Biking on lower Bowery and the Manhattan Bridge promises to be messy for the next few months

Longtime lower Bowery resident Curt Hoppe passes along this photo of the new bike lane on the street...

As Gothamist has reported, this is all part of the Manhattan Bridge rehabilitation work that starts today. It's a little confusing, these plans. But have a look.

[Via Gothamist]

So Manhattan-bound cyclists will exit the bridge on the Bowery and bike north to Prince Street... along the pre-existing path...

Per John Del Signore at Gothamist: "The change is annoying because on the Brooklyn side, cyclists will now have to dismount and carry their bikes up and down the stairs to get to the path. And they'd better get used to it, because this is the way it's going to be through January 2012. WHY GOD?!"

Meanwhile, Hoppe is curious how the Fung Wah Bus company will deal with this. Their buses typically idle exactly where the new bike lane is painted in on the Bowery.

Said Hoppe, "What a mess this is going to be."