Believe it or not, New York is not Copenhagen. Which means that when a bike lane or sidewalk is closed due to construction, people using those facilities are often directed to less safe and less convenient alternative routes.

So @NYCParks Riverside Park has a #bikeNYC detour with a ramp that doesn’t allow bikes? How does this make sense? pic.twitter.com/c9QeJMK87s

— Jehiah (@jehiah) April 17, 2016

Recently, however, we’ve noticed some improvements in the way bike paths and pedestrian walkways have been detoured in New York City and beyond.

Near Tri-State’s midtown headquarters, construction on Ninth Avenue between 29th and 31st Streets has created a bit of an fluorescent eyesore. But instead of diverting people on foot or on bike to less familiar or unsafe routes, the usual amenities–pedestrian islands and protected bike lanes–have been preserved.

A much larger pedestrian island also appeared at the intersection of 9th Avenue and 29th Street.

Clearly marked temporary bike lanes allow people on bikes to use the usually-protected route during roadwork as well.

Strides in accommodating people on foot and on bikes during construction are being seen beyond city boundaries, too.

MTR reader Rob Baron pointed out this detour for the South County Trailway in Westchester County. This 14.1-mile paved trail stretches from New York City’s northern limits to Eastview, connecting with the 22.1-mile North County Trailway that reaches up to the Putnam County border. The Trailway is being diverted in Dobbs Ferry due to the reconstruction of the Ashford Avenue Bridge, which won’t be completed until 2018.

As Baron told Tri-State in an e-mail, “The County could have easily closed the Trailway, but surprisingly, they came up with this imaginative detour.”

That said, the New York region still has a substantial way to go. For example, the pedestrian and bicycle path on the Queensboro Bridge has been closed every weeknight for the last month, forcing late-night commuters onto a shuttle bus — and there’s no end in sight for this inconvenience.

Messaging from City of Copenhagen: "sorry we're making a mess. We're improving conditions for cyclists…" pic.twitter.com/J9teKacFa4

— Mikael Colville-Andersen (@colvilleandersn) April 14, 2016