If you want to cross the Hudson River on a bicycle anywhere south of Troy's Green Island Bridge, first say a prayer.
I re-learned this last Sunday afternoon on a ride that started in my beloved Pine Hills. As in so many human endeavors, things get dicey in downtown Albany.
The problem: To cross into Rensselaer without the aid of fossil fuel, you need to pass under I-787 and then ascend the precipitous caged ramp on the north side of the Dunn Memorial Bridge, a route that has all the charm of the cattle chute leading to an abattoir. Once you reach the high deck of the bridge itself, you'll be riding on a narrow sidewalk that's barely wide enough to accommodate two pedestrians walking abreast. Be careful not to clip a pedal on the stanchions that secure the guardrail.
Made it across? Pause for a moment to consider your options. Heading south on Route 9J, you can ride through some of the state's most scenic river communities — Castleton-on-Hudson, Schodack Landing and Stuyvesant.
But if you want to get back across the river without rolling the dice on a safe re-crossing of the Dunn Memorial, better bring a second water bottle and a double helping of squeezable yogurt: The next span you'll come to that's open to non-motorized travelers is the Rip Van Winkle Bridge 35 miles south, just below Hudson. If you don't have five hours and legs like tree trunks, perhaps you should head north. I certainly did.
Just past Hudson Valley Community College, bang a left off Route 4 down steep Morrison Avenue, which deposits you just around the corner from the east end of the Troy-Menands Bridge.
Does it offer a better crossing than Dunn Memorial? Absolutely. For one thing, it's lower. And after a seemingly endless period of construction, the bridge connects to the Mohawk-Hudson trail at its west end via a switchback path. The bad news: As in downtown Albany, the deck of the bridge's sidewalk is ridiculously narrow, a difficulty that as of last weekend was exacerbated by the presence of gravel and other debris.
From there, head back into Albany on the five-mile stretch of the Mohawk-Hudson. And when you arrive at the boat dock on the Corning Preserve, pause for a moment and dream of a better future.
You'll be looking at the Livingston Avenue rail bridge, with its 113-year-old steel girders and stone piers dating all the way back to 1866. The bridge, equipped with a swing span to allow larger boats to pass, is an aching elbow in the state's rail system. The long-gestating plan for a high-speed Empire Corridor running up the Hudson and west to Niagara Falls assumes — among other infrastructure improvements — a new rail bridge across the Hudson.
And therein lies opportunity.
The Livingston Avenue Bridge Coalition, which includes everyone from bikers to urban-renewal groups, wants to ensure that its replacement will feature a walkway for pedestrian and bike traffic. The current bridge used to have such a walkway, but it was blocked off in the 1980s due to disrepair.
The coalition has drawn the support of local governments on both sides of the river as well as U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. All have noted the benefits to be reaped from economic development — sub-casino projects, just like the ones we used to know — in places where people are more likely to walk or pedal.
Through Wednesday, the state Department of Transportation is taking public comments on the larger high-speed rail project, including the Livingston Avenue component. If you have something to say, zap empirecorridor@dot.ny.gov. (DOT spokesman Beau Duffy emphasized that comments on the larger rail plan will be conveyed to the officials in charge of the rebuilding work on the Livingston Avenue span.)
The bridge's owner, CSX, and leasee, Amtrak, have expressed concern at the prospect of running anything but trains over the bridge, which in our litigious age is not surprising. But surely if we can build a new light rail system, we can figure out a way to keep bikers and walkers from falling under the wheels.
Trust me on this: Whatever they come up with is going to be safer than the current alternatives.
cseiler@timesunion.com • 518-454-5619