Bicycle parking at the new Dan Ryan 95th L station

Does anyone have any info on what the bike parking facilities will be like when the station is remodeled?

Currently there are 32 spaces, and at certain times of day its completely full.

The station is being remodeled, but I cannot find out what will happen to the bike parking.

CTA tells me its a City issue, and the City says its CTA.

I've emailed the CTA website several times about this and always get the reply that they can't provide info on the new station for "security reasons".

They did say one time that there will be 8 'random' bike spaces around the new bus station, but no info as to whether its secure, under cover, etc.

And the City just doesn't reply at all.

Please, does anyone know who I can contact?

I depend on being able to park there as part of my commute downtown.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on August 6, 2017 at 9:44am

OK, so I finally got a response via the Alderman.

"Upon the completion of the new South Terminal, the 95th/Dan Ryan Station Improvement Project will include eight typical U shape bike racks located in the South Terminal. The racks will be located outside under canopy coverage in the bus loading areas around the terminal. Each bike rack can hold approximate 2-4 bikes, depending how customers position their bikes.

 

Note: There will be additional bike racks in the North Terminal when it opens as well, however this design is still on-going so a final number is not available."

This is not good. Replacing 32 spaces with 8 racks (presumably 16 spaces) is not helpful, especially when the 32 is already not enough and some folk have to lock their bike to the railings by Mc Donalds and just hope they are there when they return.

There is also the issues of security, the current racks are right by the police office, under a camera, and therefore as safe as can be achieved.

Placing them out in the bus station will be inviting trouble from anyone hanging out there as they will just not be as safe.

What is the best way to approach this?

I have requested to meet with the CTA Community Relations Officer, but what works best in these situations? A petition, a town hall meeting . . . . . ???

If anyone has experience of negotiating with the CTA please share!!!

Permalink Reply by Shawn Evans on August 6, 2017 at 1:52pm

Chicago has a website for requesting bike parking.

http://bikeparking.chicagocompletestreets.org/page/about

If they ever expand Divvy to 95th, it'll be even worse. In Oak Park, they replaced bike racks next to the Oak Park Ave & South Blvd L station with Divvy bikes, and now there are signs 'warning' people not to lock their bikes to the railing. What did they expect?

Permalink Reply by Mark on August 7, 2017 at 3:47am

Contact the Active Transportation Association.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 7, 2017 at 6:47am

I've reached out to someone at CTA who is a bike person. Hopefully I can get some useful info to share.

I agree that "8 random bike spaces" doesn't necessarily sound like an acceptable substitute for the reasonably secure bike rack area we currently have.

Permalink Reply by Charlie Short 2.9 on August 7, 2017 at 8:18am

CDOT builds CTA stations. There's got to be someone in charge of this project. I will do some digging.

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 7, 2017 at 12:21pm
Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 7, 2017 at 12:40pm

OMG. The squirrel is hilarious. Thanks for posting!

Permalink Reply by Jane on August 7, 2017 at 10:59pm

Interesting, as my name is not Healy, I live in Roseland, (NOT Blue Island!!) and I got the reply from Alderman Beale, and was certainly not consulted about this article at all!!

But at least its flagging up the issue and hopefully something will come from this.

We do not seem to have a problem with abandoned bikes at 95th, the racks are in constant use and are generally at least 50% full, and totally full in the afternoon and early evenings.

I don't understand the logic in moving the racks to the bus station, and most people either arrive by bus OR by bike, we generally don't see bikes arriving here on the front of buses.

What we do like at the moment is that the racks are in the "paid" area, and right  by the police office, so security is excellent. I leave my bike here for 14 hours each day and have never even had so much as a light stolen.

But I doubt the same level of security will exist if/when the racks go outside. There are a lot of panhandlers outside 95th and its crowded at times with people waiting for the dozen or so buses that start here, so its easier for thefts to take place unseen.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 8, 2017 at 3:08am

I agree with you about the current level of security and the need to maintain that level of security.

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 8, 2017 at 3:09am

Very sorry Jane -- looks like I jumped to some conclusions there. I confused you with another bike advocate named Jane who does a similar commute, and assumed this was Brookins you were talking about since the station is in his ward. I'll correct the errors. Please get in touch at 312-560-3966 or jgreenfield[at]streetsblog.org if you want to talk further. Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Jane on August 9, 2017 at 10:22am

No problem, I was just surprised to have a whole new identity!

(I did wonder briefly if I could exploit it in some way to find some tax breaks!)

But thank you so much, it looks as if you have got things moving forward here and hopefully the current bike parking facility will now be safe.

I was expecting to have a long campaign going on, with petitions and town halls meetings etc, so I am amazed that you got a conclusion so swiftly!

Thank you!!!

Permalink Reply by John Greenfield on August 10, 2017 at 3:42am

Sure thing, thanks for getting the ball rolling with your advocacy. If you care to provide your last name so you can get credit for this, I'll add it to the story. jgreenfield[at]streetsblog.org 

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