I took readers on a photo journey across the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge in a June 6, 2022 article. The Bridge was briefly closed after my journey and re-opened in early 2023 with much needed upgrades. I have been across the bridge several times since it was re-opened and it occurred to me that I should take readers across the new and improved Hamilton Avenue Footbridge. To be sure, it has not changed too much, but who would complain about joining The New Leaf Journal for a Brooklyn amble.

I recommend reading my original walking tour post for a brief introduction to the Footbridge and its history. For those who just need a refresher, the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge is a short path which connects the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens and Red Hook over the busy Hamilton Avenue and over and under the extremely busy Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Gowanus Expressway (see map).

When I crossed the Bridge in 2022, I did so with the intention of photographing it for an article. On this occasion, I actually had a practical reason for crossing. I was headed to Ikea in Red Hook after having purchased coffee beans at D’Amico’s in Carroll Gardens. To be sure, I had several ways to get down to Red Hook, including the nearby Summit Street Bridge, which was the subject of another New Leaf Journal tour. But I felt like taking the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge on this occasion and, for whatever it is worth, I think it was probably the optimal path given my starting point from the coffee shop.

I undertook the journey featured in this article in the middle of the afternoon on June 25, 2024, beginning from the Carroll Gardens entrance at Coles Street and exiting in Red Hook on Hamilton Avenue.

I took a picture from the bottom of the Footbridge ramp of the a the Cole Street entrance.

Entrance to the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge from Coles Street in Carroll Gardens. There is an END sign in front of the opening to the walkway, but the sign is for cars.
Every end is a beginning. Note the END sign is for cars since it may not be immediately obvious (certainly at night) to drivers perpindicular to Coles that Coles is a dead end for cars.

A Dead End sign here on Coles has been featured in its own non-walking tour post.

As you can see, it was very nice weather.

Opening ramp of the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge. It goes straight before turning right toward the Gowanus Expressway in the distance.

There is another reason June 25 turned out to be a good day for a walking tour. Note the lack of trash on the Footbridge. Unfortunately, people do tend to leave garbage on tit. There are also, sometimes, a strange number of empty Amazon boxes. But it was relatively clean on June 25. I vaguely recall having strategically avoided a few items of trash in my photo location choices, but it was not difficult on this occasion.

Straight middle section of the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge leading to canopy under overpass.
It would have been amazing if the truck passing by on the expressway was agnew instead of agiliti.

Here we actually go under the highway. I am not sure why there were traffic cones in the middle of the Footbridge. Speaking of traffic – we will get to that in the end.

Hamilton Avenue Footbridge under overpass -- there are two orange traffic cones where the roof ends.

Now we are approaching the final switchback ramp into Red Hook.

Section on Red Hook side of Hamilton Avenue Footbridge between two overpass segments.

I took a moment to take a photo of the final descent through the fence. The Hamilton Avenue Footbridge is well-fortified against jumpers or general idiocy – unlike the much bigger, longer, and higher Triborough Bridge.

Looking through fence on Hamilton Avenue Footbridge into Red Hook.

We are now firmly in Red Hook and going down the first half of the final descent.

First half of downward slope from Hamlton Avenue Footbridge on Red Hook side.

Now we see the exit. I think the “KEEP RIGHT” sign was added during the renovations.

Final straight descent off Hamilton Avenue Footbridge into Red Hook.
It is not clear in this picture but the sign at the end does say “KEEP RIGHT”

I took a photo of this Pedestrian Survey sign at the end of the Footbridge.

Hamilton Avenue pedestrian survey attached to Red Hook entrance/exit of Hamilton Avenue Footbridge. It asks for feedback on pedestrian safety on Hamilton Avenue and has a large QR code.

I forgot to participate (not to mention my generally avoiding opening links from random QR codes), but I have one take to offer here. Note the first part of the question:

Are you a pedestrian or cyclist crossing Hamilton Avenue daily?

That asks about the Avenue, not the Footbridge. Now the Avenue is a pedestrian death trap. It is very wide, has few lights, and drivers generally do not expect to see pedestrians. It is actually possible to go down Hamilton from Carroll Gardens into the Columbia Street Waterfront District and Red Hook, but doing so requires playing the role of the frog in Frogger. Pedestrians are well-advised to either use one of the two bridges (Hamilton Avenue or Summit Street) or just walk up Union or Sackett Street, both of which allow pedestrians to cross safely over the expressway a bit further down from Red Hook. With regard to the Footbridge specifically – I do have a problem with the cyclists who are permitted to use it. The name “Footbridge” is key – there are no clear lanes for most of the narrow Bridge. Moreover, the Bridge emerges onto a sidewalk, not the street, on both ends. There is nowhere for bikes to safely coexist with pedestrians. Yet, more often than not, including on June 25, I encounter 1-2 bikes, motor scooters, or bona fide motorcycles riding on the Footbridge. Some drive “safely,” others not so much – and most are electric. Getting rid of the bikes would make the Footbridge much more pleasant. The Summit Street Bridge does not have the same problem because it is bracketed by stairsteps.

Of course – many pedestrian problems in New York City could be solved by getting rid of the bikes – especially the electric ones. The Brooklyn Bridge has been dramatically improved by the decision to completely segregate bikes from pedestrians (not to mention expelling the people selling cheap junk, photo opportunities, and schedule I controlled substances – but that is beyond our scope).

Hicks and Luquer Streets near the foot of the Hamilton Avenue Footbridge.
This area of Red Hook does not see heavy foot traffic.

This is my view after just exiting the Footbridge. We are now approaching the intersection of Hicks and Luquer Streets.

I turned around for one last photo of the Footbridge before continuing on my way to Ikea.

Looking at entrance/exit of Hamilton Avenue Footbridge from the Red Hook side.
A bit more industrial than the Carroll Gardens “entrance/exit.”

I turned my Ikea trip into a new Justin and Justina dialogue, which you can read next.

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