Is the Golden Gate Bridge’s New Fence too Blowy for Cycling?
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As part of a project to bolster the Golden Gate Bridge’s stability in strong winds, engineers modified the shape of the span’s western fence to reduce air resistance. However, now reports are coming in of gusts endangering cyclists. From an email to the Bridge District’s board from a regular bridge cyclist, John Potis, which he copied to Streetsblog:
It may have come to the notice of the Board that the Golden Gate Bridge now howls and whistles on windy days. This is due to the new configuration of the bridge railing which allows accelerated passage of wind through the upright pickets of the rail. Previously the upright pickets presented a 4” wide face to the wind, but the new pickets only present a 1/4” wide face to the wind. The old rail configuration helped to mitigate dangerous cross winds that the new railing now exposes all cyclists to.
Potis is a landscape architect who specializes in designing bicycle and pedestrian facilities. “Control of a bicycle is severely compromised with the new rail design and I urge the Board to investigate the situation and develop a remedy,” he concluded.
