Editing Queensboro Bridge (section)

=== 2000s to present ===
[[File:EdKochBdge 20231017 094700.jpg|thumb|left|Southern lower roadway and Long Island City from the Queensboro Bridge]]
Following the completion of additional renovations in September 2000, the northern upper roadway was converted back to a westbound road at all times. The northern lower roadway was converted into a bike and pedestrian path, while the southern lower roadway became an eastbound lane.<ref>{{cite news |last=Donohue |first=Pete |date=September 10, 2000 |title=More Road Blues Likely on Queensboro Bridge |page=32 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |id={{ProQuest|305611345}}}}</ref> After the [[September 11 attacks]] on the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in 2001, drivers without passengers were temporarily banned from using the bridge during rush hours.<ref>{{cite news |last=Evans |first=Martin C. |date=October 2, 2001 |title=America's Ordeal / Early Birds Try to Beat Restrictions |page=A30 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279501619}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Blair |first=Jayson |date=October 1, 2001 |title=City, Noting Traffic Decrease, Continues Lone Driver Rules |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/01/nyregion/city-noting-traffic-decrease-continues-lone-driver-rules.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The city announced plans in 2002 to restore six masonry piers supporting the bridge.<ref name="The New York Times 2002 j597" /> The same year, mayor [[Michael Bloomberg]] again proposed tolling the four free East River bridges, including the Queensboro Bridge; many local residents opposed his plan,<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Grady |first=Jim |date=March 3, 2002 |title=Neighborhood Report: Queensboro Bridge; Tolls on East River Bridges? Not in Their Backyard |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/03/nyregion/neighborhood-report-queensboro-bridge-tolls-east-river-bridges-not-their.html |access-date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> and Bloomberg postponed the tolling plan in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bowles |first1=Pete |last2=Thrush |first2=Glenn |date=October 8, 2003 |title=Mayor Wavers on Bridge Tolls / Cites Lengthy Process to Start |page=A16 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279772214}}}}</ref>

As part of a $168 million project that began in 2004,<ref name="Bridge Report 2006">{{cite web |date=2006 |title=Innovations & Accomplishments |url=https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bridgerpt06_2.pdf |access-date=October 19, 2023 |publisher=[[New York City Department of Transportation]]}}</ref>{{Rp|page=56}} workers repainted the bridge.<ref name="p279974075">{{cite news |last=Robin |first=Joshua |date=August 22, 2005 |title=The Fold: Queensboro Bridge Makeover, Restoration on the River |page=A22 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279974075}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Brownlow |first=Ron |date=October 20, 2005 |title=Fire On Queensboro Bridge Stops Traffic For Hours |url=https://www.qchron.com/editions/western/fire-on-queensboro-bridge-stops-traffic-for-hours/article_c37d40a4-1985-50f0-835a-06ff8df183e3.html |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=Queens Chronicle}}</ref> They also added fences and lighting, restored a trolley kiosk on the Manhattan end of the bridge, and restored the Manhattan approach<ref name="p279974075" /> in a separate project between 2003 and 2006.<ref name="Bridge Report 2006" />{{Rp|pages=53–55}} The renovation was temporarily halted in October 2005 after a small fire.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robin |first1=Joshua |last2=Bowles |first2=Pete |date=October 20, 2005 |title=Fire Puts Bridge's Face-Lift On Hold |page=A14 |work=Newsday |issn=2574-5298 |id={{ProQuest|279968514}}}}</ref> A group of Roosevelt Island residents requested in 2007 that the city government install an elevator or stairway from the bridge, but city officials expressed multiple concerns with the proposal, including security vulnerabilities, the need to close a lane of traffic, and the bridge's landmark designation.<ref>{{cite web |last=Brady |first=Emily |title=A Bridge Not Quite Far Enough for Some |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=April 8, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/nyregion/thecity/08brid.html |access-date=November 18, 2023}}</ref> In March 2009, the New York City Bridge Centennial Commission sponsored events marking the [[centennial]] of the bridge's opening.<ref>{{cite web |title=Queensboro Bridge Centennial Celebration Events and Exhibits |url=http://www.nycbridges100.org/queensboro-events.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111027153730/http://www.nycbridges100.org/queensboro-events.php |archive-date=October 27, 2011 |access-date=February 20, 2010 |publisher=NYC Bridge Centennial Commission}}</ref> The [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] designated the bridge as a [[List of historic civil engineering landmarks|National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]] the same year.<ref name="asce" />

The bridge was renamed after [[Ed Koch]] in 2011.<ref name="NYTimes-QboroRenaming-2011" /> After a series of fatal crashes in 2013, officials closed the southern lower roadway at night.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nir |first=Sarah Maslin |date=December 24, 2013 |title=Queensboro Bridge Lane to Be Closed Every Night |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/25/nyregion/queensboro-bridge-lane-to-be-closed-every-night.html |access-date=December 18, 2017}}</ref> By the middle of the decade, the bridge carried 175,000 daily vehicles, making it the East River's busiest bridge.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 16, 2015 |title=East Side Residents Say Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge Traffic Is Keeping Them Awake |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/ed-koch-queensboro-bridge-traffic-noise/ |access-date=January 18, 2024 |website=CBS New York}}</ref> Mayor [[Bill de Blasio]] announced plans in April 2016 to allocate $244 million for repairs to the Queensboro Bridge's upper deck.<ref name="Matua 2016 c754">{{cite web |last=Matua |first=Angela |date=April 26, 2016 |title=The 107-Year-Old Queensboro Bridge Will Receive $244 Million in Funding for Repairs |url=https://qns.com/2016/04/107-year-old-queensboro-bridge-will-receive-244-million-in-funding-for-repairs/ |access-date=September 8, 2023 |website=QNS.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Queensboro Bridge To Get $244 Million For Repairs In Mayor's Budget |url=https://licpost.com/queensboro-bridge-to-get-244-million-for-repairs-in-mayors-budget |access-date=October 19, 2023 |website=LIC Post}}</ref> Concurrently, elected officials proposed adding tolls to the bridge yet again.<ref name="Matua 2016 c754" /> In January 2021, the city decided to install a two-way [[Protected bicycle lanes|protected bike path]] on the northern lower roadway and convert the southern lower roadway to a pedestrian path.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Robbins |first=Christopher |date=January 28, 2021 |title=The Brooklyn Bridge Will Finally Get Its Own Bike Lane |url=http://gothamist.com/news/brooklyn-bridge-will-finally-get-its-own-bike-lane |access-date=January 28, 2021 |website=Gothamist |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Emma G. |date=January 28, 2021 |title=Car Lanes to Become Bike Lanes on 2 Major New York City Bridges |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/nyregion/bike-brooklyn-bridge-de-blasio.html |access-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref> The conversion was delayed because of a renovation of the upper deck,<ref>{{cite web |last=Duggan |first=Kevin |date=February 3, 2022 |title=City Punts Fix for 'Treacherous' Queensboro Bridge Bike and Pedestrian Path by Another Year |url=https://www.amny.com/new-york/queens/queensboro-bridge-bike-path-delay/ |access-date=January 18, 2024 |website=amNewYork |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=McLogan |first=Elle |date=September 6, 2023 |title=City Councilmember Julie Won slams delayed transformation of Queensboro Bridge pathway |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queensboro-bridge-pathway-transformation/ |access-date=January 18, 2024 |website=CBS New York}}</ref> which commenced in February 2022 and required the partial closure of vehicular lanes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Repair Work on the Queensboro Bridge Begins, At Least One Vehicle Lane to Remain Closed for Nearly 2 Years |website=LIC Post |date=February 14, 2022 |url=https://licpost.com/repair-work-on-the-queensboro-bridge-begins-at-least-one-vehicle-lane-to-remain-closed-for-nearly-2-years |access-date=March 10, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Queensboro Bridge Lane Closures Begin For 2-Year Repair Project |website=CBS News |date=February 12, 2022 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/queensboro-bridge-lane-closures/ |access-date=March 10, 2022}}</ref> The city presented designs for the pedestrian and bike paths in mid-2024.<ref>{{cite web |last=Green |first=Kendall |date=April 10, 2024 |title=Changes to Queensboro Bridge expected to reduce pedestrian safety hazards by summer |url=https://www.fox5ny.com/news/changes-to-queensboro-bridge-expected-to-reduce-pedestrian-safety-hazards-by-summer |access-date=March 22, 2025 |publisher=FOX 5 New York |postscript=none}}; {{cite web |last=Kumamoto |first=Ian |date=April 8, 2024 |title=See renderings of the new pedestrian roadway on the Queensboro Bridge |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/see-renderings-of-the-new-pedestrian-roadway-on-the-queensboro-bridge-040824 |access-date=March 22, 2025 |website=Time Out New York}}</ref> The paths were supposed to open in March 2025, but the opening was postponed by mayor [[Eric Adams]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rubinstein |first=Dana |last2=Hu |first2=Winnie |date=2025-03-22 |title=NYC’s Queensboro Bridge Pedestrian Path Was Ready. Until it Wasn’t. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/nyregion/queensboro-bridge-pedestrian-path-adams.html |access-date=2025-03-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ultimately occurring that May.<ref name="Russo-Lennon u449">{{cite web | last=Russo-Lennon | first=Barbara | title=EXCLUSIVE: Cyclists and pedestrians now have separate paths on Queensboro Bridge | website=amNewYork | date=May 13, 2025 | url=https://www.amny.com/nyc-transit/cyclists-pedestrians-paths-queensboro-bridge/ | access-date=May 13, 2025}}</ref>