot of it is the where, as well. Spending a day in Paris sipping noisettes and leisurely walking the ponts and quais has such a different feel from pulling over on a road trip in Aurora, Indiana.

Tell me about your favorite pedestrian- or cyclist-friendly bridges. I’m always looking for recommendations and to share experiences with others.