By Clair Kittredge
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

COLOR PHOTO

Cycle across Memorial Bridge from New Hampshire to Maine on a wet day, and cyclist Jud Pitman says the metal grating is "slippery as ice."

When its damp and windy, crossing what he calls "the cheese grater" on the old lift bridge is "a death-defying feat," complains the Portsmouth design engineer and avid cyclist. His only other choice - hobbling in cleated shoes with his bike across the bridge's wooden sidewalk - is "a slippery ballet"

Pitman is part of a vocal group of cyclists who want the right to cycle safely across Memorial Bridge, and provisions for cyclists to be included in a $9 million upgrade of the bridge scheduled for 2005.

Amid efforts to promote alternatives to cars and growing concern about fitness, air pollution, global warming and traffic, committed cyclists argue they should be able to cycle safely across the Piscataqua River.

Cameron Wake, president of Seacoast Area Bicycle Routes, says there is no "reasonable" way for cyclists to do that now. With two other bridges across the Piscataqua off-limits to cyclists, Memorial Bridge is the only link by bike from Portsmouth to Kittery.

A local ordinance forbidding cyclists from riding on sidewalks forces them either across its dangerous metal grating, risking "shredded hands and legs," or to plod on foot with their bikes on the bridge walkways.

Wake, a scientist researching global warming at the University of New Hampshire's Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, wants permission to cycle across the bridge sidewalk so long as cyclists yield to pedestrians.

He also complains that state officials have "not guaranteed" that they will include provisions for bicycles when they refurbish Memorial Bridge in several years. "It’s another blatant example of planning where cars are important, but cyclists are not," said Wake, who sits on the states Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

"I have been told by state officials there's no guarantee they will add facilities for bicycles during the rehabilitation, and I think that's criminal," Wake said.

For their part, state officials say the ornate green metal "lift" bridge spanning the Piscataqua is just too old and narrow to outfit with a bike path.

Memorial Bridge was built in the 1920s.

And officials say it would be too dangerous to let cyclists ride on the bridge's wooden sidewalks.

Tom Jameson, bicycle and pedestrian coordinator for the state transportation department, says bridge workers have reported "close calls where bicyclists almost went over the rail,"

"Nobody says they have to ride across [the metal grating]," said senior bridge superintendent Gene Popien, adding that he often calls on local police to enforce the law. "They can walk their bikes over the sidewalk... It's a dangerous situation for everyone - pedestrians, bicyclists, and bridge employees."

But with the state pushing alternative transportation, officials also promise to consider including provisions for cyclists in the upcoming bridge rehabilitation.

"We're actively involved in encouraging cycling in New Hampshire," said state Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton. "So we would seriously consider any request to incorporate bicycle traffic in any effort to rehabilitate the bridge."

Jameson concedes that the issue is a "passionate" one

"It's a very important issue we will be looking at," said Jameson, adding that other bridges spanning the river will also be considered as possible cycling routes. "It's not dead at all. But the biggest issue is safety."

Back in 1992 when Wake started the seacoast bike group, there were no safe bike routes in the area, he said.

Inspiring him was passage of a federal transportation act allowing states to spend highway money on projects other than highways, including bike or pedestrian-related projects. Today, Wake says Memorial Bridge is a "key link" to growing bike routes linking Portsmouth to Portland, Maine, and the nascent East Coast Greenway planned from Maine to Florida.

"Not only are there accidents, but people don’t ride their bikes because they’re worried about how dangerous it is," he said.

"We don't expect commuters to pull over their cars and walk for awhile as part of their commute to work, why should bicyclists do that?" said fellow cyclist Dave Cohen, special project coordinator at New Heights, a Portsmouth center for teens.

"I can't think of a better way to reduce pollution 4nd,parking problems in Portsmouth than to make it more bicycle-friendly," said Steven Kosacz, owner of Autoworks in Kittery and a regular commuter to Portsmouth. The bridge is the biggest barrier."