What's this doing in the bike lane?

Share your pics, videos, streets, stories of what you find in the bike lane of the non-bike variety that has an impact on your ride and/or your safety. I've decided to keep it a little more open ended - cars, snow, buses, garbage, cabs, etc. If they shouldn't be in the bike lane, go ahead and add it to this thread. Please be safe if you are taking pics or video! :-) 

My hope is that we can collectively build some evidence of what we see when riding in the city with the overall hope of better enforcement of "bikes only" and improving maintenance. 

Update: More Hashtags to Capture Vehicles in the Bike Lane

With popular hashtags:
#BikeLaneShaming

#LaneSpreading (Chicago Bike Selling)

#ClearTheWay (ActiveTrans), there are many options to capture violations.

We think you should use ALL of them AND post your photos on The Chainlink. ;-)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on March 16, 2018 at 11:45am

125 S Franklin St. 311 report submitted.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on March 16, 2018 at 11:50am

221 W Illinois St. 311 report submitted.

Permalink Reply by Ben R. on March 16, 2018 at 12:34pm

I was amazed to see this in the bike lane. More amazed that the driver was out of her car pushing & shoving the cyclist for telling her she was in the wrong. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, but I was running late to meet my wife for dinner before our theater show.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on March 19, 2018 at 1:01am

Lol. I think I'm taking this stuff just a little too seriously. I had a dream last night that the city had built a new elevated and enclosed bike path through the city. It was modeled to look like the interior of the Quincy L Station, with wood paneling. It was really spectacular. It had food courts, shops, and great views of the city.

Unfortunately, there were a few major flaws with the design. First, it wasn't level! There were steep ramps and stairs everywhere! You couldn't go more than a short distance without having to get off your bike and haul it up or down a staircase. Worse yet, there were pedestrians everywhere! Argh!

Permalink Reply by Bruce on March 22, 2018 at 5:46pm

Dude, I laughed so hard when I read this in my email!

Thanks!

Permalink Reply by David Henri on March 19, 2018 at 9:10am

This thread is fine, but if we demanded, and had, better bike infrastructure, separated bike ways, truly protected bike lanes, etc. we would not have a need for this discussion. Our current bike infrastructure design (a.k.a. paint adjacent to moving traffic) requires enforcement of resources (police) that frankly, could be put to better use.  If we demanded better design in the first place, everyone would be better off.  We wouldn't have the problem of cars in the bike lane, or the problem of non-enforcement.  Better design and implementation, not increased enforcement is the solution.

Permalink Reply by V W on March 19, 2018 at 9:38am

That's going to take a lot of time and money. In the meantime, increased enforcement IS the solution. It wouldn't kill the CPD to, ya know, enforce the law. It's their job. Instead they've continued on with some kind of "working strike" for whatever reason (probably hoping society will grovel at their feet and apologize for ever demanding accountability).

Permalink Reply by David Henri on March 20, 2018 at 2:08am

We're never going to get anywhere with an attitude like that.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on March 20, 2018 at 3:13am

Huh? Have you browsed through the 150+ pages of this discussion? There are plenty of instances of cars stopping or parking in protected bike lanes. Sadly, enforcement will always be necessary.

I don't think the topics are mutually exclusive. Some folks continue to push for more infrastructure, and I completely agree with that. However, at the same time the existing lanes are dangerous, and there is basically no enforcement of the laws. Perhaps if the city starting writing more $150 tickets there would be money to expand the lanes. I've personally documented in excess of $60K in violations in 15 minutes a day.

Permalink Reply by V W on March 20, 2018 at 3:56am

+1

Permalink Reply by David Henri on March 21, 2018 at 2:45am

Perhaps I didn't make myself very clear.  What I'm saying is that if we had proper bike infrastructure to begin with, we wouldn't need enforcement.  Paint and little plastic flexible bollards don't cut it.  We need curbs and barriers to prevent cars from entering the bike lane in the first place.  We need to push for proper bike infrastructure.  With all the pictures and entries in this thread, have the cops done a single thing to prevent cars from parking in the bike lane?  NO.   Not a single thing.  Complaining about it isn't working.  We need real design and construction of bike infrastructure.

Permalink Reply by Argonne69 on March 21, 2018 at 7:47am

Do you actually believe that a curb is going to dissuade these nitwits? My experience has shown me that the answer is no.

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