Should the Ellis Island Service Bridge be opened to the public?

[roadman65]

Since the Ellis Island Restoration Project took place several decades ago, there has been a bridge spanning from the NJ shore to the historic island.  The bridge originally for construction vehicles to access the island, is now only open to Ellis Island Employees, delivery vehicles, and first responders due to the Circle Line tours who owns the ferry to the island don't want to lose revenue.

Also, I believe the City of NY (though under the jurisdiction of the NPS and arguably in NY State (even though it is within the NJ Borders) also do not want access to the island by foot eiiher which throws a monkey wrench into the proposals to open the bridge to the public.  So now it remains and short enough for a nice walk to where immigration once took place into our country years ago.

Even though the bridge topic is a proposal for pedestrians it does count as a road bridge, so I posted this here.  Anyway what does anyone here think of this structure that could make a visit to our nation's past more accessible than what is current.

[seicer]

It's already plenty accessible - to anyone via two ferries. With the staggering amount of visitors it receives, there is no room to place parking, which makes Liberty State Park more than ideal for anyone who wants to drive towards it (Battery Park, the other ferry terminal, is not ideal for that).

[Max Rockatansky]

Having been to Ellis Island I definitely would prefer to walk on a bridge from New Jersey than taking a ferry from Manhattan again.  I definitely got more out of Ellis Island given I had some family go through there than the long lines to get into the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. 

[RobbieL2415]

Can we have a bridge to Governor's Island instead?

[oscar]

There are ferries from NJ, too. Indeed, the parking lot for the NJ ferry terminal (in Liberty State Park) appears to be within long walking distance from the bridge to Ellis Island.

One hitch might be that an extra "airport-style" security screening facility would need to be added to Liberty State Park at the Ellis Island bridge, for people bypassing the facility at the ferry terminal. That facility would also need ticket booths, for those planning to hop the ferry to the Statue of Liberty after walking to Ellis Island.

[roadman65]

Can we have a bridge to Governor's Island instead?

Roosevelt Island had no bridge originally except for the 59th Street Queensboro Bridge which does not have access to it, but the current lift span over the east channel from Queens.

Anything is possible.

However, Ellis Island is a short walk on that bridge and can easily have its own lot on the NJ side of that structure and all can walk to the facility.  Heck parking in a theme park parking requires more walking to the gate from your car, and if you walk from one end of the park to the other, you've most likely walked more than the distance across the channel there.

[Alps]

I think part of the charm of Ellis is the limitation on the number of people who can get there. If you make access easier than Liberty Island it'll become swamped.

[qguy]

Can we have a bridge to Governor's Island instead?

I wonder how much it would cost to build a bridge across the Buttermilk Channel to Governor's Island. I believe that waterway still sees traffic, so it would need to be a bascule or lift bridge of some sort.

[CapeCodder]

I think part of the charm of Ellis is the limitation on the number of people who can get there. If you make access easier than Liberty Island it'll become swamped.

When I went in 1999 it was plenty swamped; there were lines for the lines. Brutally hot that day. Was weird seeing the Haagen Dazs carts there because of how somber the place is. Nice thunderstorm action that night though.

[Roadrunner75]

One hitch might be that an extra "airport-style" security screening facility would need to be added to Liberty State Park at the Ellis Island bridge, for people bypassing the facility at the ferry terminal. That facility would also need ticket booths, for those planning to hop the ferry to the Statue of Liberty after walking to Ellis Island.

This, along with the fact that the bridge isn't designed to accommodate this use.  The pedestrian walk looks pretty narrow, and would probably get pretty packed if this became an option.
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7026611,-74.0452943,3a,55.4y,140.31h,84.79t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGKJ2QIEwMRb0F2D8IVlkVw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
There would probably be parking concerns as well.

[roadman65]

I think part of the charm of Ellis is the limitation on the number of people who can get there. If you make access easier than Liberty Island it'll become swamped.

When I went in 1999 it was plenty swamped; there were lines for the lines. Brutally hot that day. Was weird seeing the Haagen Dazs carts there because of how somber the place is. Nice thunderstorm action that night though.

Also I heard from my dad when he was alive, that heads of the park commission thought it would feel nice to experience what the immigrants felt when they arrived years ago.

That would make sense along with what Alps said, trying to cut the visitors down as opening that bridge to the public would most likely increase that.

Probably keeping it as is, and just use it for emergencies, employee access, and deliveries is enough.

[Duke87]

I get that there isn't room to park on the island so letting the public drive over it isn't feasible. But not letting people walk over it is a waste of perfectly good infrastructure.

If crowds become a concern you can either raise the price of admission until they thin out to the desired level, or place a cap on the number of tickets that will be sold each day.

That said I question how much opening that bridge to pedestrian traffic would really increase the crowds. It goes to New Jersey, which means for most tourists it's a less convenient option than the ferry from Manhattan.

When we went to Ellis Island in 2006 we drove to New Jersey and took the boat from Liberty State Park even though we were coming from The Bronx + Connecticut... because you could show up and buy tickets for that boat on the spot whereas the boats from Manhattan would frequently sell out well in advance of their departure. I don't know if this is still the case but it gives you an idea.

[Roadrunner75]

I get that there isn't room to park on the island so letting the public drive over it isn't feasible. But not letting people walk over it is a waste of perfectly good infrastructure.

If crowds become a concern you can either raise the price of admission until they thin out to the desired level, or place a cap on the number of tickets that will be sold each day.

That said I question how much opening that bridge to pedestrian traffic would really increase the crowds. It goes to New Jersey, which means for most tourists it's a less convenient option than the ferry from Manhattan.

When we went to Ellis Island in 2006 we drove to New Jersey and took the boat from Liberty State Park even though we were coming from The Bronx + Connecticut... because you could show up and buy tickets for that boat on the spot whereas the boats from Manhattan would frequently sell out well in advance of their departure. I don't know if this is still the case but it gives you an idea.

We went to Ellis/Liberty over President's Day weekend this year via New Jersey and it actually wasn't that crowded (February helped I'm sure).  We bought the tickets a couple of days in advance online, but it didn't seem that there was that much of a crowd at the dock so I suspect walkup tickets were available.

The size of the current bridge would appear to be an issue with its narrow walkway (which also from the Google aerial view appears to have/had some collapsed walkway surface sections).  They might need to build a separate bridge or expand the existing one.  Logistics of ticketing for walk-ins using the boats to Liberty, security screening and parking issues (including ADA compliance for parking near the bridge and the bridge walkway itself) would probably keep attorneys for the boat company pretty busy trying to block it.

That being said, I'd love to walk the bridge to the island.  I just don't see it happening.

[vdeane]

The sidewalk appears to be 5' wide on the bridge, so it would seem to meet ADA width requirements (5' or 4' with 5' passing zones every 200').  Running grade is probably fine (5% or grade of the roadway, whichever is more).  No idea about cross slope (2%), since I've never been there with a smart level.  Of course, the collapsed sections present an issue.

IMO the best way to deal with security would be for the federal government to realize that museums aren't airports, but that unfortunately would be less likely than this bridge opening to the public.

[oscar]

IMO the best way to deal with security would be for the federal government to realize that museums aren't airports, but that unfortunately would be less likely than this bridge opening to the public.

Hasn't the Statue of Liberty been targeted for attacks? While Ellis Island seems a less likely target, you can catch a ferry to the statue from there. It doesn't look like there's much room for a screening facility at the Ellis Island ferry dock, if there isn't going to be one on the New Jersey mainland for pedestrians crossing the bridge to Ellis Island.

Also I heard from my dad when he was alive, that heads of the park commission thought it would feel nice to experience what the immigrants felt when they arrived years ago.

I recall hearing something similar about Hawaii's Kalaupapa NHP, that the winding trail down a quarter-mile-high cliff from the rest of Molokai and back again helps visitors appreciate why the Kingdom of Hawaii selected that as a place of exile for Hansen's Disease (a/k/a leprosy) patients. You can get there by small plane, though I've heard that is a scary flight, and seems a less popular option than the mule ride down and back up the cliff.

[SteveG1988]

I wonder how study the bridge is, it looks like a cheaply put together bailey bridge that was probably never meant for long term use.

[roadman65]

I wonder how study the bridge is, it looks like a cheaply put together bailey bridge that was probably never meant for long term use.

It was used for trucks carrying supplies to renovate Ellis Island back in the early 80's.  It was to be there temporarily I believe.

Rather than send barges over to the island, they thought that bringing trucks and other construction vehicles on the bridge would be more feasible.

[SteveG1988]

I wonder how study the bridge is, it looks like a cheaply put together bailey bridge that was probably never meant for long term use.

It was used for trucks carrying supplies to renovate Ellis Island back in the early 80's.  It was to be there temporarily I believe.

Rather than send barges over to the island, they thought that bringing trucks and other construction vehicles on the bridge would be more feasible.

Right, but i wonder how it would hold up to constant use versus occasional use.